Moving from Builders of Modern India to the Makers of India

The last definitive stamp series in India, the tenth, was the Builders of Modern India released in 2008-2009. It included 13 stamps in 12 denominations. Definitive stamps, unlike commemorative / special stamps are made available at post office for common use and are printed regularly.

Builders of Modern India
The Tenth Definitive Stamp Series

Print runs for definitive stamps are not fixed whereas commemorative stamps, as the name suggests are issued to commemorate special events, institutions or personalities of national and international importance, art and culture as well as social themes and are printed in fixed quantities.

The Builders of Modern India stamp series depicts five political leaders, two physicists, two cultural icons, one social reformer, one social religious leader and one industrialist. As a broad stroke and on surface it appears to be a decent selection for a recently independent country. But given the diversity of India, the list may not have been completely representative of the Indian society. 

Glaring omissions include political leaders with alternative view points (for e.g. Jayaprakash Narayan or Syama Prasad Mookerjee), a representative of North-East India, a sports personality (maybe Dhyan Chand) and a famous writer or poet. One should have to look no farther than Bharat Ratna awardees to make this a complete set.

Below is a tabulated version of the tenth definitive stamp series that provides a background for each personality honored on these stamps. It is ironical that three of the political leaders (highlighted in blue) belong to the same family, the Nehru-Gandhi family. These three stamps were released first, and together, even before Mahatma Gandhi's stamp that was released three months later.

Change of political leadership in India has allowed a review of this stamp series. The first change was to stop printing of the Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi stamps in July-August 2015. This resulted in some agitation in the opposition political parties, but facts appear to support a case for increasing representation of other leaders as well. The new political dispensation has decided to initiate a new definitive stamp series, Makers of India and its first stamp honoring Deendayal Upadhyaya (Rs 5) was released in November 2015. More on the new stamp series in a later blog post.

Builders of Modern India

Date	Issue Description	Contribution to Modern India	Denomination
01 December 2008	Jawaharlal Nehru	First Prime Minister	25 Paise
11 May 2009	E. V. Ramasami	Self Respect Movement Social Reformer	50 Paise
01 March 2009	Mahatma Gandhi	Indian Independence	Re 1
01 March 2009	Dr. B. R. Ambedkar	Indian Constitution Modern Buddhist Movement	Rs 2
01 March 2009	Satyajit Ray	Filmmaking	Rs 3
01 March 2009	Homi Jahangir Bhabha	Nuclear Physics Tata Institute of Fundamental Research	Rs 4
01 December 2008	Indira Gandhi	Third Prime Minister First Female Prime Minister	Rs 5
01 December 2008	Rajiv Gandhi	Sixth Prime Minister Youngest Prime Minister	Rs 5
11 May 2009	C. V. Raman	Physics Raman Scattering Raman Effect	Rs 10
01 March 2009	J. R. D. Tata	Industrialization & Philanthropy Tata Group	Rs 15
01 March 2009	Mother Teresa	Catholic Religious Sister Missionaries of Charity	Rs 20
11 May 2009	Rukmini Devi Arundale	Classical Dance Kalakshetra (Chennai)	Rs 50
Special Definitive
02 October 2009	Mahatma Gandhi & Nonviolence	Indian Independence Use of Nonviolence	Rs 25

                         Colors denote the release date.

India-Singapore Joint Issue: Two minds?

The India-Singapore Joint stamp issue was released on 24 November 2015 by the Prime Ministers of both countries after their bilateral talks. This year marks 50 years of diplomatic relationship between Singapore and India and the stamps were released to commemorate the occasion. A fitting tribute to a well established friendship. It is appreciable that the stamps have now been put on sale in both countries, but here are a few things to note:

The theme of the stamps was residence of the Presidents of both countries, i.e. Rashtrapati Bhavan (India) and Istana (Singapore), a bit mundane. There are quite a few similarities between the two cultures, especially given the Tamil-speaking population in Singapore. One could easily think of common food, festivals or even well known personalities as some other alternatives for the commemoration. Given that the Indian Rashtrapati Bhavan was only recently seen on a set of four postage stamps in 2011, a different theme would have added variety to the stamp program. Anyway, these new stamps appeared decently designed, using photographs of both the buildings.

