Indian theme on foreign stamps..

 

100 years of Indian Immigrants Arrival

Suriname is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west & Brazil to the south. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as Dutch Guiana. Suriname achieved independence from the Netherlands on 25 November 1975.

It has an estimated population of approximately 490,000, most of whom live on the country's north coast, where the capital Paramaribo is located.

Slavery was abolished by the Netherlands in Suriname in 1863, but the slaves in Suriname were not fully released until 1873, after a mandatory 10 year transition period during which time they were required to work on the plantations for minimal pay and without state sanctioned torture. As soon as they became truly free, the slaves largely abandoned the plantations where they had suffered for several generations, in favour of the city, Paramaribo.

As a plantation colony, Suriname was still heavily dependent on manual labour, and to make up for the shortfall, the Dutch brought in contract labourers from the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) and India (through an arrangement with the British). In addition, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, small numbers of mostly men were brought in from China and the Middle East.

According to the 2004 census, Indians form the largest major group at 37% of the population. They are descendants of 19th-century contract workers from India. They are from the Indian states of Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Most of the Indians are Hindu, but some practice Islam or Christianity. Surinamese Hindi or Sarnami, a dialect of Bhojpuri, is the third-most used language, spoken by the descendants of South Asian contract workers from then British India. There are also several Hindu and Islamic national holidays like Diwali, Phagwa and Eid. There are several holidays which are unique to Suriname. These include the Indian (Hindoestaanse), Javanese and Chinese arrival days. They celebrate the arrival of the first ships with their respective immigrants.

Suriname released stamps 1973 to celebrate 100 years of Indian immigrants arrival.

- Kenneth Sequeira

email : kenneth.sequeira@hotmail.com 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Indian Themes on foreign stamps…

 

L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art

 

The L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art is a museum in Jerusalem, Israel, established in 1974. The museum houses Islamic pottery, textiles, jewelry, ceremonial objects and other Islamic cultural artifacts.

The museum was founded in memory of  professor, Leo Aryeh Mayer, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a scholar of Islamic art who died in 1959. It has nine galleries organized in chronological order, exploring the beliefs and art of Islamic civilization. In addition to Mayer's private collection, the museum houses antique chess pieces, dominoes and playing cards; daggers, swords, helmets; textiles; jewelry; glassware, pottery and metalware produced in Islamic countries, from Spain to India. A collection of Islamic carpets was added in 1999.

- Kenneth Sequeira

email : kenneth.sequeira@hotmail.com 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

 

My Recent Covers

 

 

 

zeljko Vasilik, Croatia

 

 

Indian Themes on foreign stamps……

 

Sher Shah Suri

Sher Shah Suri (1486- 1545) also known as Sher Khan  was the founder of the Sur Empire in northern India, with its capital at Delhi. An Afghan (Pathan) by origin, he defeated the Mughals and took control of North India in 1540. He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal Army under Babur and then as the governor of Bihar . He is also remembered for purportedly killing a fully grown tiger with his bare hands in Bihar.

In 1537, Sher Khan turned against his master and overran the state of Bengal to establish the Sur Empire. A soldier of fortune, Sher Khan also proved himself a gifted administrator as well as an able general. His reorganization of the empire laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar the Great, son of Humayun. During his five year rule from 1540 to 1545, he set up a new template for civic and military administration. He conquered Bihar in 1534 & Bengal in 1538. In 1539, Sher Khan faced Humayun in the battle of Chausa. He forced Humayun out of India. Assuming the title Sher Shah, he ascended the throne of Delhi.

He adopted a tri-metal coinage based on copper, silver and gold coins and re-organised the postal system in his kingdom. The system of tri-metalism which came to characterize Mughal coinage was introduced by Sher Shah. While the term rūpya had previously been used as a generic term for any silver coin, during his rule the term rūpiyacame to be used as the name for a silver coin of a standard weight of 178 grains, which was the precursor of the modern rupee.

Sher Shah rebuilt the longest highway in South Asia. The highway was called the Shahrah-e-Azam (also Sadak-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak and later Grand Trunk Road by the British). It is still in use in present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab region Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal. Mughals extended Grand Trunk Road westwards: at one time, it extended to Kabul in Afghanistan, crossing the Khyber Pass. The road was later improved by the British rulers of  colonial India. It was extended to run from Calcutta to Peshawar (present-day Pakistan). Over the centuries, the road acted as a major trade routes in the region and facilitated both travel and postal communication.

Sher Shah built monuments including Rohtas Fort (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Pakistan), many structures in the Rohtasgarh Fort in Bihar, Sher Shah Suri Masjid, in Patna, built in 1540-1545 to commemorate his reign.Qila-i-Kuhna mosque, built by Sher Shah in 1541, at Purana Qila, Delhi, a Humayun citadel started in 1533, and later extended by him, along with the construction of Sher Mandal, an octagonal building inside the Purana Qila complex, which later served as the library of Humayun. 

