Forest Centenary 21.11.1961

This First Day Cover was issued on 21.11.1961 to commemorate the Forest Centenary.
Forestry in India is a significant rural industry and a major environmental resource. India is ne of the ten most forest-rich countries of the world along with the Russian Federation, razil, Canada, United States of America, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Australia, Indonesia and Sudan. Together, India and these countries account for 67 percent of total forest area of the world. India's forest cover grew at 0.22% annually over 1990-2000, and has grown at the rate of 0.46% per year over 2000-2010, after decades where forest degradation was a matter of serious concern.
As of 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates India's forest cover to be about 68 million hectares, or 24% of the country's area. The 2013 Forest Survey of India states its forest cover increased to 69.8 million hectares by 2012, per satellite measurements; this represents an increase of 5,871 square kilometers of forest cover in 2 years. However, the gains were primarily in northern, central and southern Indian states, while north-eastern states witnessed a net loss in forest cover over 2010 to 2012.
In 2002, forestry industry contributed 1.7% to India's GDP. In 2010, the contribution to GDP dropped to 0.9%, largely because of rapid growth of the economy in other sectors and the government's decision to reform and reduce import tariffs to let imports satisfy the growing Indian demand for wood products. India produces a range of processed forest (wood and non-wood) products ranging from wood panel products and wood pulp to make bronze, rattazikistan ware and pern resin. India's paper industry produces over 3,000 metric tonnes annually from more than 400 mills. The furniture and craft industry is another consumer of wood. India's wood-based processing industries consumed about 30 million cubic metres of industrial wood in 2002. India annually consumes an additional 270 million tonnes of fuelwood, 280 million tonnes of fodder, and about 12 million cubic meter of forest products - valued at about 27500 crore (US$4.5 billion) a year.
India is the world's largest consumer of fuel-wood. India's consumption of fuel-wood is about five times higher than what can be sustainably removed from forests. However, a large percentage of this fuel-wood is grown as biomass remaining from agriculture, and is managed outside forests. Fuel-wood meets about 40% of the energy needs of the country. Around 80% of rural people and 48% of urban people use fuel-wood. Unless India makes major, rapid and sustained effort to expand electricity generation and power plants, the rural and urban poor in India will continue to meet their energy needs through unsustainable destruction of forests and fuel wood consumption. India's dependence on fuel-wood and forestry products as a primary energy source is not only environmentally unsustainable, it is a primary cause of India's near-permanent haze and air pollution.
Forestry in India is more than just about wood and fuel. India has a thriving non-wood forest products industry, which produces latex, gums, resins, essential oils, flavours, fragrances and aroma chemicals, incense sticks, handicrafts, thatching materials and medicinal plants. About 60% of non-wood forest products production is consumed locally. About 50% of the total revenue from the forestry industry in India is in non-wood forest products category. In 2002, non-wood forest products were a source of significant supplemental income to over 400 million people in India, mostly rural.

Indian Industries Fair 14.11.1961

The first Indian Industries Fair was organised at New Delhi and opened on the 14th November 1961.

The stamp released that day shows the artistically designed Main Gate and also the emblem of the Exhibition cum Fair. The emblem can also be seen in greater detail on the first day cover.

Children's Day 14.11.1961

The 1961 Children's Day stamp and FDC emphasised the need for channelling the enery of young people into some form of activity, that would be creative and benefit boys and girls and also the society of which they are apart.

The stamp depicts a boy working on a lathe machine, and the cover shows a girl weaving a basket.

Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande - Birth Centenary 1.9.1961

Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (August 10, 1860 – September 19, 1936) was an Indian musicologist who wrote the first modern treatise on Hindustani Classical Music (The north Indian variety of Indian classical music), an art which had been propagated earlier for a few centuries mostly through oral traditions. During those earlier times, the art had undergone several changes, rendering the raga grammar documented in scant old texts outdated.

Ragas used to be classified into Raga (male), Ragini (female), and Putra (children). Bhatkhande reclassified them into the currently used Thaat system. He noted that several ragas did not conform to their description in ancient Sanskrit texts. He explained the ragas in an easy-to-understand language and composed several bandishes which explained the grammar of the ragas. He borrowed the idea of lakshan geet from the Carnatic music scholar Venkatamakhin.

Bhatkhande wrote all of his works under one of the two pseudonyms - Vishnu Sharma and Chaturpandit.