India-Singapore Joint Stamp Issue: Change of mind? The Indian stamp was originally planned for Rs 5, later being changed to Rs 25 denomination.

The denomination of these stamps appear to be inconsistent between the two countries, but there is no official information available so this is just to state the facts. Singapore designated their local monument, Istana with the 1st local denomination and the Indian building with the higher, S$2 value. India, on the other hand did the exact opposite, giving higher denomination to its own local building. One could argue that the lower Rs 5 denominated Istana stamp in India could gain wider popularity and spread awareness about the presidential palace, and Singapore in general. India Post, it appears originally thought of keeping the Rashtrapati Bhavan stamp with lower denomination, but later changed it to the higher, Rs 25 value.

Another difference in the 'joint' issue is that although Singapore Post released a mixed commemorative sheet, making a Siamese Twin Issue, India Post does not seem to have done the same. A mixed FDC or a mixed souvenir sheet adds to the joint nature of these commemorations.

One the design front: Elements used for the Singapore commemorative sheet, first day cover and the presentation pack have no correlation with the theme of the stamps. Some previous issues like the Singapore-Thailand, Singapore-Vietnam or Singapore-Australia-New Zealand joint stamps had meaningful selvages. The stamp designers, Alka Sharma (India) and Wong Wui Kong (Singapore) were recognized by their respective postal administrations, but this being a joint issue, both artists deserve credit from both countries.

Another underlying fact with this stamp issue was the release date itself. A joint stamp release was planned since August 2014, and was most likely to occur earlier in 2015 during Presidential bilateral visits, but may not have been in ready in time for the Singapore President's visit to India in February 2015 and the Indian President's visit to Singapore is yet to occur (now planned in early 2016)! Singapore Postal Museum had even published a tentative release date for July 2015, but then moved it to the last quarter. The stamps were finally released when the Prime Ministers, not the Presidents (inhabitants of the Rashtrapati Bhavan & Istana) of India and Singapore met in November 2015. One could say, a near miss!

Paid News? An Analysis on Indian Media from 2005 to 2013

Although, no political allegiances are declared and no biases for political ideologies made known to the customers, Indian news media, both print and television are considered 'independent'. Readers most likely discover the owners' political leanings through the course of their lifetimes and have no control over the outcomes. Such is also the case with postage stamp releases by India Post in the last decade or so. Among the 20 most read newspapers in India, about half of them have had stamps released for their 'achievements' in journalism. This in itself appears to be quite a feat! Shown below are 16 postage stamps that have direct association with Indian newspapers and were released between 2005 and 2013.

Two of these newspapers, The Times of India and Malayala Manorama have also managed to get multiple stamps released for their organizations. A 'golden' stamp was released in 1988 to commemorate 150 years of The Times of India. It seemed appropriate to celebrate this milestone for a widely read newspaper, but to commemorate the same newspaper 25 years later - especially when it's publishing standards have arguably been deteriorating (some even calling it journalism that sells) - is questionable. Malayala Manorama has been the most fortunate of the lot. In the last 25 years, this newspaper has been obliged with three Indian postage stamps. The first instance appeared well deserved, when the newspaper achieved its centenary in 1988. There were two other instances when K. M. Mathew, Manorama's Editor-in-Chief was honored in 2011 and its 125 years celebration in 2013. Even if one were to consider K. M. Mathew for this honor, it would have been best to commemorate his birth centenary in 2017. 

These recent stamp issues glaringly flout the stamp issuance guidelines and appear to be a result of haphazard decision-making that provides discretionary powers to the government minister and officials. Stamp collectors and the common man deserve to know more about the process and final selections with regard to the stamp issue programs. Increased transparency, reliable research for subject development and a stamp advisory committee with more powers will go a long way to prevent this from recurrence. 

Postage stamps issues for magazines, newspapers and personalities associated with news media. The legend below tabulates the stamp issues and their associations with various newspapers.

