STAMP COLLECTING-POST INDEPENDENCE INDIA-1999-V

THIS IS MY 75th HUB ON POST-INDEPENDENT INDIA

STAMP SERIES.THIS COVERS THE STAMPS RELEASED

IN 1999.This is the fifth part of the year.This contains the stamps released in November and December

National Children's Day

Children's Day is to celebrate "childhood". On Children’s Day tribute is payed to all children in the world. Children are loved by one and all. They win over our hearts with their angelic eyes and innocent smiles. It makes one realise that maybe that’s the way God wanted us to be.

India's first prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was born on November 14. After his death in 1963, his birthday has been celebrated as children's Day in India.Children's Day is not just a day to let the future generation have its say. It is a day to remember a leader who, in his quiet but determined way, laid the foundation to convert a nascent nation into a world power.

But why Children's Day? Apart from being known for his skills as a statesman, Nehru was also immensely fond of children. The more popular and famous of Nehru's pictures show him with children.

In all the photographs Nehru's joy at being with children is apparent. When he is not sharing pleasantries with them, the expression of intense concentration as he listens to them reveals his commitment and attitude to children. Children to Nehru were little adults in the making.Nehru, to children, is never the Indian political leader and prime minister. He is always Chacha Nehru - Nehru Uncle.

Children's Day is celebrated all over India, especially at the school level. There are also community activities with stress on children's involvement.

The story also goes that he started to wear a rose on his jacket after a child pinned one on it.The national children's centre, Jawahar Bal Bhavan, is also named after Jawaharlal Nehru. Children's Day is literally that. It is the day when children all over the country are pampered with goodies. From the schoolchild's point of view, the best thing perhaps is that it is a special day at school - they need not wear uniforms and are given sweets.

This year Children's day commomerative stamp contains art work done by Rishikesh Gohain.

Stamp Issue Date :14/11/1999 Postage Stamp Dinomination : 300 Postal Stamp Serial Number : 1883Postal Stamp Name :

National Children's Day

Stamp Currency : P Stamp Type : COMMEMORATIVE Stamp Language :English

SRI SATHYA SAI DRIKING WATER PROJECT ,ANANTAPUR DISTRICT ANDHRA PRADESH.

Anantapur Drinking Water Supply Project

The district of Anantapur is one of the most arid and backward districts in Andhra Pradesh. The three major rivers Pennar, Hagari and Chitravathi that flow in the district are non-perennial and remain dry during the summer months. Tanks and rivers run dry for most of the year and groundwater too is scarce. Even the groundwater that is available is brackish and high in fluoride content. The excessive fluoride in the water was causing fluorosis leading to widespread skeletal and dental deformations. Thus, the people of Anantapur have for long been suffering due to lack of water even for drinking. The villagers had to trudge long distances in the harsh unforgiving heat to fetch water for their daily consumption.

In November 1995, Bhagawan announced His concern about the suffering of the people of Rayalseema due to lack of drinking water. He said, “Rayalaseema should be ensured water supply all through the year. Today it is a Raallaseema (a rocky region). It must be transformed into a Ratnalaseema (land that glitters as a diamond).”

In March 1995, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust commenced work on a project to supply pure drinking water to villages in the drought-ravaged district of Anantapur. Bhagawan’s mandate was simple and direct: Provide safe drinking water throughout the year to as many people as possible, in as many villages in the shortest possible time. Accordingly, a project plan was drawn up to bring water to the villages involving four kinds of schemes. The main strategy was to tap river water where available from dams, canals and river beds and then deliver the water through an elaborate network of storage reservoirs, booster pumps and pipes. The four schemes involved were:

• Direct Pumping Water is drawn from an already existing irrigation dam and is then distributed to the villages through a network of pipelines. For the project, water from the Penna Ahobilam Balancing Reservoir is sent for treatment to a rapid sand filtration system and then pumped to about 93 villages in the Kalyandurg, Atmakur and Udiripikonda sectors.

• Infiltration Well Schemes In some areas, infiltration wells are sunk into riverbeds to tap water from underground streams. The subsoil water is then drawn throughout the year from these wells and fed to a collection well from where it is distributed to many places through a system of pumps. The water obtained is pure and requires very minimal treatment. Wells were sunk on the banks of the Chitravathi, Hagari and Pennar rivers for this purpose.

• Summer Storage Tank Schemes
  This method is used in places where the surface water dries up during acute summer conditions. Water is tapped from the Tunghabhadra Canal during the rainy season and is fed to a set of summer storage tanks, from which water is pumped during the dry season. The summer storage tanks are about 100 acres in extent. This scheme covers 97 villages.
  