Bhatkhande started schools and colleges in India for systematic teaching of Hindustani music. In 1916, he reorganized the Baroda state music school, and later, with the help of theMaharaja of Gwalior, established the Madhav Music College in Gwalior.

Bhatkhande prepared the Hindustani Sangeet Karmik Pustak Malika as a series of textbooks. He also started the tradition of the All India Music Conferences to provide a common platform for discussion between Hindustani and Carnatic classical musicians.

Prafulla Chandra Ray - Birth Centenary 1961

Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray (2 August 1861 – 16 June 1944) was a Bengali chemist, educator and entrepreneur.

The Royal Society of Chemistry honoured his life and work with the first ever Chemical Landmark Plaque outside Europe. He was the founder of Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, India's first pharmaceutical company. He is the author of A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of Sixteenth Century (1902).

All India Radio - Silver Jubilee 8.6.1961

All India Radio, formed in 1936, celebrated its Silver Jubilee (25 years) on 8.6.1961, and had a post card and a stamp and a first day cover issued on that occasion.

As India’s National Broadcaster and also the premier Public Service Broadcaster, All India Radio (AIR) has been serving to inform, educate and entertain the masses since it's inception, truly living up to its motto – ‘Bahujan Hitaya : Bahujan Sukhaya’. 

One of the largest broadcasting organisations in the world in terms of the number of languages of broadcast, the spectrum of socio-economic and cultural diversity it serves, AIR’s home service comprises 413 stations today located across the country, reaching nearly 92% of the country’s area and 99.19 % of the total population. AIR originates programming in 23 languages and 146 dialects.

Rabindranath Tagore - Birth Centenary 1961

Rabindranath Tagore also written Rabīndranātha Thākura (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941), sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. In translation his poetry was viewed as spiritual and mercurial; however, his "elegant prose and magical poetry" remain largely unknown outside Bengal. Tagore introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit. He was highly influential in introducing the best of Indian culture to the West and vice versa, and he is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of the modern Indian subcontinent, being highly commemorated in India and Bangladesh, as well as in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan.

This 15nP commemorative stamp was issued on the Birth Centenary of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore on 7.5.1961.

Motilal Nehru - Birth Centenary 1961

This first day cover was issued on the Birth Centenary of Motilal Nehru, father of Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India.

Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was an Indian lawyer, an activist of the Indian National Movement and an important leader of the Indian National Congress, who also served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929. He was the founder patriarch of India's most powerful political family, the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Shivaji Jayanti 17.4.1961

The P&T Dept paid tribute to the memory of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a Great Son of India, on his Anniversary, by issuing this commemorative stamp, first day cover and this impressive brochure on 17.4.1961.

Shivaji Bhonsle (19 February 1627 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian warrior king and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji, in 1674, carved out an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of an independent Maratha Empire with Raigad as its capital.

Shivaji established a competent and progressive civil rule with the help of a disciplined military and well-structured administrative organisations. He innovated military tactics, pioneering the guerrilla warfare methods (Shiva sutra or ganimi kava), which leveraged strategic factors like geography, speed, and surprise and focused pinpoint attacks to defeat his larger and more powerful enemies. From a small contingent of 2,000 soldiers inherited from his father, Shivaji created a force of 100,000 soldiers; he built and restored strategically located forts both inland and coastal to safeguard his territory. He revived ancient Hindu political traditions and court conventions and promoted the usage of Marathi and Sanskrit, rather than Persian, in court and administration.

Shivaji's legacy was to vary by observer and time but began to take on increased importance with the emergence of the Indian independence movement, as many elevated him as a proto-nationalist and hero of the Hindus. Particularly in Maharashtra, debates over his history and role have engendered great passion and sometimes even violence as disparate groups have sought to characterise him and his legacy.

Today, Shivaji is considered as a national hero in India, especially in the state of Maharashtra, where he remains arguably the greatest figure in the state's history. Stories of his life form an integral part of the upbringing and identity of the Marathi people. Further, he is also recognised as a warrior legend, who sowed the seeds of Indian independence.

Nineteenth century Hindu revivalist Swami Vivekananda  considered Shivaji a hero and paid glowing tributes to his wisdom. When Indian Nationalist leader, Lokmanya Tilak  organised a festival to mark the birthday celebrations of Shivaji, Vivekananda agreed to preside over the festival in Bengal in 1901. 

Golden Jubilee of the First Aerial Post 18.2.1961

The introduction of the airplane in 1903 generated immediate interest in using them for mail transport. An unofficial airmail flight was conducted by Fred Wiseman, who carried three letters between Petaluma and Santa Rosa, California, on February 17, 1911.

