Made in Germany, in Hindi

A special logo created for the event

Yes, you have got it right.

It was made in Germany but writing on it was in Hindi language.

The story is about the connection between two countries - India and Germany. Incidentally there are two distinct and different bridges. One bridge is about establishing diplomatic relations between two democracies while the other bridge is related to philatelic connections. While the former is 70 years old, the later has a linkage more than 75 years.

The diplomatic relation between Indian Government and Federal Republic of Germany was established after the World War II. India was one of the few nations which came forward to do so. WW II which began in 1939, ended in 1945. India got her independence from British rule on 15 Aug 1947. On the other hand, Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949. On 07 Mar 1951, two nations signed a long lasting agreement on diplomatic and economic cooperation. Subsequently, both the countries established their respective embassies, in other's country. Indian embassy was opened in Bonn and German embassy became operational in New Delhi. However, over a span of seventy years, the diplomatic and political relationship between two countries has been strengthened in other areas like  people-to-people connect, cultural exchange, renewable resources etc.

In the global market, Germany ranks sixth position for India’s international trading partner. On the other hand, Germany has India as one of "Global development partners". Both countries have mutual cooperation in the numerous areas like energy (efficiency and renewable), environment, sustainability, women empowerment etc.

On 07 Mar 1921, the diplomatic relation between India and Germany reached the milestone of 70 years. A special logo, to signify the 70th anniversary of the relationship, was released in March, 2021 by Mr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Hon’ble External Affairs Minister of Government of India.

In order to commemorate the historical occasion, Government of India issued a postage stamp of INR 25 on 10 June 2021. On the other side, Deutsche Post issued another stamp in order to commemorate the event. The price of single German stamp is 170 cents. This is equivalent to postage charge for sending an international envelope weighing 50 grams from Germany to India. This combination of stamps is called Joint Issue by the philatelists.

Before we speak about this joint issue of postage stamps by India Post and Deutsche Post, let us understand what is a joint issue of stamps.

 

As a part of strengthening the bi-lateral or multi-lateral relationship, at times, two or more countries decide to issue commemorative postage stamps together on certain common themes. Associated postal authorities may identify a central idea or concept to feature in the stamps. These countries may decide for emission of stamps on identical design or may have common theme but different design. Their date of issues, in the respective countries, may be the same or different based of individual country's convenience. Such issues of commemorative postage stamps are known as Joint Issue in the parlance of philately. This is manifestation of cross-national cooperation through the route of philately.

Theme chosen by the nations for joint issue may be as wild as one can imagine. However, some of the popular themes are architecture, culture, music and dance, personalities etc. As on date, worldwide, more than 2000 joint issues by different countries across the globe, have been released by various postal authorities.

Let us come back to the said joint issue. The beautiful Indian stamp was designed by Ms. Gulistan. For German stamp, Mr. Matthias Wittig, who is a Berlin-based graphic designer, is credited. In India, the Indian stamp was released by Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary in presence of Mr. Vineet Pandey, Secretary, Posts. Mr. Walter Lindner, German Ambassador to India had graced the event. On the other side, Federal Ministry of Finance, Germany released the German version of the stamp.  Sarah Ryglewski , the Parliamentary State Secretary presented the joint issue through video presentation.

Issued by Deutsche Post

There was hard work of the teams from both sides, behind the screen, since almost two years. The German version of the stamp has the colors of the Indian national flag on the top and that of German flag, adjacent below it. It signifies a strong force of cohesion between two nations. Both of ‘Bharat’ (India) and ‘Germany’ in Hindi font have been superimposed over the colourful flag stripes. These stamps, though printed in Germany, have Hindi script on them.

In contrast, Indian stamp has featured dances of both of India and Germany at the backdrop of respective architectural monuments.

Issued by India Post

In Germany, postage stamps are issued by German Finance Ministry. The reason behind it is twofold. One is obvious - the generation of revenue. The other one is chronicling contemporary German history and supporting charities.

