ARCHIVED
I'm moving over to two new posts - a BetterPhilately wishlist and another one with India Post's pending stamp proposals. This was necessary because both the lists were getting quite long and it was difficult to maintain clear distinction between my suggestions and pending proposals. Clink on the links below to see the new posts:
BetterPhilately Wishlist
India Post Pending Stamp Proposals
Updates on 20 Sep 2018
Updates on 09 June 2018
Updates on 23 March 2018
Update (21 Jan 2018): This is a new post, but with majority of the old dates and such removed. I'm starting to track old approved issues and ideas for new stamp subjects here. I've added a new sub-section for issues that are unlikely in the near future, but may be revived at a later date. You can see the previous version by clicking here.
Text from the old blog post: There are numerous stamp issues that were put out by India Post for release in a particular year, but have not yet been released. Since the subjects were shared with the public, I am assuming these issues were approved for release. Many of these morphed into different stamp subjects. There could be various views about the list below, but one can be objective about it to help increase accountability and transparency in the process of selecting and issuing stamps.
I will try provide perspective to some of the stamp subjects hoping that these stamp releases languishing in Dak Bhawan (India Post HQ) will see the light of day. The stamp for Mumbai Stock Exchange was to commemorate 125 years of the stock exchange. Was this pulled out because it could be seen as an anti-poor move? Other issues for 2001 should be brought back, redesigned and released. Especially, the Jataka Tales and Hitopadesha stamps. The Panchatantra Stories stamps released in 2001 were quite popular and I remember hearing from our philatelic bureau those stamps being the highest seller for 2001. The Jataka Tales and Hitopadesha stamps can be released in two sets and complete a Folktales of India series (comprising of all these three folktales).
Joint issues were planned with Oman (2005) and Peru (2013), but were never released. I believe the issue with the Peru joint issue was that Peru released their stamp in March and India Post was not ready with its version. Although planned to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations, the joint issue with Oman was also not released as planned.
SAARC could have had two stamp issues - one for 20 years celebration in 2005 and the other one for South Asian Postal Union. SAARC has had a troubled history with little progress made on the ground. It would not be surprising if the Charter Day issue was abandoned due to political reasons. The SAPU stamp was overcast with the Wild Flowers of India issue during the APPU Congress in New Delhi (2013). In the past some SAARC stamps had good themes and designs - Year of Youth (1995), Year of Shelter (1991), 10 year celebrations (1996). Planning to release the pending issues will add to the new vigor with neighborly relations.
Pramathesh Barua was part of the Legendary Filmmakers series planned for release in 2006. Neither was this series started, not was a stamp released on Barua. Instead, stamps on most other filmmakers were released individually (A. V. Meiyappan, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan, Ritwik Ghatak, L. V. Prasad).
On the other hand, the Himalayan Lakes, Landmark Bridges and Horses of India series were put in place, but some of the originally included subjects were not released. It would be ideal if these series can be continued with newer additions along with the ones that were intended for release but not included in the first issuance. A similar issue existed with stamps issues under the Festivals of India and Textiles of India stamp series. Honest opinion for Textiles stamps - Tat and Chanderi textiles were dropped to include Kalamkari (Andhra; Panbaka Lakshmi was MoS Textiles in 2009) and Apa Tani textiles (Arunachal; attempt to include North-East India).
A large set of stamp subjects (Calendar Stamps) were publicized in 2009 in the short lived Phila Post magazine. None, make note, none of these stamps have been released so far. Like the India Post-PCI collaboration on the magazine, PAC's idea of Calendar Stamps did not take off. The stamp subjects were terrific and would have done yeomen service to spread Indian culture across the world, but sadly nothing was achieved.
This post is getting quite long. I will rest my case here. This list should be used for furthering discussions with India Post and Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad (MoCIT) about stamp issues and recommendations for future releases. These stamp subjects alone should provide enough material for the next few years, leading up to the 75th Year of India's Independence (Amrut Mahotsav in 2022).