  
  
  
• Borewell Schemes
  This simple scheme covered 279 villages and involved drilling deep borewells and installing submersible pumps to draw out the water. This procedure was used wherever the groundwater was found to be sufficient and free from excessive fluoride content.
  
  The first phase of the project was inaugurated on 18th November 1995 by the then Prime Minister of India, Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao in a function held at the Poornachandra Auditorium in Prasanthi Nilayam. Altogether, 731 villages were covered in the project at a cost of Rs.3000 million and was completed in a record time of eighteen months thanks not only to a dedicated team of workers from various establishments but also thousands of inspired villagers who contributed their mite to make this Divine project successful. A total of 1.25 million people were benefited by the project.

  The nightmare had at last ended for the people of Anantapur. The villagers will never again have to trek long miles for pure and safe drinking water, for it is now available almost at their doorstep. The frightening scepter of fluorosis too is behind them. For, Bhagawan, moved to compassion by their plight had resolved to wipe away their tears once and for all.

  Project Statistics:

• About 2000 kilometres of pipeline of varying diameters were laid
• 43 sumps with capacities ranging from 1 lakh (0.1 million) litres to 25 lakh litres were constructed
• 18 balancing reservoirs with capacities ranging from 3 lakh litres to 10 lakh litres have been constructed on the top of hillocks
• Construction of 270 overhead reservoirs. Capacity: 40,000 – 300000 litres
• 125 ground level reservoirs were set up. Capacity: 20,000 litres – 80,000 litres.
• More than 1500 precast concrete cisterns of 2500 litres capacity have been installed in various villages. Each cistern has four taps for people to collect water.

The project was formally handed over to the Government of Andhra Pradesh in October 1997. This project has received much acclaim from the Government of India:

• The Ninth Five Year plan document of Government of India added a citation to the Trust in appreciation of the project, which read -
  “… Sri Sathya Sai Trust has set an unparalleled example of private initiative in implementing a project on their own, without any state's budgetary support, a massive water supply project, with an expenditure of Rs. 3,000 million to benefit 731 scarcity and fluoride / salinity-affected villages and a few towns in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh in a time frame of about 18 months.”
  
• On 23rd November 1999, the Department of Posts, Government of India, released a postage stamp and a postal cover in recognition of the pioneering service rendered by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in addressing the problem of providing safe drinking water to the rural masses.

Medak & Mahabubnagar Drinking Water Supply Project

Following the Anantapur Drinking Water Supply Project, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust replicated the model to provide water to 320 villages in Medak and Mahabubnagar districts of Andhra Pradesh. Just as in Anantapur, the groundwater in these regions contains excessive concentration of fluorine. Pollution from industrial effluents had further aggravated the problem. The Trust stepped in to provide safe and pure drinking water to the people of these districts in the year 2001.

The project draws water mainly from the backwaters of the Jurala Project built on the Krishna River in Mahabubnagar district and from Manjeera River in Medak district. The project that cost Rs.530 million covered a total area of 640 sq.km benefiting an aggregate population of about 1 million in the two districts.

Stamp Issue Date : 23/11/1999 Postage Stamp Dinomination : 300 Postal Stamp Serial Number : 1884 Postal Stamp Name :

SRI SATHYA SAI DRIKING WATER PROJECT ,ANANTAPUR DISTRICT ANDHRA PRADESH.

Anantapur Drinking Water Supply Project

Stamp Currency : P Stamp Type : COMMEMORATIVE Stamp Language :English

50th ANNIVERSARY OF SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Supreme Court of India came into existence on 26th January, 1950 and is located on Tilak Marg, New Delhi. The Supreme Court of India functioned from the Parliament House till it moved to the present building. It has a 27.6 metre high dome and a spacious colonnaded verandah. For a peek inside, you’ll have to obtain a visitor’s pass from the front office.

O

n the 28th of January, 1950, two days after India became a Sovereign Democratic Republic, the Supreme Court came into being. The inauguration took place in the Chamber of Princes in the Parliament building which also housed India's Parliament, consisting of the Council of States and the House of the People. It was here, in this Chamber of Princes, that the Federal Court of India had sat for 12 years between 1937 and 1950. This was to be the home of the Supreme Court for years that were to follow until the Supreme Court acquired its own present premises.