#	Issue Description	Associated Newspaper, Etc.	Year
1	Puran Chandra Gupta	Dainik Jagaran	2013
2	Dr. Krishna Kumar Birla	Hindustan Times	2009
3	Jawaharlal Darda	Lokmat	2005
4	T. V. Ramasubbaiyer	Dinamalar	2008
5	Durga Prasad Chaudhary	Dainik Navjyoti	2012
6	Lala Jagat Narain	Punjab Kesari	2013
7	G. G. Jadhav	Pudhari	2009
8	Karpoor Chandra Kulish	Rajasthan Patrika	2012
9	Ramgopal Maheshwari	Central Chronicle-Nav Bharat	2012
10	The Tribune	The Tribune	2006
11	Doot	Gujarati Catholic Monthly	2011
12	Chitralekha / Vaju Kotak	Gujarati Weekly	2011
13	K. M. Mathew	Malayala Manorama	2011
14	Malayala Manorama	Malayala Manorama	2013
15	The Times of India	The Times of India	2013
16	Dineshnandini Dalmia*	The Times of India	2009

*Hindi author, but also married to Ram Krishna Dalmia, founder of the The Times Group that 

owns the The Times of India

#

Issue Description

Associated Newspaper, Etc.

Year

1

Puran Chandra Gupta

Dainik Jagaran

2013

2

Dr. Krishna Kumar Birla

Hindustan Times

2009

3

Jawaharlal Darda

Lokmat

2005

4

T. V. Ramasubbaiyer

Dinamalar

2008

5

Durga Prasad Chaudhary

Dainik Navjyoti

2012

6

Lala Jagat Narain

Punjab Kesari

2013

7

G. G. Jadhav

Pudhari

2009

8

Karpoor Chandra Kulish

Rajasthan Patrika

2012

9

Ramgopal Maheshwari

Central Chronicle-Nav Bharat

2012

10

The Tribune

The Tribune

2006

11

Doot

Gujarati Catholic Monthly

2011

12

Chitralekha / Vaju Kotak

Gujarati Weekly

2011

13

K. M. Mathew

Malayala Manorama

2011

14

Malayala Manorama

Malayala Manorama

2013

15

The Times of India

The Times of India

2013

16

Dineshnandini Dalmia*

The Times of India

2009

The Times of India postage stamps. Sesquicentennial celebrations in 1988 (left) and 175 years celebrations in 2013 (right)

More fortunate, Malyala Manorama. Three stamps commemorating the newspaper and its journalism. Centenary year stamp (1988; left), K. M. Mathew, Editor-in-Chief (2011; middle) and 125 years celebrations in 2013 (right).

Lame Designing - Is it really 2015, India Post?

Note for Clarification: There are ample good ideas such as crowdsourcing and stamp designs that are often used by India Post. Gandhi Return from South Africa (2015), Swachh Bharat (2015), India-France Joint issue (2015), Charkha (2015), Indian Musicians (2014), Border Security Force (2015) etc. are some recent examples of decent quality work.

But, being a stickler for good design, at least five stamp issues in the last couple years (2014 and 2015) stand out for poor execution. Stamp designs, either appropriating logos or using poor imagery reduces the overall quality of a stamp program. Logos for meetings, celebrations or any other events are typically designed to be used for publicity and to provide an identity, a connect with its audience. Rarely should postage stamps be utilizing such logos as the design backbone. Enough other related research material is generally available for design considerations. Three of these lazily executed stamp projects are shown below by comparing the stamp design and source material. Although the Yoga Day stamp depicts the official logo, the miniature sheet was well designed with elements of nature along with yoga postures.

Three Logos and their replica on postage stamps:
World Hindi Conference (2015), International Day of Yoga (2015) and Nabakalebara (2015)

One would think that famous Hindi writers like Phanishwar Nath Renu, Nirmal Verma, Rajendra Mathur, Makhanlal Chaturvedi, etc. could have been released to commemorate the World Hindi Conference. Similarly, the Yoga posture series from 1991 could have been continued with stamps on additional yoga postures being released. Nabakalebara 2015 should also have been commemorated with stamps depicting some aspects of the traditions involved in idol making.

