It did not take the Master of the India Security Press more than six days to suggest a compact set of four denominations: 1 1/2 annas, 3 1/2 annas, 8 annas and 1 ruppee. He proposed that the first three values bre printed in a single color in the existing anna size,and the fourth value in two colors in rupee size. A line portrait of Gandhi prepared earlier already was available at the Nasik Security Press. Two trial cpies, one in the anna and the other in the rupee size, showing Gandhiji's characteristic pose, were submitted for consideration. Alternatively, it was suggested that a photograph approved by the Mahatma be adopted for the proposed stamps.

While these preparations were afoot, however, tragedy sruck. Gandhiji was assisinated on January 30. The picture changed entirely and the government switched over to designing a "mourning" stamp. Accordingly, on February 6, the Security Press was asked to furnish quickly designs based on an approved sketch drawn by C. Biswas an approved artist. Two denominations were proposed, a 21/2 anna for inland airmail and a 12 anna for airmail to the United Kingdom. Proofs of the designs, in somber shades of greyand olive gree, were sent by the Security Press on February 17.

Jawaharlal suggested that the word "Bapu" be included both in Hindi and Urdu. This was a  welcome suggesion in view of Gandhiji's life-long struggle to maintain peace and communal harmony. The inclusion of Hindi and Urdu inscriptions was of special significance - both politically and philatelically. On no other Indian stamp does Urdu find a place; the script used is Hindi (Devnagri) and English. Asked on March 12 to send revised proofs, and to include a 10 Rupee denomination in the proposed set of the mourning stamps, the Security Press promptly submitted these on March 16 (Please refer to the figure below). Although this correspondence apparently was at the final stage, the authorities in New Delhi, in a typically bureaucratic fashion, carried on negotiations behind the backs of the Nasik Press with the Austrian state printing press, Vienna, as well as with the well-known Swiss printers Helio Courviosier, S.A., La Chaux De Fonds.
 
 

The print order was finally placed with the Swiss firm, which was known for its works of art. Naturally, this led to bad feelings. The Nasik Press felt it had been deprived of its legitimate right to offer indigeneously produced Gandhi stamps. The Master of the Nasik Security Press, R. C. G. Chapman, an Englishman, wanted to quit, but, Rafi Ahmad Kidwai saved the situation.

It was argued that India did not have the photogravure printing which the Swiss printers could offer to produce the best results in stamp printing. If Gandhiji had been alive to see his own stamps produced as originally envisaged, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he would have put his foot down on "Videshi" printing. Coarse or not the stamps would have been acceptable everywhere.

An extensive search was also on at this timw to obtain suitable photographs of Gandhi to be used on the stamps. After a wide,wild  hunt, those entrusted with the task stumbled upon two photographs - one from the now defunct Life magazine, and the other lent by Rajakumari Amrit Kaur, but one which belonged to Kanu Gandhi, grandson of the Mahatma. The photograph from Life showed the Mahatma unclothed above the waist, perhaps taken at his ashram in Wardha during the summer months. Officials thought that it would be derogratory to portray the "Father of the Nation" in such a manner and so they ashed the Swiss printers to adequately cover the nakd portion of his body. This they did, but the sketched -in clothing in no way approximated Indian garb, or the way Gandhi used to put on Khadi (as could be seen in his portrait adnorning the central hall of parliament, and in several of his photographs in official and private collections)

The Swiss firm secured orders for printing thirty-two million stamps in four denominations: 1 1/2 annas, 3 1/2 annas, 12 annas, and 10 rupees - the first three in a single color and the fourth in two colors.
 
 

Why a 10-rupee Gandhi stamp? Commemorative stamps are invariably issued in popular postage denominations; the 10rupee variety in the Gandhi series is probably the solitary example of its kind. This step deprived a large number of collectors of possessing the full set because they could not afford the 10 rupee stamp. To other philatelists, however, this was a boon since the value of the set has been steadily mounting year after year.

Philatelists the world over were agitated by this inclusion of a high denomination in the Gandhi set. Margaret Bourke-White of Time/Life who knew the Mahatma well, met with Sir Benegal Rama Rau, the Indian Ambassador to Washington, and later sent a long cable strongly protesting this move, an dstating that it was highly improper for the Government of India to issue a 10-rupee stamp in the name of Gandhi, who always used the cheapest means of communication - a postcard.

Bureaucracy could not have done a greater disservice to Gandhiji! Yet another move that inflated the value of the Gandhi Stamp occured when sale of these stamps (initially) was restricted to three months. This meant that the unsold stock had to be withdrawn and destroyed in substantial quantities, resulting in great loss in terms of foreign exchange involved in the printing of  stamps. As soon as the stocks were reduced, prices shot up.

It was on August 15th 1948 - the first anniversary of India's independence- that the Gandhi stamps were released. They had been printed by the heliogravuree process on coated paper made of pulp and silf fibres, but the gum on the back of the stamp sheets did not suit the Indian climate, particularly during the season when the stamps were released, when the humidity was high.

As soon as the sheets were taken out of the packings and exposed to the atmosphere , they became stuck to the thin paper inter-leaving , thus, frm the philatelic standpoint , ruining the stamps. It is possible that the Swiss printers were not fimiliar with climatic conditions in India, or with the properties of the gum applied on stamps.

Later he same year, some high ranking officials proposed that an extremely limited number of stamps be overprinted with the word "Service" Thesewere to be used on official mails emanating from the Secretariat pf the Governer General C. Rajagopalachari. The P&T Department believed that because the stamps were commemorative, it wouls be against philatelic ethics to overprint them
 
 

But these observations were overruled, and the required quantities were overprinted. There never has been a such such as this when the philatelic code was ignored and the will of the bureaucrat prevailed.

A few "used" copies of these "Service" stamps are known to exist, but I am not aware of even one copy of the 10-rupee denomination surfacing. These stamps thus turned out to be one of the rarest gems of the independence issues. The limites supplies have led to forgery, a common evil in philately. However these are crude initations restricted to the anna values.
 
 

The Indian officials who went beserk probably did not understand that philately has its own norms, and that any breach of these would affect the entire stamp collecting fraternity, to which Gandhiji himself belonged. With all his social and political preoccupations, he still found time to collect stamps. He wrote that in 1896 he was faced with the task of circulating what came to be known as the "green pamphlet," and this is how he solved the "manpower" problem:

"But I hit upon a much simpler plan, I gathered together all the children in my locality and asked them to volunteer two or three hours' labour of a morning, when they had no school. This they willingly agreed to do, I promised to bless them and gave them, as a reward, used postage stamps which I had collected."

The Berne legation had only givn the P&T department a few sheets of the 10-rupee Gandhi issue containing a printing flaw - a dot between the words "India" and "Postage" occuring on the first stamp of the third horizontal row. These are on view in New Delhi Philatelic museum (see figure below)
 
 

Figure 5. Gandhi stamp with printing flaw