The inaugural proceedings were simple but impressive. They began at 9.45 a.m. when the Judges of the Federal Court - Chief Justice Harilal J.Kania and Justices Saiyid Fazl Ali, M. Patanjali Sastri, Mehr Chand Mahajan, Bijan Kumar Mukherjea and S.R.Das - took their seats. In attendance were the Chief Justices of the High Courts of Allahabad, Bombay, Madras, Orissa, Assam, Nagpur, Punjab, Saurashtra, Patiala and the East Punjab States Union, Mysore, Hyderabad, Madhya Bharat and Travancore-Cochin. Along with the Attorney General for India, M.C. Setalvad were present the Advocate Generals of Bombay, Madras, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, East Punjab, Orissa, Mysore, Hyderabad and Madhya Bharat. Present too, were Prime Minister, other Ministers, Ambassadors and diplomatic representatives of foreign States, a large number of Senior and other Advocates of the Court and other distinguished visitors.

Taking care to ensure that the Rules of the Supreme Court were published and the names of all the Advocates and agents of the Federal Court were brought on the rolls of the Supreme Court, the inaugural proceedings were over and put under part of the record of the Supreme Court.

After its inauguration on January 28, 1950, the Supreme Court commenced its sittings in a part of the Parliament House. The Court moved into the present building in 1958. The building is shaped to project the image of scales of justice. The Central Wing of the building is the Centre Beam of the Scales. In 1979, two New Wings - the East Wing and the West Wing - were added to the complex. In all there are 15 Court Rooms in the various wings of the building. The Chief Justice's Court is the largest of the Courts located in the Centre of the Central Wing.

The original Constitution of 1950 envisaged a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and 7 puisne Judges - leaving it to Parliament to increase this number. In the early years, all the Judges of the Supreme Court sat together to hear the cases presented before them. As the work of the Court increased and arrears of cases began to cumulate, Parliament increased the number of Judges from 8 in 1950 to 11 in 1956, 14 in 1960, 18 in 1978 and 26 in 1986. As the number of the Judges has increased, they sit in smaller Benches of two and three - coming together in larger Benches of 5 and more only when required to do so or to settle a difference of opinion or controversy.

The Supreme Court of India comprises the Chief Justice and 28 other Judges appointed by the President of India. Supreme Court Judges retire upon attaining the age of 65 years. In order to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court, a person must be a citizen of India and must have been, for atleast five years, a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession, or an Advocate of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession for at least 10 years or he must be, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist. Provisions exist for the appointment of a Judge of a High Court as an Ad-hoc Judge of the Supreme Court and for retired Judges of the Supreme Court or High Courts to sit and act as Judges of that Court.

The Constitution seeks to ensure the independence of Supreme Court Judges in various ways. A Judge of the Supreme Court cannot be removed from office except by an order of the President passed after an address in each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting, and presented to the President in the same Session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. A person who has been a Judge of the Supreme Court is debarred from practising in any court of law or before any other authority in India.

The proceedings of the Supreme Court are conducted in English only. Supreme Court Rules, 1966 are framed under Article 145 of the Constitution to regulate the practice and procedure of the Supreme Court.

Stamp Issue Date : 26/11/1999 Postage Stamp Dinomination : 300 Postal Stamp Serial Number : 1885ostal Stamp Name :

50th ANNIVERSARY OF SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Stamp Currency : P Stamp Type : COMMEMORATIVE Stamp Language :English

FREEDOM FIGHTERS & SOCIAL REFORMERS.

A. Vaidyanatha Iyer

(1890-1955), also known as Madurai Vaidyanatha Iyer was an Indian activist, politician and freedom-fighter who spearheaded the temple entry movement in Madras Presidency in 1939.

Early life

Vaidynatha iyer was born in Thanjavur in then Madras Presidency in 1890. His Parents are Arunachalam Iyer and Lakshmi Ammal in a Tamil Brahmin family. He entered the Indian independence movement in 1922 when he participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement.^[1] He also participated in the Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha (1930) and the Quit India Movement of 1942.

Temple Entry Movement

The Temple Entry Authorization and Indemnity Act was passed by the government of C. Rajagopalachari in 1939 by which restrictions prohibiting Shanars and Dalits from entering Hindu temples was removed. During this time, Vaidyanatha Iyer was the President of the Tamil Nadu Harijan Seva Sangh.^[2] On July 8, 1939, Vaidyanatha Iyer entered the Meenakshi temple at Madurai in the company of L. N. Gopalasamy and six of his Dalit friends, P. Kakkan, Muruganandam, Chinniah, Purnalingam and Muthu.^[3][4] This was stringently opposed by upper-caste Hindu leaders and those seeking to preserve Varnashrama Dharma.

Panjabrao Shamrao Deshmukh (December 27, 1898 – April 10, 1965) famously known as Bhausaheb Deshmukh was a social activist and a farmer's leader in India. He was the Minister of Agriculture in the first cabinet of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1952.

