India

Today the Indian Postal Service serves the public from 155,000 post offices. India is believed to have the most widely distributed system in the world (China has 57,000, Russia 41,000 and the US 38,000 offices). This proliferation of offices results from India’s long tradition of having many disparate postal systems, eventually unified in the Indian Union after Independence.

For a philatelist collecting Indian stamps could be very rewarding. India provides the largest scope in the world to the collectors of military and campaign covers. Indian stamps have been officially used in half the world viz. Africa, Middle East, Persian Gulf, Malaysia, Zanzibar and other far off places. For enthusiasts of First Flight - Air Mails, Pigenograms and Rocket Mails, India provides unbelievably large and varied materials.

Also British India had hundreds of Princely States, some 652 in all, but most of them did not issue postage stamps. The stamp-issuing states were of two kinds: the Convention States and the Feudatory States. The postage stamps and postal histories of these states provide great challenges and many rarities are still to be found here. Although handbooks are available, much remains to be discovered. A memorial to Mahatma Gandhi was issued 15 August 1948 on the first anniversary of Independence. Exactly one year later a definitive series appeared, depicting India’s broad cultural heritage, mostly Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh and Jain temples, sculptures, monuments and fortresses. An issue on 26 January 1950 commemorated the inauguration of the Republic of India.