Update (10 Sep 2016): A sub-section has been added toward the end of this post to list all the stamps that eventually get released from the proposals listed below. A few minor updates to some stamp subjects have been added as well. Appreciate the feedback and comments from all the readers. Keep'em coming.
Update (06 Aug 2016): Just re-organized this post while keeping all the information unchanged. Dates and colors indicated below will allow easy navigation. Black font was the original post and additions or updates are in different colors and each color represents a specific date. Post a comment if there's a question. Enjoy.
Stamp Issues Approved, but Not Released
2001
Set of 4 stamps on Greetings
Set of 4 stamps on Dances of India
Set of 4 stamps on Hitopadesha and Jataka Tales (Approved)
2005
India-Oman Joint Issue
SAARC Charter Day
2006
Himalayan Lakes – Loktak, Suraj Tal, Naini Tal
Landmark Bridges – Coronation Bridge, Kandrour Bridge, Laxman Jhula, Godavari Bridge
Pramathesh Barua
2007
Battaqh Ali Ansari
2008
Festivals of India – Kulu Dussehra
Infantry Soldier – Year of Infantry
Jammu & Kashmir Light Regiment
Maulana Atikur Rehman Alvi
Mahanamrata Brahmachari
Textiles of India – Tat, Chanderi, Ikat, Paithani, Maheshwari, Jamdani, Kota, Sambalpuri, Angami Weaves
2009
Architectural Splendor – Ujjayanta Palace, Patwon ki Haveli, Mattancherry Palace
Buddha Jayanti
Caves (Tracing Civilizations) – Bhimbetka, Barabar, Udaigiri, Nagarjuna
Children’s Fables – Vikram & Betal, Mogli, Tenali Rama, Birbal
Hill Stations (Colonial Heritage) – Gulmarg, Darjeeling, Ooty, Shimla
Endangered Species – Ganges River Dolphin, Nilgiri Tahr, Lion Tailed Macaque, Himalayan Musk Deer
Greetings – Christmas, New Year
Horses of India – Spiti and Kati
House Boats – Kerala, Kashmir
National Gallery of Modern Art
Seasons of India
Shakti Temples – Kalighat, Meenakshi, Vaishno Devi, Kamakhya (Approved)
Unique Villages of India – Toda, Kutch
UN Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities
2012
Asiatic Black Bear and other wild animals (Set of 4 stamps)
Boats of India (Set of 4 stamps)
Flowers of India (Set of 2 stamps)
Government College, Ajmer
Railway Bridges of India (Set of 4 stamps)
Traditional Embroideries of India - Chikankari, Kutchi, Kashmiri, Phulkari, Kantha
Tribal Dwellings (Set of 4 stamps)
2013
Dr. Nilratan Sircar
India-Peru Joint Issue
South Asian Postal Union
2014
Machali, The Tigress
The following subjects should be/are being considered for release in the next few years as well:
BetterPhilately Wish List
Bishop Cotton School, Bengaluru
Delhi High Court - Golden Jubilee
Gaurishankar Govardhan Joshi 'Dhumketu' (Approved)
2017
100 Years of Kheda Movement
100 Years of Sabarmati Ashram
200 Years of Paika Rebellion (Approved)
Air Force Marshal Arjan Singh
Amritlal Nagar
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
Bombay Scottish School, Mumbai
Dayalbagh
Gir Wildlife Sanctuary
Hindu School, Kolkata
India-UN Joint Issue: International Day of Yoga
Laxmanrao Inamdar
Presidency University, Kolkata
Queen Heo Hwang-ok (Korean queen from Ayodhya)
Swami Abhedananda
2018
50 Years of Commercial Nuclear Power - Tarapur
Bhagvadgita
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (Approved)
Bose Institute
Chandrakant Patel
ISRO - Golden Jubilee
Jyotirlinga Temples
Maharshi Mahesh Yogi
Maniram Dewan
Osmania University, Hyderabard (100 Years) - MyStamp
Rajkumar School, Rajkot
Ramamand Sagar
Ravenshaw University, Cuttack (150 Years) - MyStamp
Sikander Bakht
Srimant Sankardev
The Maihar Band (100 Years)
The Yoga Institute, Mumbai (100 Years)
Vinda Karandikar
2019
150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (Approved)
High Court of Punjab & Haryana Centenary
Sherwood College, Nainital
St. Aloysius Senior Secondary School, Jabalpur
Amrita Pritam
Maharani Gayatri Devi