Birth and childhood

He born at Papal in Amrawati district of Vidarbha, Maharashtra on December 27, 1898. His childhood had gone happily at Papal. His original surname was "Kadam". After completing his primary education at home, he was sent to Songaon at first and then to Karanja Lad. He got his highschool education at Karanja lad up to ninth standard. Then he took admission in Hind Highschool, Amrawati. After that he went to Fergusson College at Pune.

In England

In those times there were no facilities of higher education in India. Many Students used to go to England for further education. So he also wanted to be a Barrister from Cambridge University. Despite too much poverty at home, he managed to make money to go to England. He took barrister degree in 1921. He also took M.A. honours in Sanskrit and done Ph.D. with the subject Origin and development of religion in vedic literature.

Social activities

He was attached with Satya Shodhak Samaj of Mahatma Phule.He did satyagraha for entry to untouchables in Ambabai Temple, Amrawati, which was a very strongly condemned by the upper castes. Dr.Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was pro to him in this movement.

Educational activist

Deshmukh knew that prosperity would come only when the weapon of knowledge became available to all. For this purpose he established Shivaji Education Society. There is an Agricultural university by his name at Akola, i.e. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth. He was a well known educationalist who well cemented the foundation of education in not only in Vidarbha but throughout the Maharashtra region.

Political career

He was elected thrice for the Loksabha. Dr. Deshmukh was selected by Nehru as the first agriculture minister of India. He played an important role in the making of the Indian Constitution.^[2] He was a staunch supporter of the mission by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. He was the secretary for Vidarbha region of the Indian Labour Party, established by Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Leader of peasants

He dedicated all his talents and energy for formulation and implementation of the policies that would bring prosperity to agriculture and the agriculturist. He established the Bharat Krishak Samaj and launched a campaign called Food for Millions in 1955. He brought in the Japanese method of rice cultivation in 1958 and organized the World Agriculture Fair in 1959, which was inaugrated by Dwight Eisenhower, the then President of the US. The fair was visited by dignitaries across the world some of them being Nikita Khrushchev, the then president of USSR, Lord and Lady MountBatten and many others.

He started the process of establishment of Agricultural Universities all across the country and gave fillip to agricultural education and research.

As a lawyer

He appeared many cases in the district court of Amrawati from the side of poor peasants. But the main case was British govt vs. Azad Hind Sena,in which he assisted to Jawaharlal Nehru.

Death and legacy

Dr. Deshmukh died on April 10, 1965 at Delhi.

Indulal Kanaiyalal Yagnik (22 February 1892–17 July 1972) was an Indian independence activist, a leader of the All India Kisan Sabha, a significant peasant organization in India and one of the founders of the Mahagujarat Janata Parishad, a movement, which spearheaded the demand for the separate statehood for Gujarat on 8 August 1956.

Yagnik was elected to the 2nd Lok Sabha from Ahmedabad constituency in the erstwhile Bombay state in 1957. He was re-elected to the 3rd, 4th and 5th Lok Sabha from the same constituency.

Early life (1892–1915)

Yagnik was born at Nadiad in the present-day Kheda district of Gujarat. His father Kanaiyalal died at a young age while studying. Yagnik completed his primary and secondary education in Nadiad and after passing the matriculation examination in 1906, he joined the Gujarat College in Ahmedabad. After passing the intermediate examination, he took admission to the St. Xavier's College, Bombay and passed his B.A. examination from there. In 1912, he passed his L.L.B. examination.

Independence movement (1915–1947)

Yagnik was deeply influenced by Annie Besant during his college days. In 1915, along with Jamnadas Dwarkadas and Shankerlal Banker, he published an English language magazine, Young India from Bombay. In the same year, publication of a Gujarati monthly Navjivan ane Satya started and Yagnik was its editor till 1919, when he handed it over to Mahatma Gandhi. He joined the Servants of India Society in the same year but resigned in 1917 and joined the Home Rule Movement. In 1918, he participated in the Kheda Satyagraha led by Gandhi.^[4] In 1921 he became the secretary of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee. In October, 1922 he started another Gujarati monthly, Yugadharm. He was imprisoned by the British from April 1923 to March 1924. From 1924-28, he was the editor of Hindustan, a Gujarati daily from Bombay. During 1926-27, he was also an assistant editor of the Bombay Chronicle. He traveled a number of countries in Europe from 1930-35.

In 1936, he took active initiative in the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha and participated in its first session In 1939, he founded the Gujarat Kisan Parishad. he was again imprisoned during 1940-41 for his anti-war campaign. In 1942, he presided over the annual session of the Akhil Hind Kisan Sabha. He started a Gujarati daily Nutan Gujarat in 1943.

