Twenty-five years ago, on August 15, 1947, India became free after more than a century of foreign rule. The achievement of independence was unique in several respects. It was, perhaps, the first occasion in human history when a mighty foreign power yielded to the non-violent struggle for freedom carried on by a nation.
India was indeed singularly fortunate to have had Mahatma Gandhi's leadership in her fight for freedom. It was again India's good fortune that she had a visionary as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as her first Prime Minister. On the threshold of independence. Pandit Nehru had declared that India had made a tryst with destiny. While making that declaration, he had before him a certain vision — a vision that grew out of the ideals instilled by Mahatma Gandhi.
During the last 25 years, India has made spectacular progress in a number of diverse directions, with the object of making that vision a reality. India, one of the world's largest democracies with over 270 million people with voting rights, has been to the polls on a number of occasions during this quarter century since independence to elect representatives to Parliament and to State legislatures. An operation such as the conduct of general elections in a peaceful and orderly manner in such a large democracy is a rich tribute to the political maturity of the Indian people. While military dictatorships are springing up in many parts of the world, India continues to remain a bastion of democracy.
In the field of agriculture, the production of foodgrains, in the country has shown a many fold increase; the country has no longer to depend on massive imports of food grains to sustain its teeming millions — thanks to the Green Revolution.
In the industrial sphere, the progress achieved during the last two-and-a-half decades has enabled the country to become almost self-sufficient in many industrial raw materials. Indeed, India is now in a position — and is, in fact, exporting sophisticated machinery and technical know-how to other countries. India had to depend on imports for her requirements of many heavy chemicals to sustain her industries, but now the position is that, barring a few items, we are not only able to meet our own internal requirements, but also able to export.
Having achieved these breakthroughs in agricultural and industrial production, India is now poised on the threshold of another unique revolution to ensure a just and equitable distribution, in a peaceful manner, of the fruits of progress achieved.
On the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Country's Independence, the Posts and Telegraphs Department pays its humble tribute to all those who valiantly struggled for Independence and to those who toiled ceaselessly in various spheres of activity for achieving self-sufficiency in various fields.
The P & T Department has great pleasure in commemorating this historic event by bringing out a postage stamp and a special aerogramme. The postage stamp brought out on this occasion depicts the people celebrating Independence Day by holding high the National Flag of India in front of Parliament, while the aerogramme shows a picture of the historic Red Fort so intimately associated with many facets of our freedom struggle. The postage stamp was designed by Shri P. B. Chitnis, Deputy Master (Designs), India Security Press, Nasik Road while the designing of the aerogramme was done by Shri M. L. Dutta Gupta, Chief Visualizer, Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity, Govt, of India using a photograph of the Red Fort taken by Shri T. Kasinath, Director Photo Division, Govt, of India.
Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India