The P&T Department also brought out a set of four Gandhi picture postcards (Figure below) with the introduction of inland postcards printed for the first time in Hindi (Devnagari script) and released for use on October 2, 1951, which coincided with Mahatma Gandhi's eighty-second birthday. The picture postcards were imprinted with the face value of 9-pies each - the then prevailing postcard rate - were sold at double the face value - i.e., 1 1/2 annas per postcard - a rather unusual and extraordinary measure adopted in this instance. The pictures reproduced on these postcards were obtained from the collection of Kanu Gandhi who demanded a royalty payment of 12 1/2 percent from the sale of such cards.
 
 

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, then Minister of Communications, persuaded him to accept a token royalty of 2, - 500 rupees. The job of printing the picture postcards was entrusted to the India Security Press, most likely to placate it for what had happened over the printing of the Gandhi memorial stamps.

The story of Gandhi stamps would not be complete wothout saying a word about all other Gandhi stamps  - those issued in commemoration of the Gandhi centenary (1969), and others which formed part of a series dedicated to "Workers for Peace" (for example Martin Luther King). Forty-one countries of the world including the United States and Britain, issued such stamps. However, on the Asian continent, only India (which had sponsored the Gandhi centenary commemoratives), the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Southern Yemen issued such stamps. Burma, as a token of its participation in this great event, authorised the use of a special postmark on October 2, 1969, to frank mails at the Rangoon General Post Office. The postmark bore the inscription "Gandhi Centenary 1869-1969,"

A critical view of all these stamps shows that tha British verison of the Gandhi stamp is the most outstanding and a classic example of philatelic art and printing. This stamp could well be acclaimed the world's best Gandhi stamp. Designed by Biman Mullick, an Indian artist living in Britain, the stamp, released in 1 shilling 6 pence denomination, bears Gandhi's characteristic smiling pose against a background of the Indian tri-color. The stamp was printed by the photogravure process at the world renowed Harrison and Sons Limited (England), one of the oldest security printers in Britain.
 
 

The Unique feature of this stamp is that it is the only one in the whole of the British stamp series devoted to a non British personality - a rare nonor indeed. This was an extraordinary gesture on the part of the British governmnment; the stamp is an everlasting symbol of goodwill and friendship.

The first country other than India that honoured Mahtma Gandhi on it stamps was the United States. Two stamps (4- and 8-cent denominations) were issued on India's Republic Day for the U.S Champion of Liberty Series in 1961, with printings of 120 million and 40 million respectively. The quantities of the 4 cent stamp are the largest of an single Gandhi commemorative stamp issued thus far.
 
 

The portrait of Gandhi adopted on these two stamps was obtained from R. L Rekhi, official photographer of the governmnet of India's Photo Division. The U.S Post Office Department organized a special ceremony for the release of these stamps at which the secretary of state Dean Rusk and Indian Ambassador Mahomedali Currim Chagle were present.

I will conclude by quoting from the review of a book by Haskel Frankel:
 

If one brash American heart can break through one Englishman's starched reserve, what is not possible between people in this tortured world? And waht is loneliness but an illusion of private affliction which people are waiting to dispel at the other end of a postage stamp?

• Article written by Mr. T. N. Mehta. I take no credit for it except for the fact that it was formatted by the webmaster for web-publishing.
• This article first appeared in the "American Philatelist" August 1980. Most of the text of this article is the same as the original except a few changes which were necessary for web-publishing.
• All images are from the original article except Figure 2. which is from my personal collection.
• All related image copyrights acknowledged.
• Article appears only as a reference source. Please contact me if anybody has a problem and I will reconsider the decision to put it up on the web-site.