Post-independence (1947–1972)

In 1956, Yagnik led the movement for a separate Gujarat state and became the founder president of the Mahagujarat Janata Parishad.^[2] In 1957, he was elected to the 2nd Lok Sabha from Ahmedabad constituency as a Mahagujarat Janata Parishad candidate. After the formation of Gujarat state on 1 May 1960, Mahagujarat Janata Parishad was dissolved. In June, 1960 he founded the Nutan Maha Gujarat Janata Parishad and re-elected to the 3rd Lok Sabha as its candidate in 1962.

Works

Yagnik's most notable work in Gujarati language is his autobiographical work, Atmakatha (આત્મકથા) in six volumes.

P. Kakkan

P. Kakkan (sometimes Kakkan) (Tamil: கக்கன்) (June 18, 1908 – December 23, 1981) was a Dalit leader, freedom fighter and Indian politician who served as a member of the Constituent Assembly of India, Member of Parliament, President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and in various ministerial posts in Congress Governments in the erstwhile Madras state between 1957 and 1967.

Early life

Kakkan was born in a Scheduled caste family on June 18, 1908 in Nagercoil, in Kanyakumari district of Madras Presidency His father Poosari Kakkan was a "pujari" in the village shrine.

Indian Independence Movement

Kakkan was drawn to the independence movement from an early stage in his life. While in school, he joined the Indian National Congress. When the Rajaji Government brought forth the Temple Entry Authorization and Indemnity Act 1939 which removed restrictions on Dalits and Shanars entering temples, Kakkan led the temple entry at Madurai. He also participated in the Quit India Movement and was sent to Alipore jail. In 1946, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly. and served from 1946 to 1950.

Politics of Free India

Kakkan served as a member of the Lok Sabha from 1952 to 1957. When K. Kamaraj resigned as the President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee in order to take office as the Chief Minister of Madras state, Kakkan was elected as the President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. Following the 1957 elections when the Indian National Congress was re-elected to power in the Madras state, Kakkan was sworn in as the Minister for Public Works (excluding Electricity), Harijan Welfare, Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes on April 13, 1957 From March 13, 1962 to October 3, 1963, Kakkan served as the Minister of Agriculture. On April 24, 1962, he was appointed as a member of the Business Advisory Committee. and as Home Minister on October 3, 1963 and served till 1967 when the Indian National Congress was defeated in the Assembly elections.

Later life and death

In the 1967 Assembly elections, Kakkan stood for elections from Melur (South) constituency and lost to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate O. P. Raman. Following his defeat in the 1967 elections, Kakkan retired from politics.

Work

Some of Kakkan's achievements as Minister have been the construction of the Mettur and Vaigai reservoirs and the formation of the Harijan Seva Sangh for the upliftment and welfare of Dalits. As Minister of Agriculture, he established two Agriculture Universities in Madras state. In 1999, the Government of India released a postage stamp commemorating Kakkan and his contributions to the nation.

Ideology

Being the son of a priest, Kakkan was deeply religious. He was also a staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi. When Periyar, the leader of the Self-respect movement publicly declared his intention to organize a Dravidar Kazhagam procession to the Marina in order to burn pictures of the Hindu God Rama, Kakkan warned Periyar that the desecration of images would constitute an "anti-social act" that would forsake the strong faith in God by which Gandhi won independence for India. When Periyar tried to ignore the warning, he was arrested and confined in prison though the Government was not able to stop Dravidar Kazhagam activists from burning pictures of Lord Rama.

Stamp Issue Date :09/11/1999 Postage Stamp Dinominations : 300,300,300 and300 Postal Stamp Serial Number : 1886,1887,1888,and 1989Postal Stamp Name :

REEDOM FIGHTERS & SOCIAL REFORMERS

Stamp Currency : P Stamp Type : COMMEMORATIVE Stamp Language :English

Stamp Currency : P Stamp Type : COMMEMORATIVE Stamp Language :English

Electricity sector in India

The electricity sector in India supplies the world's 5th largest energy consumer, accounting for 4.0% of global energy consumption by more than 17% of global population. the Energy policy of India is predominantly controlled by the Government of India's, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal and Ministry of New Renewable Energy and administered locally by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

About 65.34% of the electricity consumed in India is generated by thermal power plants, 21.53% by hydroelectric power plants, 2.70% by nuclear power plants. and 10.42% by Renewable Energy Sources. More than 50% of India's commercial energy demand is met through the country's vast coal reserves. The country has also invested heavily in recent years in renewable energy utilization, especially wind energy. In 2010, India's installed wind generated electric capacity was 14,550 MW. Additionally, India has committed massive amount of funds for the construction of various nuclear reactors which would generate at least 30,000 MW. In July 2009, India unveiled a $19 billion plan to produce 20,000 MW of solar power by 2022.