However, the credit for The world's first official airmail flight goes to India as the first mail flight came the next day, at a large exhibition in United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. The organizer of the aviation display, Sir Walter George Windham, was able to secure permission from the Postmaster General of India to operate an airmail service in order to generate publicity for the exhibition and to raise money for charity. Mail from people across the region was gathered in at the local church and the first airmail flight was piloted by Henri Pequet a Frenchman, who flew 6,500 letters a distance of 13 km (8.1 mi) from Allahabad to Naini  - the nearest station on the Bombay – Calcutta line,  to the exhibition. The letters bore a special postmark "First Aerial Post, U.P. Exhibition, Allahabad. 1911".  The pilot took off and crossed over to the left bank of the Yamuna River and dropped the bag of letters at Naini Railway Station. This marked the very first instance in the world when mail was carried by air. The aircraft used was a Humber-Sommer biplane, and it made the journey in thirteen minutes.

To commemorate the Golden Jubilee of this Historic First Mail Flight in the World by air, a set of three postage and a lovely First Day Cover were issued by the Indian Posts and Telegraphs on 18^th February 1961. The 5nP stamp featured the special 1911 postmark with the Humber-Sommer biplane. The 15nP stamp had the modern Boeing 707 and the Humber on it. And finally the 1 Rupee stamp featured both the Humber and the special 1911 postmark. The FDC displayed has a picture of M Henri Pequet sitting in his biplane. I was very lucky to get this FDC ftom my friend Sunil Yadav (a former schoolmate of mine) from Allahabad.

Tyagaraja Aradhana Day 6.1.1961

Tyagaraja Aradhana is an annual Carnatic music festival held in January and February. Many exponents of Carnatic music come to perform and are watched by thousands of ardent fans of Indian classical music. It is associated with the world famous singer and saint Tyagaraja and is one of the most important music festivals in India.

Kakarla Tyagabrahmam (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), colloquially known as Tyāgarāju or Tyāgayya in Telugu, Tyāgarājar in Tamil, was one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music or Indian classical music. He was a prolific composer and highly influential in the development of the classical music tradition. Tyagaraja composed thousands of devotional compositions, most in praise of Lord Rama, many of which remain popular today. Of special mention are five of his compositions called the Pancharatna Kirtis (English: "five gems"), which are often sung in programs in his honour.

Tyagaraja has acknowledged the great "Purandaradasa " as his guru in his magnum opus "Prahlada Charita " .Purandara dasa served as an inspiration to him.

UNICEF Day 11.12.1960

This FDC was issued on 11.1.1960 to commemorate UNICEF Day.

The stamp depicts children welcoming the UNICEF emblem.

Children's Day 1960.

This FDC was issued to celebrate Children's Day in 1960. The stamp shows children playing carrom and the next pic depicts children studying Geography on a globe.

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya KCIE (popularly known as Sir MV; 15 September 1860 – 14 April 1962) was a notable Indian engineer, scholar, statesman and the Diwan of Mysore during 1912 to 1918. He was a recipient of the Indian Republic's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good. Every year, 15 September is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India in his memory. He is held in high regard as a pre-eminent engineer of India. He was the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad in Telangana, as well as the chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mandya.

This stamp and cover marked the Century of his Birth Anniversary.

Subramania Bharathi 11.9.1960

 Chinnaswami Subramania Bharathi (11 December 1882 – 11 September 1921) was an Indian writer, poet, journalist, Indian independence activist and social reformer from Tamil Nadu, India. Popularly known as "Mahakavi Bharathiyar", he is a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry and is considered one among the greatest of Tamil literary figures of all time. His numerous works were fiery songs kindling patriotism and nationalism during Indian Independence movement.

Bharathi's works were on varied themes covering religious, political and social aspects. Songs penned by Bharathi are widely used in Tamil films and Carnatic Music concerts.

This 15nP stamp was issued to commemorate the Death Anniversary of  Subramania Bharathi.

Kalidasa Commemoration 22.6.1960

Kālidāsa ("servant of Kali") was a Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. His floruit cannot be dated with precision, but most likely falls within the 5th century AD.

His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Hindu Puranas and Hindu philosophy.