Guru Nanak Dev - 550th Parkash Utsav
International Film Festival of India (Golden Jubilee)
2020
36th International Geological Congress
ASSOCHAM
Modern School, New Delhi
Pandurang Shastri Athavle
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
2021
75 Years of India's Independence
India-Bangladesh: Joint Issue (50 & 75 Years of Independence)
BetterPhilately Wish List (Personalities)
B. D. Jatti
Balasaheb Thackarey
Balasheb Deoras
Chinmayananda Saraswati
Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy
Eknath Ranade
Gopal Swarup Pathak
I. K. Gujral
J. Jayalalithaa
K. R. Narayanan
Khushabhau Thakre
Mohammad Hidayatullah
N. Sanjeeva Reddy
P. V. Narasimha Rao
Shivmangal Singh Suman
Siyaram Sharan Gupt
V. P. Singh
Dead Issues
Bhupesh Gupta
D. Devaraj Urs
Jyoti Basu
International Year of Pulses
FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017
St. Mary's School, Pune
St. Mary’s Convent Inter College, Allahabad
Stamps, Eventually Issued
Auroville (Golden Jubilee) - Released on 25 Feb 2018
CISF - Central Industrial Security Force - Released on 08 Mar 2018
B. Nagi Reddi - Released on 23 Feb 2018
Oliver Reginald Tambo - Released on 07 Jun 2018
Lions International Centenary - Released on 25 May 2018
Patna University - Released on 25 Aug 2018
Nelson Mandela - Released on 26 Jul 2018
Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha - Released on 17 Jun 2018
India-Armenia: Joint Issue - Released on 29 Aug 2018
I'm moving over to two new posts - a BetterPhilately wishlist and another one with India Post's pending stamp proposals. This was necessary because both the lists were getting quite long and it was difficult to maintain clear distinction between my suggestions and pending proposals. Clink on the links below to see the new posts:
BetterPhilately Wishlist
India Post Pending Stamp Proposals
Updates on 20 Sep 2018
Updates on 09 June 2018
Updates on 23 March 2018
Update (21 Jan 2018): This is a new post, but with majority of the old dates and such removed. I'm starting to track old approved issues and ideas for new stamp subjects here. I've added a new sub-section for issues that are unlikely in the near future, but may be revived at a later date. You can see the previous version by clicking here.
Text from the old blog post: There are numerous stamp issues that were put out by India Post for release in a particular year, but have not yet been released. Since the subjects were shared with the public, I am assuming these issues were approved for release. Many of these morphed into different stamp subjects. There could be various views about the list below, but one can be objective about it to help increase accountability and transparency in the process of selecting and issuing stamps.
I will try provide perspective to some of the stamp subjects hoping that these stamp releases languishing in Dak Bhawan (India Post HQ) will see the light of day. The stamp for Mumbai Stock Exchange was to commemorate 125 years of the stock exchange. Was this pulled out because it could be seen as an anti-poor move? Other issues for 2001 should be brought back, redesigned and released. Especially, the Jataka Tales and Hitopadesha stamps. The Panchatantra Stories stamps released in 2001 were quite popular and I remember hearing from our philatelic bureau those stamps being the highest seller for 2001. The Jataka Tales and Hitopadesha stamps can be released in two sets and complete a Folktales of India series (comprising of all these three folktales).
Joint issues were planned with Oman (2005) and Peru (2013), but were never released. I believe the issue with the Peru joint issue was that Peru released their stamp in March and India Post was not ready with its version. Although planned to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations, the joint issue with Oman was also not released as planned.