Rapid economic growth has created a growing need for dependable and reliable supplies of electricity, gas and petroleum products. Due to the fast-paced growth of India's economy, the country's energy demand has grown an average of 3.6% per annum over the past 30 years. In August 2011, the installed power generation capacity of India stood at 181.558 GW and per capita energy consumption stood at 704 kWh in 2008-09. The country's annual energy production increased from about 190 billion kWh in 1986 to more than 837 billion kWh in 2010. The Indian government has set a modest target to add approximately 78,000 MW of installed generation capacity by 2012 which it is likely to miss. The total demand for electricity in India is expected to cross 950,000 MW by 2030.^[15] Four major economic and social drivers characterize the energy policy of India: a rapidly growing economy, increasing household incomes, limited domestic reserves of fossil fuels and the adverse impact on the environment of rapid development in urban and regional areas.

According to a research report published by Citigroup Global Markets, India is expected to add up to 113 GW of installed capacity by 2017. Further, renewable capacity might increase from 15.5 GW to 36.0 GW. In the private sector, major capacity additions are planned in Reliance Power (35 GW) and CESC (7 GW).

Stamp Issue Date : 14/12/1999 Postage Stamp Dinominations : 300, Postal Stamp Serial Number : 1890 Postal Stamp Name :

CENTENARY OF THERMAL POWER IN INDIA

Stamp Currency : P Stamp Type : COMMEMORATIVE Stamp Language :English

Hindustan Times Hindustan Times (HT) is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ("Hindustan" being a historical name for India).

Hindustan Times is the flagship publication of HT Media Ltd. In 2008 the tabloid reported its circulation to be over 1.14 million according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (India), ranking it as the third largest daily English tabloid in India. The Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2010 revealed that HT has a readership of (34.67 lakhs), placing it as the second most widely read English tabloid in India after The Times of India.^[3] It has a wide reach in northern India, with simultaneous editions from New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi, Bhopal and Chandigarh. The print location of Jaipur was discontinued from June 2006. HT launched a youth daily, HT Next, in 2004. The Mumbai edition was launched on 14 July 2005 and the Kolkata edition was launched on early 2000.

Other sister publications of Hindustan Times are Mint (English business daily), Hindustan (Hindi Daily), Nandan (monthly children's magazine) and Kadambani (monthly literary magazine). The media group owns a radio channel, Fever, and organises an annual Luxury Conference which has featured speakers like designer Diane von Fürstenberg, shoemaker Christian Louboutin, Gucci CEO Robert Polet and Cartier MD Patrick Normand. Hindustan Times is owned by the KK Birla branch of the Birla family.

Stamp Issue Date : 16/12/1999 Postage Stamp Dinominations : 1500, Postal Stamp Serial Number : 1891 Postal Stamp Name :

75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HINDUSTAN TIMES

Stamp Currency : P Stamp Type : COMMEMORATIVE Stamp Language :English

The Family Planning Association India, also known as FPA India, is an Indian registered charity working to promote sexual health and family planning in India. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1999. Its motto is "Fulfilling People's Aspiration". It is the national affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

The organisation was established in 1949. FPA India has been recognized as India's leading and largest reproductive and sexual health organisation. It provides information on sexuality education and family life and a wide range of services in sexual and reproductive health including family planning.

FPA India works closely with NGOs and the Government.

FPA India is contributing towards:

• Population Stabilisation
• Prevention of Unsafe Abortion and Sex Selective Abortions
• Reduction in Infant Mortality Rate
• Reduction in Maternal Mortality Rate
• Reduction in Reproductive Morbidity of Men and Women
• Reduction in Sexually Transmitted Infections, including HIV
• Gender Equity and Gender Equality
• Meeting the SRH Needs of Youth

FPA India envisions health, particularly sexual and reproductive health for all, especially marginalized and young people, in the broad context of sustainable development leading towards the alleviation of poverty, stabilization of population, gender equality, and human rights.

FPA India strengthens a voluntary and non-government commitment to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights including family planning. It supports the rights of individuals to reproductive choices, including legal and safe abortion; works towards reducing the spread and the impact of STIs/HIV/AIDS and increasing access to gender sensitive sexual and reproductive health information, education and services to all especially the young and marginalized and eliminating violence, discrimination, and abuse.