Annually the Finance Ministry receives about 500 proposals for stamp, out of which around only 50 gets final approval. The German Finance Minister,  since 1998, grants the final seal of approval. All such stamps are having inscription of 'Deutschland'.

But long before of this set of joint issue, both countries have issued several postage stamps highlighting the renowned personalities and cultural heritage of each other. Germany has issued postage stamps on the following Indian themes:

1. 02 Oct 1969: Mahatma Gandhi (02 Oct 1869 – 30 Jan 1948) by Deutsche Bundespost

Picture source: Internet

2. 08 May 1979: A set of four Indian miniature paintings (Indische Miniaturen) depicting Goddess Durga, Lord Mahavira, Ragini Asavari and Ragini Todi by Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR)

Goddess Durga (Source: Internet)

Lord Mahavira (Source: Internet)

 Ragini Asavari (A Hindustani classical vocal), Source: Internet

Ragini Todi (A Hindustani classical vocal), Source: Internet

India too has issued several postage stamps on illustrious German personalities:

I. 16 Dec 1970: Birth centenary of Ludwig van Beethoven (17 Dec 1770 – 26 Mar 1827), the German composer and pianist

Stamp and First Day Cover

II. 15 July 1974: Friedrich Max Mueller (06 Dec 1823 – 28 Oct 1900), the German-born philologist and orientalist

Max Mueller stamp

III. 14 Mar 1979: Birth centenary of Albert Einstein (04 Mar 1879 – 18 Apr 1955), the German-born physicist

First Day Cover

IV. 24 Mar 1982: Centenary of Robert Koch’s discovery of Tubercle Bacillus. Koch (11 Dec 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist

 

Source: Internet

These are a few examples of the close bonding between the two countries, reflected through the unspoken language of philately.

However, this is not the first time that postage stamps on Indian theme were printed in Germany. History dates back 1943, when stamps for India was printed in Germany. Azad Hind (Free India) stamps were conceptualized by none other than Subhas Chandra Bose who was the Supreme Commander of Indian National Army (INA aka Azad Hind Fauz). Renowned German artists Werner and Maria von Axster-Heudtlass were given responsibility to design Azad Hind stamps in Feb' 1943. After design and with obvious approval of Subhas Chandra Bose, those stamps were printed by the Government Printing Office, Berlin. There were total six designs and ten denominations of the stamps:

1.A Sikh soldier of INA is focusing his German MG 34 gun

2.A farmer plough in his field at the backdrop of mighty mountain Himalaya

3.A girl is working at her charkha

4.A compassionate nurse is attending an injured soldier

5.A symbolic broken shackle at the foreground of map of Indian subcontinent, guarded by two ceremonial swords on both sides

6.Three soldiers of INA, carrying Azad Hind flag, flanked by two ceremonial swords on two sides

Page from catalogue

Nearly 12 million Azad Hind stamps (of various denominations) were printed at that time. However, due to twists and turns of history, they could not be used through postal channel.

Philately is a bridge which brings two nations together even if geographically they are thousands miles apart. That’s the power of the tiny piece of paper called postage stamp.

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The story was published in Mar 2022 issue of popular philatelic e-magazine - Ananthapuri Stamp Bulletin. Scans of relevant pages are given below:-

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

The story was published 

Webliography:

https://www.bmz.de/en/countries/india

https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/laenderinformationen/indien-node/india/218838

http://www.philarz.net/

https://mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/33901

https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/EN/Video/2021-05-26-special-stamp-india-germany/2021-05-26-special-stamp-india-germany.html

Disclaimer:

The information provided in the article is for general informational purposes only. All information is provided in good faith. This is only for the sharing of knowledge of Philately with philatelist fraternity. No commercial angle, whatsoever, is involved. No intention to infringe any type of copyright. Under no circumstances I shall have any liability for reliance on any information provided in the story.

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