India has a long and varied postal history and has produced a large number of postage stamps. These have been produced by a variety of techniques including line engraving, typography, lithography, photogravure and web offset. Stamps have been produced both for postage and for service or revenue. Definitives and commemoratives have been issued. Stamps have been produced both as unperforated sheets, perforated and miniature sheets. The stamps have been produced in a number of shapes – the Scinde Dawk being rounded and some, like the stamp on the Bombay Sappers being triangular. Recently the 2009 stamp on Louis Braille had braille imprinting on it in addition. Many cases of overprinting exist – for converting the use of domestic postage stamps to service; to earmark stamps sold by field post offices attached with international control commissions and other reasons.
The Indian Postal Service has issued stamps on many themes – relating to history, architecture, nature, culture and heritage. Provisions exist for organisations and interested bodies to suggest the printing of special commemorative stamps as well as first day covers and cancellations. The Indian Post runs philatelic bureaus, operates deposit based philatelic services, a philatelic magazine and also publishes lists of stamps from time to time.
Recently, social media users are sharing a postal stamp of 1982, which shows a man with fair skin tossing a man with a dark complexion during wrestling with claims that the stamp depicts a Muslim wrestler defeating a Brahmin wrestler and the stamp was issued when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister to India. This claim is being shared on social media to depict Congress’ minority appeasement and anti-Hindu propaganda of Indira Gandhi.
A Twitter user shared the post and captioned, “Indira Gandhi issued a postal stamp in 1982 for Asian games in which a Turkish Muslim wrestler can be seen beating a Hindu wrestler who is having a shikha (Choti). Now you can not see this anti-Hindu and anti-national mindset which is prevailing for long.” he same image of a postal stamp also went viral in 2019. Madhu Purnima Kishwar had shared it with the caption, “Only in #SickularIndia This “ethnic looking” stamp was issued to commemorate #AsianGames1982 in Delhi when @INCIndia was in power. Am I reading it right that a Muslim wrestler is shown ready to thrash a Brahmin wrestler?This is neither good politics not good aesthetic.”
According to a site, the postal stamp was issued on October 30, 1982, on the occasion of the 9th Asian Games and it was based on an ancient sport. The stamp shows a painting on wrestling bout. The stamp was inspired by Janaki’s painting which is available in the National Museum of New Delhi. The painting has Persian influence and is executed in the Mughal Style of the early 17th century. The website also informed that A. Ramchandran designed the stamp. Fact Hunt, a fact-checking website, visited National Museum Delhi and confirmed that the theme behind the stamp was the Persian style painting which is kept at the Paintings Gallery on the ground floor of the National Museum Delhi and have a small description of the artwork that says, “Two wrestlers in combat.” A. Ramchandran is an Indian contemporary artist and there are several other art works made by him.