Stamp Issue Date : 18/12/1999 Postage Stamp Dinominations : 300, Postal Stamp Serial Number : 1892 Postal Stamp Name :

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF FAMILY PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF INDIA

Stamp Currency : P Stamp Type : COMMEMORATIVE Stamp Language :English

The world was transfixed by the year 2000--worried about the'Y2K' bug in computers,
millennial madness in cult groups, political union in Europe, and a proposal to make
Mary "co-redemptrix" in the Catholic Church. While Rome flirted with blasphemy, few
realized that the true 2000th lunar anniversary of the birth of Jesus was August 22, 1998,
or on September 11, 1998 by the solar calendar dating we now use.

Many may live to see the consequences of the anniversary, if it foreshadowed a coming
fake Christ. Or at the least, there were dozens of lunatics eager to take advantage of the
year 2000 hysteria to get the attention of the gullible.

Yet the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity actually came 475 days before year 2000
began. The correct anniversary date was about sundown, Jerusalem time, the end of the
Sabbath, Saturday August 22, 1998.

How can we know the exact day--and nearly the hour--of the birth of Jesus?

Simple arithmatic. A child could have done it, if only the basic assumptions had been
correct. But they weren't. In the 19th century, critical scholars made a crucial decision to
reject a total lunar eclipse in January 1 BC and to accept instead one in March 4 BC, as
the chronological cornerstone for dating the death of Herod the Great, and thereby, the
possible birth years for Jesus.

By so doing, the critics could argue Jesus had to born before 4 BC, contradicting
Luke, who tied Jesus' 30th year to the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar, 27-28 AD. Luke
effectively placed the birth in 3 BC, as did many of the early church fathers. Ironically,
even the date used by the Pope during the Christmas Eve midnight mass ritual is itself
consistent with the last half of 3 BC.

The dirty little secret is that virtually all the available evidence has always pointed
at the harvest period of 3 BC as the focal point of the Nativity--including the possibility
of a late summer birth.

By rejecting Luke, scholars also threw out the date of the birth Luke gives in his
Gospel. In his second chapter, Luke tells what happened the day Mary came to the
Temple for purification 40 days after the birth of Jesus. All one has to know is what
day this was. And Luke plainly names the day. In fact, he includes three statements
identifying the day. So what day was this?

Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement. The 10th day of the seventh month of the
Hebrew calendar.

In Luke's time, Yom Kippur was called three things: The day of the "Fast," the day
of the "Purification,"and the day of "Redemption." Luke uses all three to identify the
day Jesus was brought to the Temple. And he even quotes the Torah rule that mandates
the 40-day period for the mother to wait after the child's birth [Lk 2:22-38].

And if there were any doubt that it was Yom Kippur, Luke tells of a woman named
Anna who had been in the Temple for a "night and day" without leaving. There was
ONLY ONE DAY A YEAR when a person could pray overnight in the Temple: Yom
Kippur. All other days, the Temple was locked at sundown.

This shows the 40th day of Mary's Purification had begun at the end of Yom Kippur,
the end of the 10th day of the 7th month, because we know the Purification was done at
the earliest opportunity--at the beginning of the 40th day after birth. And since the 6th
month normally had only 29 days, simple arithmatic shows Mary's 39 days of Purification
had to have begun around sundown on the 1st day of the 6th month, called Elul.

This was the night of the first sighting of the new moon of Elul. The Magi in Babylon
were recording this sunset sliver of the new moon on a clay tablet. The cuneiform tablet
the Magi made at that hour 2000 years ago, along with thousands of others from Babylon,
resides in the British Museum. It is possible that this clay tablet was inscribed by one of
the famous Magi who later brought a strange set of gifts to Bethlehem. So the new moon
seen by the Magi in Babylon at the very moment of Jesus being born is recorded on one of
the tablets now in London. Cuneiform scholars have identified the date on this tablet as
equivalent to September, 11, 3 BC.

The Hebrew lunar calendar dates vary with respect to our solar calendar. So the 1st
of Elul was September 11th in 3 BC, but began on August 22 in 1998. The same was true
in the days of the early church, of course. In a given year, the 1st of Elul could have fallen
on September 8th, for example.

This may solve another ancient mystery. No one seems to know how Rome came to
honor September 8th as the birthday of Mary. There is no Biblical, historical, or church
tradition to explain it. It just emerges out of nowhere. Rome keeps the 8th of December as
the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary [ie. conceived without original sin]. It is
a holy day of obligation for all Catholics to attend Mass. This feast is clearly based upon
September 8th also, and mortal sin is attached to the failure of a Catholic to observe it, yet
the origins of these dates are unknown.

On the other hand, we can now see that if Jesus were born on September 11th as Luke
indicates, then Jesus would have been conceived around December 8th in 4 BC. The now
mysterious Mary dates fit Jesus quite well. How might this have happened?