SAARC could have had two stamp issues - one for 20 years celebration in 2005 and the other one for South Asian Postal Union. SAARC has had a troubled history with little progress made on the ground. It would not be surprising if the Charter Day issue was abandoned due to political reasons. The SAPU stamp was overcast with the Wild Flowers of India issue during the APPU Congress in New Delhi (2013). In the past some SAARC stamps had good themes and designs - Year of Youth (1995), Year of Shelter (1991), 10 year celebrations (1996). Planning to release the pending issues will add to the new vigor with neighborly relations.
Pramathesh Barua was part of the Legendary Filmmakers series planned for release in 2006. Neither was this series started, not was a stamp released on Barua. Instead, stamps on most other filmmakers were released individually (A. V. Meiyappan, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan, Ritwik Ghatak, L. V. Prasad).
On the other hand, the Himalayan Lakes, Landmark Bridges and Horses of India series were put in place, but some of the originally included subjects were not released. It would be ideal if these series can be continued with newer additions along with the ones that were intended for release but not included in the first issuance. A similar issue existed with stamps issues under the Festivals of India and Textiles of India stamp series. Honest opinion for Textiles stamps - Tat and Chanderi textiles were dropped to include Kalamkari (Andhra; Panbaka Lakshmi was MoS Textiles in 2009) and Apa Tani textiles (Arunachal; attempt to include North-East India).
A large set of stamp subjects (Calendar Stamps) were publicized in 2009 in the short lived Phila Post magazine. None, make note, none of these stamps have been released so far. Like the India Post-PCI collaboration on the magazine, PAC's idea of Calendar Stamps did not take off. The stamp subjects were terrific and would have done yeomen service to spread Indian culture across the world, but sadly nothing was achieved.
This post is getting quite long. I will rest my case here. This list should be used for furthering discussions with India Post and Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad (MoCIT) about stamp issues and recommendations for future releases. These stamp subjects alone should provide enough material for the next few years, leading up to the 75th Year of India's Independence (Amrut Mahotsav in 2022).
Update (10 Sep 2016): A sub-section has been added toward the end of this post to list all the stamps that eventually get released from the proposals listed below. A few minor updates to some stamp subjects have been added as well. Appreciate the feedback and comments from all the readers. Keep'em coming.
Update (06 Aug 2016): Just re-organized this post while keeping all the information unchanged. Dates and colors indicated below will allow easy navigation. Black font was the original post and additions or updates are in different colors and each color represents a specific date. Post a comment if there's a question. Enjoy.
Stamp Issues Approved, but Not Released
2001
Set of 4 stamps on Greetings
Set of 4 stamps on Dances of India
Set of 4 stamps on Hitopadesha and Jataka Tales (Approved)
2005
India-Oman Joint Issue
SAARC Charter Day
2006
Himalayan Lakes – Loktak, Suraj Tal, Naini Tal
Landmark Bridges – Coronation Bridge, Kandrour Bridge, Laxman Jhula, Godavari Bridge
Pramathesh Barua
2007
Battaqh Ali Ansari
2008
Festivals of India – Kulu Dussehra
Infantry Soldier – Year of Infantry
Jammu & Kashmir Light Regiment
Maulana Atikur Rehman Alvi
Mahanamrata Brahmachari
Textiles of India – Tat, Chanderi, Ikat, Paithani, Maheshwari, Jamdani, Kota, Sambalpuri, Angami Weaves
2009
Architectural Splendor – Ujjayanta Palace, Patwon ki Haveli, Mattancherry Palace
Buddha Jayanti