Sher Shah died from a gunpowder explosion during the siege of Kalinjar fort on May 22, 1545 fighting against the Chandel Rajputs. His death has also been claimed to have been caused by a fire in his store room.

His mausoleum, the Sher Shah Suri Tomb (122 ft high) stands in the middle of an artificial lake at Sasaram, a town that stands on the Grand Trunk Road.

India (1970) & Pakistan (1991) released stamps to honour him.

 

- Kenneth Sequeira, Dubai ( UAE)

email : kenneth.sequeira@hotmail.com

My recent Covers

Poland

Easter……

Andrzej Bek, Poland

Germany

 

Wolfgang Beyer, Germany

From our Readers……

Color and Perforation Error on MS

 

: Ashwani Dubey - Gorakhpur

Stamps on Yoga from China…

 

Indian theme on foreign stamps

The Miniature sheet ( Customized)  features Taj Mahal, Yoga and Shri BKS Iyengar

The Chinese Postal department released eight stamps featuring the Karnataka born and Pune-based, internationally acclaimed Yogacharya BKS Iyengar during the China-India yoga summit held in Guangzhou between June 17 and 19 last year .It is a customized Miniature sheet.

About B.K.S : Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar Generally known as B. K. S. Iyengar Born December 14, 1918, in Bellur, Kolar, district, Karnataka, India. He is the founder of Iyengar Yoga; He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He has written many books on yoga practice and philosophy, He has also written several definitive yoga texts. Iyengar yoga classes are offered throughout the world,

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991 and the Padma Bhushann in 2002. In 2004, Iyengar was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.

-Jagannath Mani, Bangalore  email : jagannath_mani7@yahoo.co.in  Blog :  www.olympicgamesphilately.blogspot.com

 

 

Europa 2012  "Visit... "

Here are some recent stamps featuring EUROPA 2012 theme, stamps  issued by Kazakhstan and Lithuania.

Kazakhstan

Date of Issue: 11th April 2012

Lithuania

Date of Issue : 28th April 2012 

View all :  Euroapa stamps

 

Extraordinary stamps of  2011

Here are some more stamps selected in  top ten stamp  list of 2011 released by  stamp News .com

 

Mythical Creatures

 

This Australia Post's stamp issue, released in October 2011, features Mythical Creatures including a fairy, troll, mermaid, griffin, unicorn and a dragon.

Included in this stamp issue is an Australian first, a special effect 3D mini sheet. It comes with viewing glasses and is housed in a special stamp pack complete with a standard mini sheet.

Zodiac issue by Liechtenstein and China

 

Club News

New issue no.57 March 2012 of "ITS Stamp News" has been released . Book your copy and send order immediately, if you are not a subscriber.

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Subscription Rates: (By Air-mail)

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- Suraj Jaitly    Mobile: +91 98728 51244
MIG # 3464, Phase Two, Dugri Road, Ludhiana - 141 013 INDIA

email : indianthematicsociety@gmail.com 

ITS at : http://indianthematicstamps.webs.com/
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Indian themes on foreign stamps…

 

Great Indian Personalities

Mohammad Ali Jauhar

 

Mohammad Ali Jauhar (1878-1931) was an Indian Muslim leader, activist, scholar, journalist and poet, and was among the leading figures of the Khilafat Movement.

He was one of the founding members of All India Muslim League and its former president.

Mohammad Ali Jauhar is remembered as a fiery leader of many of India's Muslims. He is celebrated as a hero by the Muslims of Pakistan, who claim he inspired the Pakistan movement. But in India, he is remembered for his leadership during Khilafat Movement and the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919–1922) and his leadership in Muslim education.

The famous Muhammad Ali Road in south Mumbai, is named after him. He along with Gandhi traveled to Britain for attending round table conference sometimes in the 1930s. There he delivered his famous speech which included his wish not to get buried in 'slave India'. During the same tour he fell ill and died in London. Respecting his wish, his followers brought his dead body to Palestine, which was then a British Mandated territory (not in Turkish control), and buried him at Baitul Muqaddas. Many Indian Muslims with interest in history were wondering if his tomb is still intact. One Hyderabadi scholar Omar Khakidi who was working with MIT, Boston, found Ali's grave, which was still in good shape.

    

India (1978) & Pakistan (1978,1991) released stamps in his honour .

- Kenneth Sequeira :  email : kenneth.sequeira@hotmail.com 

P.O Box 27181

Dubai, United Arab Emirates.