Yesterday marked the 77th
Telangana Liberation Day. On 17th September 1948, a year after India gained
independence from British rule, the princely state of Hyderabad, a kingdom
larger than many European countries, was liberated from the rule of Mir Osman
Ali Khan of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. After a brief military action, it was
annexed into the Indian Union.
Today, one can easily
learn about these events through the internet. But for someone like me, born in
1952, decades before the internet, knowledge and curiosity were fuelled by
books and magazines. And there was another fascinating source of learning for
me, which this article is really about: Philately.
My father began
collecting stamps in the early 1930s, and I joined him in a small way, starting
with a few stamps I bought during a school excursion to Madras. His collection
grew steadily, sourced from letters, purchases from dealers, and constant
contributions from colleagues at his office who all knew of his passion.
By the early 1970s, I was
able to expand our collection further through my other hobby, DXing (listening
to international radio stations), which allowed me to request stamps free of
cost from several countries. Later, I began purchasing foreign stamps occasionally,
along with regularly buying commemorative issues from the General Post Office
(GPO) in Hyderabad.
Today, our collection has
grown to nearly 10,000 stamps, about 70 percent of which belong to my father’s
original efforts.
As I mentioned earlier,
stamps are not just collectibles, they are windows into history. For instance,
I recently revisited a few stamps from Hyderabad State itself. The Asaf Jahi
dynasty, which ruled Hyderabad from 1724 until its integration into India in
1948, introduced their very first postal stamp in 1869. These small pieces of
paper tell stories of rulers, nations, and eras gone by, history preserved in
miniature.
Information About the
Stamps Depicted Above
All the stamps are
bilingual, inscribed in both English and Urdu. Their details are as follows:
1. Victory Commemoration
(1946)
This commemorative stamp
bears the inscriptions “VICTORY COMMEMORATION” and “HYDERABAD” in English. The
Urdu text above the design reads “Sarkar-e-Asafia Yaadgar-e-Kamyabi”
(Government of Asafia, Commemoration of Victory). The design shows a soldier
returning home to his family waiting outside a house, symbolizing the Allied
victory in World War II and the end of the conflict. The stamp has a face value
of “ONE ANNA” and is marked “POST & RECEIPT”, indicating its dual use for
postal and fiscal (revenue) purposes.
2. Charminar Pictorial
(1931)
One of the most iconic
pictorial issues of Hyderabad State, this stamp features the famous Charminar.
The English inscription reads “POST & RECEIPT” with a denomination of “ONE
ANNA.” It belongs to the 1931 pictorial series.
3. Seal of the Nizam
(1930)
This issue highlights
calligraphic design representing the seal of the Nizam. The English inscription
“POSTAGE” appears at the top, while the denomination “8 PIES” is noted at the
bottom. The central portion is dominated by Urdu calligraphy.
4. Seal of the Nizam
(Variant, 1930)
Similar in design to the
previous stamp, this variant carries the denomination of “4 PIES.”
5–8. Silver Jubilee
Commemorative Set (1937)
These four stamps were
issued on 13 February 1937 to mark the 25th anniversary (Silver Jubilee) of the
reign of Nizam VII, Mir Osman Ali Khan. Each stamp features an important
landmark of Hyderabad State:
8 Pies – Osmania General
Hospital
4 Pies – Unani General
Hospital
2 Annas – Osmania Jubilee
Hall
1 Anna – Osmania General
Hospital
9. Kakatiya Arch (1947)
This stamp depicts the
Kakatiya Arch at Warangal Fort, a significant piece of regional history and
architecture. Today, this arch is the official emblem of the Telangana State
Government. The stamp was issued in 1947 with a denomination of 3 Annas.
