History of Indian Postal Services
There are many mentions of sending letters by pigeons etc. in the ancient and medieval texts. It is believed that Emperor Chandragupta Maurya who ruled the country between 321 - 297 B.C., was the first to introduce a form of postal communication to dispatch confidential reports to distant places in the empire. It is mentioned in Chanakya's Arthashastra.
One of the earliest record mentioned about postal service in India is found in the writings of a famous traveller from Morocco, Ibn Battuta (during Delhi sultanate times, 14th century). He mentioned:
"In India the postal system is of two kinds. The horsepost, called uluq, is run by royal horses stationed at a distance of every four miles. The footpost has three stations per mile; it is called dawa that is one third of a mile...."
The modern postal services were developed by British East India Company. In 1688, they opened a post office in Mumbai (then Bombay) followed by similar ones in Calcutta (Kolkata) and Madras (Chennai). Lord Clive further expanded the services and Warren Hastings opened it for general public.
The first adhesive postage stamps in Asia were issued in the Indian district of Scinde in July 1852. It was known as 'Scinde dawk'. (Price - 0.5anna)
On 1st October 1854, the first all India stamp was issued.
Post-independence, India’s first postal stamp was issued on 21st November 1947. It depicted the picture of national flag of India and slogan 'Jai Hind'.
Mahatma Gandhi was the first person whose picture was depicted on free India’s stamp (1948).
One year later, post started a series depicting India’s rich cultural heritage.
The world’s first official airmail flight took place in India on 18 February 1911, a journey of 18kms. Henri Pequet, a French pilot, carried about 15 kilograms of mail across the Ganges from Allahabad to Naini.
India Post inaugurated a floating post office in August 2011 at Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir.
World’s highest post office is located in Hikkim, Himachal Pradesh, India (height is 4,700m)
First post office outside India - Dakshin Gangotri, Antarctica in 1983.
By the late 18th century, a global postal service was established. But it was very slow and complicated. Universal Postal Union (UPU) started on 9th October 1874 in Switzerland. This opened the gate for an efficient modern postal service. In 1948, the UPU became an agency of the United Nations. From 1969, every 9th October is celebrated as 'World Post Day'. The idea was proposed by an Indian, Anand Mohan Narula.