Caves (Tracing Civilizations) – Bhimbetka, Barabar, Udaigiri, Nagarjuna
Children’s Fables – Vikram & Betal, Mogli, Tenali Rama, Birbal
Hill Stations (Colonial Heritage) – Gulmarg, Darjeeling, Ooty, Shimla
Endangered Species – Ganges River Dolphin, Nilgiri Tahr, Lion Tailed Macaque, Himalayan Musk Deer
Greetings – Christmas, New Year
Horses of India – Spiti and Kati
House Boats – Kerala, Kashmir
National Gallery of Modern Art
Seasons of India
Shakti Temples – Kalighat, Meenakshi, Vaishno Devi, Kamakhya (Approved)
Unique Villages of India – Toda, Kutch
UN Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities
2012
Asiatic Black Bear and other wild animals (Set of 4 stamps)
Boats of India (Set of 4 stamps)
Flowers of India (Set of 2 stamps)
Government College, Ajmer
Railway Bridges of India (Set of 4 stamps)
Traditional Embroideries of India - Chikankari, Kutchi, Kashmiri, Phulkari, Kantha
Tribal Dwellings (Set of 4 stamps)
2013
Dr. Nilratan Sircar
India-Peru Joint Issue
South Asian Postal Union
2014
Machali, The Tigress
The following subjects should be/are being considered for release in the next few years as well:
BetterPhilately Wish List
2016
Banda Singh BahadurBishop Cotton School, Bengaluru
Delhi High Court - Golden Jubilee
Gaurishankar Govardhan Joshi 'Dhumketu' (Approved)
2017
100 Years of Kheda Movement
100 Years of Sabarmati Ashram
200 Years of Paika Rebellion (Approved)
Air Force Marshal Arjan Singh
Amritlal Nagar
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
Bombay Scottish School, Mumbai
Dayalbagh
Gir Wildlife Sanctuary
Hindu School, Kolkata
India-UN Joint Issue: International Day of Yoga
Laxmanrao Inamdar
Presidency University, Kolkata
Queen Heo Hwang-ok (Korean queen from Ayodhya)
Swami Abhedananda
2018
50 Years of Commercial Nuclear Power - Tarapur
Bhagvadgita
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (Approved)
Bose Institute
Chandrakant Patel
ISRO - Golden Jubilee
Jyotirlinga Temples
Maharshi Mahesh Yogi
Maniram Dewan
Osmania University, Hyderabard (100 Years) - MyStamp
Rajkumar School, Rajkot
Ramamand Sagar
Ravenshaw University, Cuttack (150 Years) - MyStamp
Sikander Bakht
Srimant Sankardev
The Maihar Band (100 Years)
The Yoga Institute, Mumbai (100 Years)
Vinda Karandikar
2019
150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (Approved)
High Court of Punjab & Haryana Centenary
Sherwood College, Nainital
St. Aloysius Senior Secondary School, Jabalpur
Amrita Pritam
Maharani Gayatri Devi
Guru Nanak Dev - 550th Parkash Utsav
International Film Festival of India (Golden Jubilee)
2020
36th International Geological Congress
ASSOCHAM
Modern School, New Delhi
Pandurang Shastri Athavle
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
2021
75 Years of India's Independence
India-Bangladesh: Joint Issue (50 & 75 Years of Independence)
BetterPhilately Wish List (Personalities)
B. D. Jatti
Balasaheb Thackarey
Balasheb Deoras
Chinmayananda Saraswati
Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy
Eknath Ranade
Gopal Swarup Pathak
I. K. Gujral
J. Jayalalithaa
K. R. Narayanan
Khushabhau Thakre
Mohammad Hidayatullah
N. Sanjeeva Reddy
P. V. Narasimha Rao
Shivmangal Singh Suman
Siyaram Sharan Gupt
V. P. Singh
Dead Issues
Bhupesh Gupta
D. Devaraj Urs
Jyoti Basu
International Year of Pulses
FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017
St. Mary's School, Pune
St. Mary’s Convent Inter College, Allahabad
Auroville (Golden Jubilee) - Released on 25 Feb 2018
CISF - Central Industrial Security Force - Released on 08 Mar 2018
B. Nagi Reddi - Released on 23 Feb 2018
Oliver Reginald Tambo - Released on 07 Jun 2018
Lions International Centenary - Released on 25 May 2018
Patna University - Released on 25 Aug 2018
Nelson Mandela - Released on 26 Jul 2018
Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha - Released on 17 Jun 2018
India-Armenia: Joint Issue - Released on 29 Aug 2018
