"FIFTY years ago—on the afternoon of February 18, 1911—a bi-plane took off from the Exhibition Grounds in Allahabad, circled over the fort and then flew across the Jamuna.
To the thousands who cheered the French aviator at the controls, the flying machine was not unfamiliar. Demonstration flights were a great attraction at this famous exhibition.
But this particular flight had a special significance. Its unique feature was that the aviator, M. Piquet, carried with him 6,500 letters and postcards which he delivered at the receiving post office at Naini, across the river—an event in the history of postal services.
The flight of these mails was officially approved by the Posts and Telegraphs Department and a special post-mark was used on the mails in commemoration of the historic event. The post office had made arrangement to carry letters posted for this flight to any part of the world and letters came from far and near addressed to people in all walks of life, to kings and princes, to friends and traders.
While India might claim the credit for a pioneering role in experimenting with the carriage of mail by aeroplane, it was quite some time before a regular air mail service could be started in this country. The experiment of February 18, 1911 had opened up new vistas. But where other countries raced ahead, ours was a mere crawl.
For a long time air mails in India developed not so much to serve the internal needs of the country but as feeder to international service. The development of air mails in this country was limited by the fact that its chief driving force was to provide connecting links with international services.
The first regular air service between India and the United Kingdom was opened in 1929. Soon after that the first domestic route was opened between Karachi and Delhi. Designated as the Indian State Air Service, it was in reality an extension of the London-India service with Imperial Airways in full control over the Karachi-Delhi sector as well. During the two years of its existence the Indian State Air Service completed 197 scheduled flights, carrying over 6,300 kg. of mails.
To replace this service, the Delhi Flying Club was given permission to operate an exclusively mail service between Delhi and Karachi. The club successfully carried mails for a period of 18 months—a remarkable feat indeed for a flying club with one light aeroplane at its command. During this period it carried nearly 7,000 kg. of mails covering a total distance of app. 174,000 km.
A major development in internal civil aviation took place in 1932 when Tata Sons Ltd. established the first Indian airline and started a weekly air mail service between Karachi and Madras via Ahmedabad, Bombay and Bellary. The authorities had no desire to subsidize domestic air services in India. The main sustenance of the service was to come from the 10-year air mail contract with Government for the carriage of such mails as the public offered and the rate of remuneration was fixed at a level covered by the surcharge levied on conveyance of mails by air.
In 1933, Imperial Airways decided to extend the London-Karachi Service across India to Singapore. A new company, the Indian Trans-continental Airways was established to participate in this trans-India service. In accord with the policy prevailing then, the sphere of operation of the Indian Trans-continental Airways was confined to co-operation with Imperial Airways Ltd., in the main trans-India air service. In pursuance of these arrangements, the Indian National Airways which had been established to participate as a shareholder in the Trans-continental Airways, began a weekly service between Calcutta and Rangoon and between Calcutta and Dacca in December, 1933. A year later, on December 4,1934, Indian National Airways inaugurated a weekly air-mail service from Karachi to Lahore.
Meanwhile, Tata Sons had made remarkable advances in the development of air mail traffic. The mail load had increased from about 10,500 Kgs. in 1933 to about 30,000 Kgs. in 1935.
Yet, there were disappointments in store for Indian air transport. The Calcutta-Dacca and Calcutta-Rangoon services of the Indian National Airways had to be discontinued in 1935. With the suspension of these services, Indian National Airways concentrated their attention on the Karachi-Lahore air-mail service. During 13 months of its operation, the service carried over 12,000 Kgs. of mails.
The foundations had nevertheless been laid for the development of domestic air services for which a tribute is due to the early pioneers who refused to be daunted by the numerous difficulties that confronted them.
The next important phase in the development of air mails was once again as a feeder service. An Empire Air Mail Scheme was introduced in 1938 for the carriage of the letter mail between Empire countries on the United Kingdom-Australia and United Kingdom-Africa routes by air. In its application to India, the scheme meant, among other things, a provision of facilities for the distribution within India of the Empire mail brought by Imperial Airways upto Karachi and in the reverse direction to take to Karachi all Indian mail destined for Empire countries.
The Karachi-Madras Service of Tata Sons and the Karachi-Lahore Service of the Indian National Airways were ideally suited for the purpose. The scheme offered a good opportunity for the further development of air mail services. It had to be, however, suspended' in 1939 with the outbreak of the war.
After the war, a large number of twin-engined Dakota aircraft were available as surplus war material at low prices. The basis for a manufacturing industry for aircraft had also been laid. There was optimism in air transport circles.
RAPID EXPANSION
After Independence there was rapid expansion of the postal system in accordance with the concept of bringing the benefits of modern life within the reach of the largest number of people.
The volume of mails had increased considerably and the demands of industrialised society for a quicker and faster postal service led the authorities to seek new methods to speed up the mail. It was in these circumstances that India launched upon the Night Air Mail Service which forms today the backbone of the “All-Up” Mail Scheme. What might seem today to be mere commonsense was at one time considered a very bold adventure for the rather sedate post office.
It was against considerable opposition that Shri Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, the then Minister of Communications, launched upon the Night Air Mail Scheme in January 1949.
The technical basis of the scheme is that mails from the four corners of the country are carried by air to Nagpur and exchanged in the early hours of the morning. A vertiable land-mark in the history of air borne mails, this service, in conjunction with the day air services at the four terminal stations of Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta and Madras, provides a channel for continuous air transmission of mails between the four corners of India reducing greatly the transit time for mails.
A BOLD STEP
Less than three months later, Shri Kidwai took another bold step in the form of the “All-Up” Mail Scheme under which all first-class mail is air-lifted without any surcharge whatsoever. This has revolutionised the entire pattern of transportation of mails in the country. India has been acknowledged as a pioneer in the field of air mails. The mail transmission time from, say, Srinagar to Trivandrum has been cut from 133 hours to 21 hours and from Rajkot to Gauhati from 108 hours to 20 hours. In May 1951, about two years after the inauguration of the “All-Up” Scheme, money orders were also brought in its range and in September of the same year even insured letters began to be carried by air.
Despite early doubts, the Night Air Mail Scheme has not only come to stay, but is now so integral a part of the Indian postal service that it is almost impossible to imagine life without it.
It is hardly 50 years since the first air mail was carried in India. But these 50 years have been years of momentous change. Rapid developments in aviation have brought with them drastic changes in the pattern of the air mail service and we look forward to an era of faster and still faster transmission of mails for better communication for the peoples of the world.
And, as we take pride in the achievements of today, we recall the heroes and pioneers of earlier days.
Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India