Thiruvalluvar - Death Anniversary 15.2.1960

Thiruvalluvar is a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher whose contribution to Tamil literature is the Thirukkural, a work on ethics. He was born in either Chennai or Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. Both Buddhists and Shaivites, also claim him as their own, and he is especially revered by those of low caste.  Thiruvalluvar is thought to have lived sometime between the 1st century BC and the 8th century AD. This estimate is based on linguistic analysis of his writings, as there is no archaeological evidence for when he lived. He is sometimes also called Theiva Pulavar ("Divine Poet"),Valluvar, Poyyamozhi Pulavar, Senna Pothar,Gnana Vettiyan or Ayyan.
A temple-like memorial to Thiruvalluvar, Valluvar Kottam, was built in Chennai in 1976. This monument complex consists of structures usually found in Dravidian temples, including a temple car carved from three blocks of granite, and a shallow, rectangular pond. The auditorium adjoining the memorial is one of the largest in Asia and can seat up to 4000 people.
There is a 133-foot tall statue of Thiruvalluvar erected at Kanyakumari at the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent, where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean converge. The 133 feet denote Tirukkuṛaḷ's 133 Chapters or athikarams and the show of three fingers denote the three themes Aram, Porul, and Inbam, i.e. the sections on Morals, Wealth and Love. The statue was designed by V. Ganapati Sthapati, a temple architect from Tamil Nadu. His statue was unveiled in Ulsoor, near Bengaluru, on 9 August 2009 also, making it the first of its kind for a poet of a local language to be installed in its near states other than his own home land at India. There is also a statue of Thiruvalluvar outside the School of Oriental and African Studies in Russell Square, London.
The government of Tamil Nadu celebrates the 15th (16th On Leap Years) of January as Thiruvalluvar Day as part of the Pongal celebrations in his honour.

First World Agriculture Fair in New Delhi 30.12.1959

The First World Agricultural Fair was held in New Delhi in 1959. The Fair was opened by the President of India Mr. Rajendra Prasad. The Chief Guest was Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States. He declared open the US Pavilion, which was generally acclaimed as the Best Pavilion on show.
Instead of My talking about the Fair, I’d rather cite from the prepared pamphlet being distributed during the  Opening of the Fair. These are excerpts of General Eisenhower’s Opening remarks.
“I am signally honored by the invitation to join President Prasad at the opening of the World Agriculture Fair--the first such fair as this ever held. And it is entirely right that it be held here in India. For this nation recognizes in agriculture the fundamental occupation of man and the chief assurance of better living for its citizens.
My own country was quick to accept when invited to participate in this historic event. And today I am particularly honored that India's Chief of State will be with me when, in a few minutes, I officially open the United States exhibit at the Fair. Indeed, the occasion of this Fair gave me the very finest reason I could think of to make this the time of the visit to India that I had long determined upon.
At this American exhibit, all visitors can see how we Americans have managed the soil of our land so that our people might live well for themselves; and have enough food left over to help others. Our way is not necessarily the best, even for us, but here we depict in the American exhibit, American agriculture as it is. We do have a natural pride in what we have accomplished by a creative union of human spirit, fertile earth, and inventive science. But, beyond this, we see in modern agriculture a most effective instrument for a better life among all men.  
For a moment, I hope you will indulge me as I suggest some thoughts on how food can help all of us achieve better lives in a world of justice and peace.
Today, we have the scientific capacity to abolish from the world at least this one evil, we can eliminate the hunger that emaciates the bodies of children; that scars the souls of their parents; that stirs the passions of those who toil endlessly and earn only scraps.
Men, right now, possess the knowledge and the resources for a successful worldwide war against hunger--the sort of war that dignifies and exalts human beings. The different exhibits in this whole Fair are clear proof of that statement.
The call to that genuinely noble war is enunciated in the theme of the American exhibit:
"Food--Family--Friendship--Freedom."
Into these four words are compressed the daily needs, the high purposes, the deep feelings, the ageless aspirations that unite Indians and Americans under one banner--the banner of human dignity.
Here are four words that are mightier than arms and bombs; mightier than machines and money; mightier than any empire that ruled the past or threatens the future.
Here are four words that can lift the souls of men to a high plane of mutual effort, sustained effort,  the most rewarding effort that can be proposed to mankind.
First, Food-food that our bodies may be fit for every task and duty and service; our minds free from the fear of hunger; our eyes undimmed by the tragedies of famine, searching out new horizons; our aspirations not frustrated by failure of crop or catastrophe of weather.
Family--family that in our homes there may be decent living and bright hope; children no longer doomed to misery in peace and sudden death in war; their elders no longer broken by want and sorrow beyond their control to mend or cure.
Friendship--that among all the peoples of earth the darkness of ignorance and fear and distrust will dissolve in the light of knowledge and understanding. The time has come when we must all live together for our mutual betterment or we shall all suffer harsh, possibly the final, penalty.
Freedom--that on all continents and islands of the earth every man and woman of good will and good life may make the proudest of human boasts: "I am free; slave to no tyranny imposed by other men, by the accident of birth, by the whims of circumstance."

