Apostle of Simplified Kundalini Yoga Vethathiri Maharishi was born on 14th August 1911 in Guduvancherry, a small village near Chennai, to Varadhappan and Chinnammal. Though he did not receive formal schooling, his intense passion for learning led him to educate himself from a very young age. Early Life and Quest for Knowledge To support himself, […]
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Scholar, Spiritual Leader and Statesman Syed Mohammed Ali Shihab Thangal was born on 04 May 1936 at Panakkad near Malappuram, Kerala. He was the son of P. M. S. A. Pookoya Thangal, a noted freedom fighter and spiritual leader. Education and Scholarship After completing his preliminary religious education and high school studies, he travelled to […]
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In April 1956, the Government of India approved the creation of a Naval Aviation wing for the Indian Navy and acquired the aircraft carrier HMS Hercules along with two squadrons of Hawker Seahawk aircraft for its air wing. On 07 July 1960, Indian Naval Air Squadron 300 (INAS-300) was commissioned at the Royal Navy Air […]
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Early Life and Divine Grace Kumaraguruparar Swamigal was born in 1625 at Srivaikuntam near Tiruchendur in Tamil Nadu. According to legend, he was deaf and dumb until the age of five. His distressed parents took him to the sacred Sri Subramanya Swamy Temple, Tiruchendur, where, by the grace of Lord Muruga, his disability miraculously disappeared. […]
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Early Recognition of Classical Languages For many centuries, only Greek and Latin were regarded as classical languages. In the 19th century, eminent scholars such as William Jones and Max Muller translated ancient Sanskrit texts, introducing the richness of India’s literary heritage to the Western world. As a result, Sanskrit too was elevated to the status […]
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On June 14, 2010, India Post issued a ₹5 commemorative stamp to honor Lala Deshbandhu Gupta on his birth anniversary, recognizing his towering role as a fearless nationalist and champion of the free press. Decades earlier, long before India won its independence, a 19-year-old Gupta had taken a historically bold step by dropping out of St. Stephen's College to plunge headfirst into Mahatma Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement, earning him his first of many prison sentences. His profound commitment to public truth led him to learn journalism under Lala Lajpat Rai and eventually co-found the Daily Tej newspaper, followed later by his acquisition of the Indian News Chronicle alongside Ramnath Goenka—a publication that would evolve to become The Indian Express. As an eloquent member of the Constituent Assembly, he vehemently fought against government attempts to tax or censor media, passionately declaring that a fettered press would mean a fettered nation. The 2010 anniversary issue—which beautifully featured his portrait alongside a historic printing press and newspaper masthead—wasn’t just celebrating a political legislator; it was looking back at a brilliant moment when a true patriot fiercely laid down the democratic and uncompromising foundation for freedom of expression in a newly sovereign India.
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On May 8, 2010, India Post issued this ₹5 stamp to honor Dr. Guduru Venkatachalam, a man whose life was a masterclass in combining activism with education. Even as a teenager in the 1920s, he jumped into the Non-Cooperation Movement, showing a rebellious spirit that he later channeled into academic and social reform. After studying at Banaras Hindu University, he became a driving force for progress in Andhra Pradesh, focusing on uplifting marginalized communities and expanding rural education. The stamp features his portrait alongside symbols of growth, serving as a tribute to a leader who believed that true independence wasn't just about politics—it was about ensuring every citizen had the opportunity to learn and thrive. It’s a quiet nod to the grassroots reformers who built the social foundation of modern India.
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On May 7, 2010, India Post issued this ₹5 stamp to honor Robert Caldwell, a linguist and scholar who changed how we understand the history of South India. Although he arrived from Ireland as a missionary in 1838, he became a champion of local culture through his monumental work, A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages. He was the first to scientifically prove that languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam belonged to their own distinct family, separate from Sanskrit—an idea that laid the foundation for the modern Dravidian identity. The stamp features his portrait alongside the various scripts he spent a lifetime studying, serving as a tribute to a man who didn't just study Indian languages, but helped a major part of the country rediscover its unique linguistic roots.
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On May 6, 2010, India Post issued this ₹5 stamp to honor Velu Thampi Dalawa, the Prime Minister of Travancore who became one of the earliest and most fierce opponents of British colonial rule. He is legendary for the "Kundara Proclamation" of 1809, a powerful call to arms where he urged the people to rise up against the British East India Company to protect their culture and way of life. The stamp depicts him in his traditional administrative dress, symbolizing a man who was as much a skilled statesman as he was a warrior. Though his rebellion was eventually suppressed, his refusal to surrender—choosing instead to end his own life in a temple—made him a lasting symbol of defiance. This issue serves as a tribute to a leader who sparked the spirit of independence in southern India long before the national movement took full shape.
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Issued in 2010, this stamp honours Kanwar Ram Sahib — a revered spiritual luminary born in 1885. A master of Sindhi folk art form Bhagat, he used his melodic voice to spread messages of peace, nonviolence, and communal harmony, leaving behind a profound legacy of spiritual awakening and musical devotion that continues to resonate across generations.
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