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With October 2 now declared by the United Nations as the International Day of Non-Violence, India Post released a set of four Rs.5-denomination stamps titled ‘Satyagraha: The Stirrings,’ on the occasion. The stamps depict Gandhiji being thrown out of a train at the Pietermaritzburg railway station; Gandhiji as Attorney, Indian Opinion of September 1, 1906; his address at a meeting in Johannesburg; and the ‘Great Transvaal March’. A large collection of stamps, First Day Covers (FDCs), post-cards and inland letters issued by the postal department over the years, on Gandhiji are also on display.

The 1948-issued set of four stamps commemorating India’s first anniversary of Independence was the first to be released on Gandhiji by the postal department (printed though at Curvoisier of Geneva).

Some of the other stamps depicting Gandhiji issued over the years and exhibited here include 25 years of Quit India Movement (1967), Gandhi Centenary (1969), International Year of the Child (1979), 50 years of Quit India Movement (1992) as two stamps with the ‘Do or Die’ caption, India –South Africa Cooperation (1995) issued jointly as two stamps in the respective countries, 50 years of Dandi March (1980) and Dandi March (2005) as a set of four stamps to mark the event’s 75th anniversary,125 years of Mahatma Gandhi (1994), and Man of the Millennium (2001).

Some philatelists too have exhibited their private collection. Young philatelist Abhijit Biswas’s display is alluring. His collection includes the four Gandhiji stamps released in 1948.

While Rishi Chandiok and Pradeep Jain have exhibited stamps depicting Gandhiji issued by foreign governments, Rishi has also displayed a couple of flawed philatelic items. Fuzzy colour, a half-portrait of Gandhiji, a lateral shift and inaccuracy in design composition. These, he points out, are a rarity. Vijay Seth’s exhibits of definitive Gandhi stamp sheets focus on the electro numbers.

Veteran philatelist Manohar Lal’s collection includes 16 envelopes with Indian postage stamps depicting Gandhiji posted at Field Post Offices (FPOs) by Indian Army personnel serving overseas in various UN peace keeping missions such as Sudan, Congo and Golan Heights, besides others.

A rare 1969-issued Army Postal Service FDC with the Gandhi centenary stamps and a special APS ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Hind’ cancellation is also featured . A forged cancellation, displayed here, appeared in the market, thanks to the jacked up price of the FDC. “But,” says Lal, “even the forged cancellation has become rare!”

The exhibition is on in Dak Bhavan until the end of the month.

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