Children's Day 1959

Childhood is about innocence and playfulness. It is about joy and freedom. Maybe on this day you can make your own child sign up to sponsor the education of an unprivileged child, either through an NGO dedicated to educating and providing better living conditions for street children, or maybe you could do so for your employee’s child.

Celebrating Children’s Day is about giving children the right to enjoy and grow into healthy and educated citizens of the country, and if you can teach your child the value of sharing with others what they are lucky to have, then not only your child will grow into a responsible human being, but also another child who otherwise could have ended up being a delinquent, had it not been for your thoughtfulness.

In India, Children's Day is celebrated on 14 November, the birthday of the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru, who was fondly called Chacha Nehru (Uncle Nehru) by kids, and emphasized the importance of giving love and affection to children, whom he saw as the bright future of India.

International Labour Organisation (ILO) - 40th Anniversary 15.6.1959

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) was founded in 1919, in the wake of a destructive war, to pursue a vision based on the premise that universal, lasting peace can be established only if it is based on social justice. The ILO became the first specialized agency of the UN in 1946.

This stamp on the FDC was issued to commemorate the 40^th Anniversary of the ILO. The stamp depicts a sculpture entitled “Triumph of Labour”.

The Triumph of Labour, also known as the Labour statue, is a statue at the Marina Beach, Chennai, India. Erected at the northern end of the beach at the Anna Square opposite University of Madras, it is an important landmark of Chennai. The statue shows four men toiling to move a rock, depicting the hard work of the labouring class. It bears a semblance to the famed World War II photograph of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima by the American Marines. It was sculpted by Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhry. The statue is the earliest one to be erected on the beach and is installed close to the site where the country's first commemoration of May Day was held. The statue was installed on the eve of the Republic Day in 1959, as part of the Kamaraj government's drive to beautify the beach. The statue remains the focal point of May Day celebrations in the city.

On a summer evening in May 1923, M. Singaravelar, a labour union leader, conducted a meeting at the Marina Beach near Triplicane, calling for recognition of workers' rights, and pledged to create a political party to represent the rights of labourers, which was India's first ever May Day rally. To commemorate this, the Labour statue, depicting an inspiring posture of a team of labourers engrossed at arduous work, was sculpted by Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhry, who was the first Indian principal of the then Government of Madras School of Arts and Crafts (what is today the Tamil Nadu Government College of Fine Arts) and was erected on 25 January 1959, unveiled by the then Governor of Madras, Bishnuram Medhi.

A.P. Srinivasan, a night watchman at the School of Arts and Crafts, was the model for second and fourth men from the left while Ramu, a student modeled for the other two men.

Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy - Death Anniversary 15.4.1959

Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet (15 July 1783 – 14 April 1859), also spelt Jeejeebhoy or Jeejebhoy, was a Parsi-Indian merchant and philanthropist.
Side by side with his business activities, Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy undertook several charitable projects, all of a cosmopolitan nature. He spent Rs. 1,45,403 to set up the Sir J. J. Dharamshala at Bellasis Road , and till today immumerable old and destitute people receive free food, clothing, shelter and medicines. All their needs for the past 150 years, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, have been looked after by the Dharamshala, the first free home for the elderly in Asia .
Jamsetjee later founded the J. J. Hospital and the Grant Medical College (named after his friend Sir Robert Grant, then Governor of Bombay). He also insituted, for a sum of Rs. 18,000, the Sir J.J. Books, Prizes and Medals Fund in order to encourage medical students, and in 1851, for the benefit of poor women, he opened the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy Obstretics Institution.
Before 1845, there was no land communication between Bandra and Mahim and people had to be ferried over the Mahim Creek. It was dangerous, and during the monsoons,  countless people would lose their lives on dubious and unrealiable ferry services. Jamsetjee spent Rs. 1,55,800 in order to build the Mahim Causeway, that was justly named after his wife, Lady Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy. Not only did it save countless lives, but even today, it is a boon to all who live in the suburbs.
Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy had to his credit 126 notable public charities, including the Sir J. J. School of Arts, the Sir J. J. School of Architecture, the Sir J. J. School of Commercial Art. As his fame spread, the residents of Poona approached him to build a bund in order to contain the raging waters of the Mulla and Mutha rivers, and the kind man obliged.
He built wells and tanks all over Bombay , hospitals and schools in Surat and Navsari, Agiaries in Bombay and Poona . His charity was not just confined to human beings. He contributed Rs. 80,000 to a Panjrapole for animals, distributed money for the feeding of stray dogs, built water places for cattle and horses.
For all his good work, he became the first Indian upon whom Knighthood was conferred.  Queen Victoria conferred  baronetcy on the first Indian knight, Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy who was 74-years-old at that time.
He died two years later, and never before and never after Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy has Bombay had a son with such a large heart. His charities alone are estimated at over Rs. 1,000,000,000 in today’s money.