In the late 4th century, in early 380 AD, Pope Damasus I was endeavoring to force all
Christians in the Roman Empire to yield to his authority. He got the Emperor to issue an
edict requiring them to practice the religion of Rome. We know that it is about this time
the Christmas midnight Mass was first celebrated and December 25th first identified as a
Catholic holy day. It is said Damasus was seeking to lure the people away from pagan
rites honoring the birth of the sun god at midnight by compelling Catholic attendance at a
memorial in honor of Christ's death, ie the Mass. The people confused this Mass with the
pagan solar birth rituals conducted at that same time. Gradually, the Christ-Mass became
associated with the Nativity.

Meanwhile, the true feast around September 8th, which naturally honored Mary in
giving birth to Jesus, was converted into a day commemorating her own birth, and an old
holyday honoring the conception of Jesus was converted into a day commemorating the
conception of Mary on December 8th. Strangely, there is still widespread belief among
non-Catholics that this is the day Jesus was concieved--a possible lingering remembrance
of the original meaning of this date.

We can also tell from Luke's Gospel that Jesus had been born in early evening, for
Luke says the shepherds were keeping watch by night, but still had time to go into town
and tell the people what they had seen earlier that evening. People rose early with the sun
in those days, and would have been asleep by 9 or 10 pm. Therefore, the birth had taken
place no later than 8 pm, and probably before 7 pm. Yet Luke says it happened at night,
which means after sunset--surely after 6 pm in September. Hence, it follows that Jesus
was born within a few minutes of 6:30-7:30 pm on the evening of September 11th, 3 BC.

A confirmation of this time is in the book of Revelation. Historian Ernest L. Martin
consulted NASA lunar-phase tables and found the image of the heavens in Revelation 12
showed where the sun and the moon were, relative to Virgo, at the time Jesus was born,
pin-pointing sunset of September 11th of 3 BC. It seems the moon moves so quickly it is
"beneath the feet" of Virgo only a few hours every month. Moreover, the moon comes
within two lunar diameters of Virgo's feet at the time of a new moon but once in 30 years.
The only such occurance any time near the birth of Jesus was on September 11th, 3 BC.

Most previous attempts at determining the birth time were based upon astrology and
dating the Star of Bethlehem. No one considered 3 BC because that year had erroneously
been assumed to follow Herod's death. However, Dr. Martin has proven that Herod did
not die in 4 BC, but in 1 BC. Scholars are now generally accepting the new chronology for
Herod, and this in turn has allowed the confirmation of the New Testament date for the
birth of Jesus. Unfortunately, many churches continue to promote the critics' errors and
paganized traditions about the Nativity.

Stamp Issue Date : 25/12/1999 Postage Stamp Dinominations : 300, Postal Stamp Serial Number : 1893/Postal Stamp Name :

2000TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF JESSUS CHRIST.

Stamp Currency : P Stamp Type : COMMEMORATIVE Stamp Language :English

Unity In Diversity India being the largest democracy in the world with a civilization more than five thousand years old boasts of multiple cultural origins. The cultural origins of the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilizations, the remains of which are cherished even today. Since the late 16th century India was under the influence of the British Empire until 15th August 1947 the day when India gained independence. India is a land of diverse cultures, religions and communities. There is great diversity in our traditions, manners, habits, tastes and customs. Each and every region of the country portrays different customs and traditions. But though we speak different languages yet we are all Indians. 'Unity in Diversity' has been the distinctive feature of our culture. To live peacefully has been our motto and this motto has helped us to achieve independence. As history tells us that there has been active participation from people of different caste and religion. In our struggle for freedom people from different communities participated keeping one thing in mind that they all are Indians first. But unfortunately this peace and understanding among different communities has been endangered lately. India at present is facing many problems. The biggest of these is the problem of communalism. In their personal fight they are destroying their life only. In fact, it is the biggest threat to humanity and to the unity and integrity of the country.

People from different background and culture participated in India's struggle for freedom. The national leaders, particularly Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Azad and Bose had coined the slogan unity in diversity There are numerous others who were also involved. Be it Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jain and Sikhs everybody had a single identity of being an Indian. It should be understood that all of us have multiple identities religious, linguistic, cultural, regional and caste identities. No one can claim single identity. One who demands single identity i.e. national identity does not recognize the reality but during India's struggle for freedom no one thought in that manner they just thought of India's independence. Modern India presents a picture of unity in diversity where people of different faiths and beliefs live together in peace and harmony. Still today also India remains one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world.

Stamp Issue Date : 31/12/1999 Postage Stamp Dinominations : 500 & 1000, Postal Stamp Serial Number : 1894 &1895 /Postal Stamp Name :

NEW MILLENNIUM:UNITY IN DIVERSITY,RESPECT FOR ALL RELIGIONS.

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