First Asian Regional Red Cross Conference at New Delhi 9.3.1977

The Indian Red Cross is hosting, in cooperation with the League of Red Cross Societies, the First Asian Regional Red Cross Conference at New Delhi from March 9 to 16, 1977. On this occasion all the National Red Cross Societies in Asia are getting together to have a closer look at their plans and programmes towards meeting the ever-increasing needs of the region. The Conference will be a distinct landmark in the history of Red Cross Movement in the region. For India and the Indian Red Cross the event was a historic one. In view of the importance of the Conference, the National Red Cross Societies of other continents which are involved in Red Cross, as well as International Organisations, including some of the specialised agencies of the United Nations, would also be represented. In all about 200 delegates and observers were expected to take part. The conference consisted of two Seminars- one on 'Pre-Disaster Prepareedness' and the other on 'Development'. The former discussed, among other things, progress made towards establishing Red Cross Programmes which are in readiness to face disasters and explore the possibilities of increasing regional cooperation in this field. The Seminar on 'Development' reviewed the existing Red Cross community services and identified priority areas of need with special focus on rural areas

The stamp is symbolic, based on the emblem of the First Asian Regional Red Cross Conference. However, it would have been more appropriate if the colour of the Cross had been Red instead of pink on the stamp.

Indian Red Cross Society

The Indian Red Cross Society is a voluntary humanitarian organization having a network of over 700 branches throughout India, providing relief in times of disasters/emergencies and promoting health & care of the vulnerable people and communities.

It is a leading member of the largest independent humanitarian organization in the world, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The mission of the Indian Red Cross is to inspire,encourage and initiate at all times all forms of humanitarian activities so that human sufferings can be minimized and even prevented and thus contribute to create a climate for peace.

Initially this organization was established by Henery Done, A very rich business man, who left his entire business to serve poor & hearted soldiers & people. But to get publicity the members of this society has expel this man and take entire control in their hand. During the first World War in 1914, India had no organization for relief services to the affected soldiers, except a branch of the St. John Ambulance Association and by a Joint Committee of the British Red Cross. Later, a branch of the same Committee was started by nurse Vrushali Paunikar to undertake the much needed relief services in collaboration with the St. John Ambulance Association in aid of the soldiers as well as civilian sufferers of the horrors of that great war. A bill to constitute the Indian Red Cross Society, Independent of the British Red Cross, was introduced in the Indian Legislative Council on March 3, 1920 by Sir Claude Hill, member of the Viceroy's Executive Council who was also Chairman of the Joint War Committee in India . The Bill was passed on March 17, 1920, and became Act XV of 1920 with the assent of the Governor General on the March 20, 1920.

On June 7, 1920, fifty members were formally nominated to constitute the Indian Red Cross Society and the first Managing Body was elected from among them with Sir William Malcolm Hailey as Chairman.

Indian Red Cross Society has a partnership with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, St.John Ambulance, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (IFRC), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC ), Multinational firms. Individuals and others in supporting IRCS activities. It also coordinates with Indian Government and other agencies ( UNDP, WHO etc. ).

Jean-Henri Dunant and The Red Cross Centenary 8.5.1963

Until the middle of the 19th century, there were no organized and/or well-established army nursing systems for casualties and no safe and protected institutions to accommodate and treat those who were wounded on the battlefield. In June 1859, the Swiss businessman Jean-Henri Dunant traveled to Italy to meet French emperor Napoléon III with the intention of discussing difficulties in conducting business in Algeria, at that time occupied by France. When he arrived in the small town of Solferino on the evening of June 24, he witnessed the Battle of Solferino, an engagement in the Austro-Sardinian War. In a single day, about 40,000 soldiers on both sides died or were left wounded on the field. Jean-Henri Dunant was shocked by the terrible aftermath of the battle, the suffering of the wounded soldiers, and the near-total lack of medical attendance and basic care. He completely abandoned the original intent of his trip and for several days he devoted himself to helping with the treatment and care for the wounded. He succeeded in organizing an overwhelming level of relief assistance by motivating the local villagers to aid without discrimination.

In 1863, Gustave Moynier, a Geneva lawyer and president of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare, received a copy of Dunant's book and introduced it for discussion at a meeting of that society. As a result of this initial discussion the society established an investigatory commission to examine the feasibility of Dunant's suggestions and eventually to organize an international conference about their possible implementation. The members of this committee, which has subsequently been referred to as the "Committee of the Five," aside from Dunant and Moynier were physician Louis Appia, who had significant experience working as a field surgeon; Appia's friend and colleague Théodore Maunoir, from the Geneva Hygiene and Health Commission; and Guillaume-Henri Dufour, a Swiss Army general of great renown. Eight days later, the five men decided to rename the committee to the "International Committee for Relief to the Wounded". In October (26–29) 1863, the international conference organized by the committee was held in Geneva to develop possible measures to improve medical services on the battlefield. The conference was attended by 36 individuals: eighteen official delegates from national governments, six delegates from other non-governmental organizations, seven non-official foreign delegates, and the five members of the International Committee. 

In the following years, national societies were founded in nearly every country in Europe. In 1876, the committee adopted the name "International Committee of the Red Cross" (ICRC), which is still its official designation today.

When the first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1901, the Norwegian Nobel Committee opted to give it jointly to Jean-Henri Dunant and Frédéric Passy, a leading international pacifist. More significant than the honor of the prize itself, the official congratulation from the International Committee of the Red Cross marked the overdue rehabilitation of Jean-Henri Dunant and represented a tribute to his key role in the formation of the Red Cross. Dunant died nine years later in the small Swiss health resort of Heiden.  

The 15nP stamp on the FDC depicts Henri Dunant and the Centenary Emblem.