India 1958 Exhibition 30.12.1958

The year 1958 witnessed probably the best organised Exhibition so far held in India at a national level. Organised in  record time, the Exhibition comprising nearly 300 pavilions and stalls divided in 22 centres, truly pictured the evolution of a new India since Independence under the impact of successive Five year plans. India was in the middle of the Second Five Year Plan and substantial progress has been made in most of the projects forming the core of the plan. The Exhibition provided splendid opportunities to demonstrate to the people of India the various development plans and stages of progress achieved and to impress upon the people that the Plan was for the people and not the people for the Plan. To that extent India 1958 was a great success.

The 15nP stamp on the FDC depicts the impressive gate/entrance to the exhibition.

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose - Birth Centenary 30.11.1958

Acharya Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose,30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a Bengali polymath, physicist, biologist, botanist, archaeologist, as well as an early writer of science fiction. He pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave optics, made very significant contributions to plant science, and laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian subcontinent. IEEE named him one of the fathers of radio science. He is also considered the father of Bengali science fiction. He also invented the crescograph. A crater on the moon has been named in his honour.
Born in Bikrampur (present day Munshiganj District near Dhaka in Bangladesh) during the British Raj, Bose graduated from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta. He then went to the University of London to study medicine, but could not pursue studies in medicine due to health problems. Instead, he conducted his research with the Nobel Laureate Lord Rayleigh at Cambridge and returned to India. He then joined the Presidency College of University of Calcutta as a Professor of Physics. There, despite racial discrimination and a lack of funding and equipment, Bose carried on his scientific research. He made remarkable progress in his research of remote wireless signalling and was the first to use semiconductor junctions to detect radio signals. However, instead of trying to gain commercial benefit from this invention, Bose made his inventions public in order to allow others to further develop his research.
Bose subsequently made a number of pioneering discoveries in plant physiology. He used his own invention, the crescograph, to measure plant response to various stimuli, and thereby scientifically proved parallelism between animal and plant tissues. Although Bose filed for a patent for one of his inventions due to peer pressure, his reluctance to any form of patenting was well known. To facilitate his research, he constructed automatic recorders capable of registering extremely slight movements; these instruments produced some striking results, such as Bose's demonstration of an apparent power of feeling in plants, exemplified by the quivering of injured plants. His books include Response in the Living and Non-Living (1902) and The Nervous Mechanism of Plants (1926).

Children's Day 1958

Mr. Nehru felt happy whenever “something useful and lasting is done for children”; that is why the observance of the Prime Minister’s birthday has been linked up with Children’s Day in this country. All through the year adults are engaged in telling children what they should say, do and even think. Cliches often enshrine truth and the children of to-day are, indeed, the citizens of tomorrow.

 

One of the main purposes of Children’s Day would be (apart from causing adults to devote some thought on children) to make every normal child “think for a moment whether every other child in the country is equally happy.” Thus a social consciousness is instilled into a person at a very early and formative stage. It is true that the State, with its ambition of fully deserving the appellation of “Welfare”, pays increasing attention to children; but this can never be a substitute for a feeling of responsibility towards the children of the nation which every civic-minded citizen ought to harbour. Children have to be provided with special medical, recreational and educational facilities. This is well recognised now; for instance, hospitals for adults are not what children need. The role that sport plays in the formation of character in one’s young years is important. Veteran leaders of the nation have begun to stress, in recent months, the importance of religion in the scheme of life. Children’s Day could be used for this purpose, too. Ultimately it is up to parents and guardians to make children realise this.

The 1958 Children’s Day First Day cover sports a stamp showing a Nurse with a Child Patient.

