New Stamp from India - Border Security Force

Border Security Force

Date of Issue : 21 October 2015

Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh  released a commemorative stamp in denomination of Rs. 5 to mark 50 years of raising of country's largest border guarding force BSF at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 21st October 2015.

The Border Security Force (BSF) is the primary Border Guarding police force of India. It is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces of the Union of India. Till 1965 India’s borders with Pakistan were manned by the State Armed Police Battalion. Pakistan attacked Sardar Post, Chhar Bet and Beria Bet on 9 April, 1965 in Kutch. This exposed the inadequacy of the State Armed Police to cope with armed aggression due to which the Government of India felt the need for a specialized centrally controlled Border Security Force, which would be armed and trained to man the International Border with Pakistan. As a result of the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries, the Border Security Force came into existence on 1st December 1965, and Shri K. F. Rustamji was the first chief and founding father. 

The BSF is a Central Armed Police Force charged with guarding India's land border during peace time and preventing transnational crime. It is a Union Government Agency under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs. The BSF has its own cadre of officers but its head, designated as a Director-General (DG), since its raising has been an officer from the Indian Police Service. It is an Armed Force of the Union of India tasked with various assignments from time to time. The BSF has grown exponentially from a few battalions in 1965, to 186 battalions with strength of 2.5 lakh personnel including an expanding air wing, marine wing, artillery regiments, and commando units. It currently stands as the world's largest border guarding force. BSF has been termed as the First Wall of Defence of Indian Territories.

Courtesy - Indian Philately Digest

Harpy Dussehra

Greetings to all Readers on Dussehra

Festivals of India–Durga Puja

 

Greetings on Durga Puja

This is festive time in India. Today, Durga Puja is being celebrated in different parts of the country. Greetings to all the Readers on the festive occasion !!

Shaped and Transparent S/S on Christmas from New Zealand

 

New Zealand is home to some truly beautiful stained-glass windows, which add character and charm to churches and buildings throughout the country. The Christmas 2015 stamp issue features five vibrant stained-glass windows, ranging in design from the traditional to the contemporary.

Stained-glass windows date back to ancient times, with some existing in Britain possibly as early as the 7th century. The movement gained popularity in the Middle Ages as a way to convey narratives from the Bible to the masses, and has evolved over time to incorporate more colour and detail.

Date of Issue : 4 November 2015

An innovative miniature sheet

As part of this special Christmas issue, NZ Post  created a unique miniature sheet that encapsulates the theme of stained-glass windows. The miniature sheet is printed on translucent gummed paper and is die-cut in the shape of traditional stained-glass church windows.

The colourful stamps in this issue feature Christmas-related imagery from stained-glass windows around New Zealand, ranging from central characters from the nativity story to the ‘New Zealand Christmas tree’, the pōhutukawa.

80c - Angel

This stained-glass depiction of an angel is part of the Kelvin and Janice Loveday commemorative window in St Mark’s Church, Carterton. Angels play an important role in the nativity story, with the Angel Gabriel telling Mary that she would give birth to Jesus and an angel bringing the news of Jesus’s birth to the shepherds.

$1.40 - Dove

The dove is recognised as a symbol of peace as well as one of the forms of the Holy Spirit. Doves are often seen as a decoration on New Zealand Christmas trees. The dove depicted on this stamp is part of a larger stained-glass window at St Aidan’s Anglican Church, Remuera, Auckland.

$2.00 - Mary and Jesus

This vibrant stained-glass window sits inside St Mary’s-in-Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell, Auckland and depicts Mary with the baby Jesus. According to the nativity story Mary and Joseph were unable to find a room at the inn, and took shelter in a stable in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

$2.50 - Pōhutukawa

Often referred to as the New Zealand Christmas tree, the native pōhutukawa is symbolic of summer and the festive season. The pöhutukawa shown on this stamp is part of a larger window in the Christchurch Hospital Nurses Memorial Chapel.

$3.00 - Wise Men

According to the nativity story, the three wise men were kings of the East who were led to where Jesus lay by an angel. There they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. This stained-glass window is one of three windows portraying the nativity story in St Benedict’s Church, Auckland.

Stunning self-adhesive stamps

To help people with their local and international Christmas sending, three self-adhesive stamps will be issued in denominations of 80c, $2.00 and $2.50.

 

Special First Day Covers

The design of the miniature sheet first day cover cleverly incorporates the translucent miniature sheet to depict an actual stained-glass window. Through the top of the window pane, views of New Zealand's christmas tree, the pōhutukawa can be seen.

 

Stamp on World Walking Day

 

Green Foots ‒ The Symbol of International Hiking Day

Croatian Post issued a postage stamp on 15th October to celebrate World Walking Day.  International day of hiking or popularly known as World Walking Day is celebrated every year on 15 October to create awareness for environment preservation. It develops awareness about the importance of physical activities and also a sense for community by supporting the World Walking Day.

TAFISA (The Association for International Sport for All) in 1992, suggested celebrating this day with the aim of developing awareness of the need for ecological environment preservation.

Every year since 1991 on the first weekend in October, millions of people around the world participate with TAFISA to celebrate World Walking Day. Moving, especially walking or hiking, is the most simplest form of preserving one’s mental and physical health.

The only things necessary for hiking are comfortable clothes and quality shoe wear that protects the foot and gives support to the entire body.For walking or hiking, trails or paths in the nature in the fresh air are most favourable, and hiking experiences at mountainous tops takes one’s breath away.

New stamps from India - Charkha

 

Date of Issue : 15 October 2015

On 15th October 2015, India Post released two postage stamps in denomination of Rs. 5 each  and a miniature sheet featuring Gandhi Ji and Charkha.The stamps shows two popular types of Charkha, Peti charkha and Bardoli charkha whereas  the miniature sheet depicts Gandhi ji with Charkha.

 

The Charkha or spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from natural or synthetic fibres. Spinning wheels appeared in Asia, probably in the 11th century, and very gradually replaced hand spinning with spindle and distaff. The earliest clear illustrations of the spinning wheel come from Baghdad (drawn in 1234), China (c. 1270) and Europe (c. 1280), and there is evidence that spinning wheels had already come into use in both China and the Islamic world during the eleventh century.

The charkha, or spinning wheel, was the physical embodiment and symbol of Gandhi’s constructive program. It represents Swadeshi, self-sufficiency, and at the same time interdependence, because the wheel is at the center of a network of cotton growers, carders, weavers, distributors, and users. It also embodied the dignity of labor, equality, unity, as all volunteers were to spin each day, and finally independence, as British control of India was rooted in control of indigenous industries such as textiles. The tabletop or floor charkha is one of the oldest known forms of the spinning wheel. The charkha works similarly to the great wheel, with a drive wheel being turned by hand, while the yarn is spun off the tip of the spindle. The floor charkha and the great wheel closely resemble each other. With both, the spinning must stop in order to wind the yarn onto the spindle.

Courtesy – Indian Philately Digest