Azad Hind stamps
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The Azad Hind Stamps are a set of ten Cinderella stamps in six different designs first produced in February 1943 in Germany for Subhas Chandra Bose's Azad Hind (Indian National Army). The Indian Postal Department includes these six unused Azad Hind Stamps in its commemorative book India's Freedom Struggle through India Postage Stamps.[1] These are currently listed on the German Michel catalog.
A concept of Subhas Chandra Bose, the stamps were designed by Werner and Maria von Axster-Heudtlass, who also created many German issues between 1925 and 1949, and show themes depicted on ten denominations. The designs are
- 1+1 Anna design depicting an Indian Sikh soldier firing a German MG34 machine gun.
- 1/2, 1 and 2+2 Annas design, which shows a plough and a peasant plowing a field in the background.
- 2-1/2, and 2-1/2-2-1/2 Annas design, which shows an Indian woman spinning cloth on a charkha.
- 3+3 Anna design depicting a nurse comforting a wounded soldier.
- 8+12, 12 Anna +1 Rupee design depicting breaking chains on a map of India.
- 1+2 Rupee, which shows an Indian soldier and two Germans with the flag of Azad Hind.
All stamps were printed by photogravure in sheets of 100 at the "Reichsdruckerei", the Government Printing Bureau in Berlin. A million copies of the lower denominations were produced, with a further half million of the higher values, except for the 1 and 2 Rupee stamp, of which only 13,500 were printed. All the stamps exist in different colors and have the word Azad Hind printed.
The first seven stamps are semipostals, with the surcharge for the administration of Andaman and Nicobar Islands then under Japanese control. Three were regulars. A set of 21 stamps currently exist, both perforated (10 mm x 12 mm) and unperforated.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bhaskaran, S.T. Footprints of history. The Hindu. Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
[edit] References
- Barth Healey . "Pastimes; Stamps" in the New York Times, November 21, 2007.
- "Indian Legion Stamps and Postal History" in Introduction to Foreign Legion Stamps and Postal History.
- Ann Mette Heindorff. "Subhas Chandra Bose: India's Fight for Independence during WWII" in Heindorffhus Shoebox, 2007.
- "The Azad Hind Stamps" in Stamps World India.
- Andrew Freeston. "Indian Cinderellas - Azad Hind Issues."