Bipin Chandra Pal - Birth Centenary 7.11.1958

Bipin Chandra Pal (November 7, 1858–May 20, 1932) was an Indian nationalist. He was among the triumvirate of Lal Bal Pal.

Bipin Chandra Pal was born in Poil Village, Habiganj District, Bengal state of British India now part of Bangladesh, in a wealthy Hindu Vaishnava family. His father was Ramchandra Pal, a Persian scholar and small landowner. His son was Niranjan Pal, one of the founders of Bombay Talkies. He studied and taught at the Church Mission Society College (now the St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College), an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta. 

B.C. Pal is known as the 'Father of Revolutionary Thoughts' in India and was one of the freedom fighters of India.

Indian Air Force - Silver Jubilee (1933 - 58) 30.4.1958

The two stamps of 15nP and 90np on the first day covers depict the two aircraft that formed the backbone of the Air Force during their time. The Wapiti and the Hawker Hunter.The Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October 1932.Its first ac flight came into being on 01 Apr 1933.  It possessed a strength of six RAF-trained officers and 19 Havai Sepoys (literally, air soldiers).   The aircraft inventory comprised of four Westland Wapiti IIA army co-operation biplanes at Drigh Road as the "A" Flight nucleus of the planned No.1 (Army Co- operation) Squadron.

India arranged for Hunters to be purchased in 1954 as a part of a wider arms deal with Britain, placing an order for 140 Hunter single-seat fighters; simultaneous to an announcement by Pakistan of its own purchase of several North American F-86 Sabre jet fighters. The Indian Air Force (IAF) was the first to operate the Hunter T.66 trainers, placing an initial order in 1957; the more powerful engine was considered beneficial in a hot environment, allowing for greater takeoff weights. The Hunter’s played a significant part in the subsequent wars with Pakistan. The most notable being the air ops in the desert in 1971.

From small beginnings the Indian Air Force has now grown into a modern Service of which the nation is rightly proud. Its Silver Jubilee was observed on 30.4.1958 . 

Dhondo Keshav Karve - Birth Centenary 1958

Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve (18 April 1858 – 9 November 1962), popularly known as Maharishi Karve, was a social reformer in India in the field of women's welfare. In honour of Karve, Queen's Road in Mumbai (Bombay) was renamed to Maharishi Karve Road

Karve continued the pioneering work of Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule in promoting women's education. The Government of India awarded him its highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1958, the year of his 100th birthday.

The appellation Maharshi, which the Indian public often assigned to Karve, means ”a great sage”. He was also sometimes affectionately called "Annā Karve"; in the Marāthi-speaking community to which Karve belonged, the appellation "Annā" is often used to address either one's father or an elder brother.

Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve was born on 18 April 1858 at Sherawali, Khed Tālukā of Ratnāgiri district in Mahārāshtra. He was a native of Murud in the Konkan region. He was born in a lower middle-class Chitpāvan Brahmin family. His father Keshav Bāpunnā Karve was the Manager of the Estate of Barge of Koregoan in Ratnagiri district on a meagre salary. He had his primary education at Murud, first in a Shenvi school and in a Government school. In his autobiography, he wrote of his struggle to appear at a public service examination, walking 110 miles in torrential rain and difficult terrain to the nearest city of Sātārā, and his shattering disappointment at not being allowed to appear for the examination because "he looked too young".

After reading information about Japan Women's University in Tokyo, Japan, Karve felt inspired to establish in 1916 in Pune the first university for women in India, with five students.

During 1917–1918, Karve established the Training College for Primary School Teachers, and another school for girls, Kanyā Shālā.

In 1920, an industrialist and philanthropist from Bombay, Vithaldas Thackersey, donated Karve's university 1.5 million Indian rupees—a substantial sum in those days—and the university was then renamed Shreemati Nāthibāi Dāmodar Thāckersey (SNDT) Indian Women’s University. The picture on the cover is of this SNDT Women’s University.

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata - Steel Industry in India - Golden Jubilee 1958

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (3 March 1839 – 19 May 1904) was an Indian pioneer industrialist, who founded the Tata Group , India's biggest conglomerate company. He was born to a Parsi Zoroastrian family in Navsari then part of the princely state of Baroda .

He founded what would later become the Tata Group  of companies. Jamsetji Tata is regarded as the legendary "Father of Indian Steel Industry".