Stamp design for a couple other issues, viz. Kuka Movement and Old Seminary Kottayam showed a clear apathy toward philately and research in general. Kuka Movement coins were released in 2012 to commemorate 150 years of the struggle. The coin design was similar to the stamp as well, but appeared to be better than the coin. Stamps generally have more space and better technology for printing rendering it a better medium of expression. The Kuka Movement stamps thus appear to lack innovation and planning during the design phase. One could easily envision including Satguru Ram Singh Ji's image as the main theme for this stamp. 

Kuka Movement stamp (2014; above) and commemorative coin (2012)

The last stamp issue for discussion is the Old Seminary, Kottayam stamp released in April 2015. The seminary turned 200 years, but the stamp to commemorate the bicentenary shows a recent addition to the institution, its main entrance! Red arrows on the image below show the cut-paste job done to create the stamp design. An image from the internet exactly matches the one on the stamp with a superimposed blue sky. There are many more images on the seminary's website that could have commemorated 200 years of this institution better than the main entrance alone.

Pazhaya (Old) Seminary images from Malankara Orthodox Church TV website  (above top left and right). Top right image was most likely used on the stamps. 

List of Stamp Designers

Design Flaw - 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit 2015

A  set of six stamps were released at the concluding session of the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit held from 26 to 29th October 2015, in New Delhi. These stamps were also released in a miniature sheet format (regular miniature sheet and embossed hot foil miniature sheet). The theme - easily predictable - for the stamps was animals in India and Africa, specifically, lions, rhinos and gazelles. Full marks for the idea and the paintings as well (designed by Suresh Kumar Achari). There are a few minor issues that show a sense of urgency in designing as well as printing from SPP Hyderabad.

The first design flaw (blue arrows in the image below) appears to be the location of the stamp title, '3rd India-Africa Forum Summit' in the two gazelle stamps. The other four stamps have the title well aligned to the top of the stamps. On the same two stamps, names of the gazelles (yellow boxes), Black Buck and Thomson's Gazelle are capitalized oddly. First letters of both words, for e.g. Indian Lion and African Lion appears to be a common approach on stamps, but the second words on Black Buck and Thomson's Gazelle are not capitalized (it reads Black buck and Thomson's gazelle). The last issue is most likely due to space constraints and a personal preference (red boxes). The two Lion stamps have the country name, stamp title and the denomination, all appear on the same top alignment making the stamps overcrowded.

Suggestions to mitigate such issues:
1. Proof reading the final designs will ensure spelling errors or capitalization mistakes don't occur (read another blog post about needing a research group in the Philately Division). Re-checking the final designs will also ensure simple design errors are caught and this exercise would be aimed at ensuring consistency and a well made final product for stamp collectors.

2. A radical approach to this particular stamp issue could have been to restrict the scope of work itself. Similar to the 2011 Africa-India Forum Summit stamps, where Indian and Africa elephants were depicted in a well designed miniature sheet (designed by Kamleshwar Singh), either rhinoceros or lions could have been chosen as the theme. A limited number of stamps could have ensured maximum sale (lower costs for the philatelists) and saved a couple ideas for future commemorations (potentially even joint issues with African nations). Below is shown a cropped image of the 2015 miniature sheet with rhinos only and the 2011 stamps.

Happy Dipavali or Deepavali?

Festivities for Diwali are winding down and this appeared to be a good time to draw attention to this glaring spelling error (Hindi spelling) in the Diwali stamp released by India Post in October 2008. This stamp spells Deepavali in English correctly, but when the Hindi script is transliterated to English, it reads Dipavali. The word Deepavali includes 'Deep' or lamp. It cannot be spelled as 'Dipavali' because 'Dip' has no meaning in Hindi. Another Deepavali stamp, a joint issue with Israel, celebrating the festival of lights was released in 2012. For good reason, the Hindi spelling was corrected this time around. Spelling Deepavali in Hindi is generally taught in elementary school, so it isn't a difficult error to miss.

दिपावली (Reads Dipavali) - Incorrect                                                                                     

दीपावली (Reads Deepavali) - Correct   

Anyways, Happy Diwali!