"When you have to give the lead in action, in ideas — a lead which does not fit in with the very climate of opinion — that is true courage, physical or mental or spiritual, call it what you like, and it is this type of courage and vision that Jamsetji Tata showed. It is right that we should honour his memory and remember him as one of the big founders of modern India."— Jawaharlal Nehru.

The modern iron and steel industry in India owes its origin to the grand vision and perseverance of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. The Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (Tata Steel) was registered in Bombay on 26th August 1907. The construction of the steel plant was then taken up in earnest with the first stake being driven in February 1908. R.G. Wells, an American with steel plant construction experience took over as the General Manager in 1909. Success came when the first blast furnace was blown-in on 2nd December 1911, and the first ingot rolled on 16th February 1912.

Universities of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras - Centenary 1957

The universities of Calcutta, Mumbai and Madras were the first three universities established by the British in this country.

Although the University of Bombay was incorporated on the 18th July, 1957, it was the culmination of a long drawn process which was initiated in 1835 when Macaulay, in his capacity as the President of the General Committee of Public Instruction and as the Law Member in the Government, wrote his oft-quoted Minutes of February 2, 1835 strongly favouring English education in India. Responding to the despatch, the Court of Directors agreed to establish Universities at Bombay and Calcutta on the model of London University and also agreed to have one more University at Madras or in any part of India. Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor General appointed a Committee to prepare a detailed scheme, which was submitted in 1856. It was accepted by the Government of India by their Resolution dated 12th December 1856, indeed the day of conception of the University of Mumbai although the birth admittedly took place on the 18th July, 1857.

The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and premier universities in India. The university was incorporated by an act of the Legislative Council of India.

The first ever demand for higher education in Madras Presidency was given in a public address to Lord John Elphinstone, Governor of Madras, signed by 70,000 residents when the Governor in Council was contemplating "some effective and liberal measures for the establishment of an improved system of national education." This public petition, which was presented by the Advocate General Mr. George Norton on 11 November 1839, pressed the need for an English college in the city of Madras. Pursuant to this, Lord Elphinstone evolved a plan for the establishment of a central collegiate institution or a ‘university.’ This university had twin departments – a high school for the cultivation of English literature, regional language, philosophy and science, and a college for instruction in the higher branches of literature, philosophy and science.

The University Board was constituted in January 1840 with Mr. George Norton as its President. This was the precursor of the present Presidency College, Chennai. A systematic educational policy for India was formulated 14 years later by the dispatch of 1854 (Sir Charles Wood’s Education Dispatch), which pointed out the rationale for "creating a properly articulated system of education from the primary school to the University." The Dispatch recommended the establishment in the universities of Professorships "for the purposes of the delivery of lectures in various branches of learning including vernacular as well as classical languages." As a result the University of Madras, organized on the model of the University of London, was incorporated on 5 September 1857 by an Act of the Legislative Council of India.

The University of Calcutta (Calcutta University or CU) is a public state university located in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), West Bengal, India established on 24 January 1857.

The Calcutta University Act came into force on 24 January 1857 and a 41-member Senate was formed as the policy making body of the university. When the university was first established it had a catchment area covering the area from Lahore to Rangoon (now in Myanmar), and Ceylon, the largest of any Indian university.

The first Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta University were Governor General Lord Canning and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sir James William Colvile, respectively. In 1858, Joddu Nath Bose and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay became the first graduates of the university. On 30 January 1858, the Syndicate of the Calcutta University started functioning.

Bal Din (Children's Day) 1957

The Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department has, since the year 1957, been bringing out special stamps to mark the observance of Children's Day each year on the 14th November. Various themes connected with the care and we;;-being of children have been depicted on them. Children's Day has acquired a special significance for us in this country as it falls on the 14th November, which also happens to be the birth anniversary of our late Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who is unfortunately no longer with us. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's love for children and solicitude for their welfare are too well known. The tiny tots always had a special corner in Panditji's heart and he was never happier than when in the company of children. During his lifetime, child welfare made great strides in this country. It is no wonder that children all over India knew Pandit Nehru mot as the Prime Minister but as the benevolent uncle- "Chacha Nehru". "Chacha Nehru" is no longer with us but his memory will live forever not only with the children of this country but also with everyone else.

The first Children’s Day post Independence was celebrated all over India on 14.11.1957. This date is the birtdate of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The P&T Dept issued three stamps to commemorate this day. An 8nP stamp showing a little boy eating a banana, A 15nP stamp depicting a little girl writing on a slate and a 90nP stamp with a terra cotta horse on it. Besides the stamps the first day cover itself is very scarce these days.