ScindeDawk was a very old postal system of runners that served the Indus Valley of Sindh, an area of present-day Pakistan.
The name derives from the words 'Scinde', the British spelling of the name of the province of Sindh, and 'Dawk', the anglicised spelling of the Hindustani word 'Dak' or Post.
After the ScindeDawk, Colonel Forbes of Calcutta Mint came up with an essay for a postage stamp depicting a lion and palm tree.
Sir Bartle Frere, son in law of John Arthur, the governor of Bombay, was assigned with the task of bringing postal reforms to Scinde.
Spurred by the order, Sir Bartle Frere, the commissioner of Scinde, a keen admirer of the penny postage scheme of Sir Rowland Hill, with the active support of the Post Master of Karachi Edward Lees Coffey, designed and got the stamps printed from M/s De La Rue and Co Ltd., London.
Since the 4th century, Scinde was under several rulers such as Alexander the Great, Chandragupta, Muhammad Khan, Akbar and Nadir Shah of Persia till the British came on the scene in the 1830s.
By the time these stamps arrived, an order was issued in September 1854 that the ScindeDawk stamps should be withdrawn as stamps were being introduced on an all-India basis.
The ScindeDawk stamps remained in use for almost two years from July 1, 1852, to September 30, 1854.
The postal reforms in Great Britain gave an initiative to the officials in India and efforts were made to ensure speedy and safe mail transit.
The postal authorities under this old Dawk system experienced unsurmountable difficulties in running the post offices as no profits accrued.
July 1, 1852 finally saw the introduction of “ScindeDawk”- the first postage stamps of Asia.
www.paknetmag.com /A-5.htm (683 words)
Scinde Dawk(Site not responding. Last check: )
In a letter dated June 25, 1852 addressed to captain H. Preedy, Edward Lees Coffey states that the ScindeDawks were issued to the public on July 1, 1852.
The appearance of these cancellations on the ScindeDawks proves that the order for the destruction of these stamps by October 1, 1854 was not fully carried out.
Observations of the dates on letters have independently established the use of ScindeDawk stamps until late 1856 or early 1857.
If a flying saucer were to land in John "Dawk" Stillwell's backyard, the multitalented engineer and technician would first marvel at the craft and then tell the Martians to step aside while he...
Uncommon it might be, but ``the first stamp issued by the East India Company in the subcontinent is a collector's item now,'' says the director of the philately department, Usha Chandrasekhar.
Collectively called the ScindeDawk collection, the stamps now fetch anything between Rs 5-15 lakh at auctions.
And for those wondering why `dak' is `dawk' and `Sind' is `Scinde', well, that's the British version of desi lingo.
India Travel Guide, Indian Postal Services, Telephone Services in India, Postals in India, Indian Telephone Services(Site not responding. Last check: )
The first stamps of India issued just before 1854 came to be known as “ScindeDawks”, as they were issued in the Province of Sindh.
“Scinde” was how the British spelt the province of Sindh and “Dawk” is the anglicized spelling of the Hindustani word “Dak” or Post.
The ScindeDawk stamps were issued just 14 years after the first postage stamps were introduced in the world!
The ScindeDawk stamps were issued just 14 years after the first postage stamps were introduced in the world!
But, collectors are prepared to pay huge sums for these early stamps, as on international catalogues of philately, they are rated among the classic stamps of the world.
By contrast, the ScindeDawk (the red stamp in the series) may exchange hands at prices as high as Rupees 2,00,000 (US $ 5,000).
Pakistan appeared on the map of the world on 14th August, 1947, but the history of our postage stamps starts with the first postage stamp of lndo-Pak known as "ScindeDawk Stamp" which was the first Asian Stamp Issued by the province of Sindh (now forming a part of Pakistan) on july, 1852 by Mr.
An apocryphal story concerning Sir Charles James Napier is that when he crushed the Amirs of Scinde at Miani in 1843, he sent home a preliminary dispatch of a single word: "PECCAVI".
By 1852 Sir Henry Bartle Frere, appointed Commissioner of Scinde, had put the district on the road to prosperity.
The runners were paid according to their distance of travel and the weight of their letters.
The mail was carried quickly and efficiently, connecting government offices and post offices from Karachi through Kotri and Hyderabad up to Shikkur in the north.
^ [2] Scinde District Dawks - The Premier Stamps of Asia
Three days later, the account holder merrily used the card to withdraw Rs 3,00,000.
None of this would have been possible without the initial theft in an enterprise that evokes memories of the legendary ScindeDawk, the magic of Rudyard Kipling?s ?Overland Mail?
No doubt in recognition of this august past, the president received 150 postmen in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Republic Day.
On the 14th August 1952, two stamps of the 3-anna and the 12-anna denominations and an attractive First Day Cover were issued to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Scinde District Dawk stamps, the first stamps issued in Asia in July 1852.
The design illustrates the original stamp with a string of camels and airplane added to symbolize progress in mail transport.
These stamps were withdrawn from sale on 1st November 1953.
Find both used and unused stamps from the US and all over the world.
Search eBay and you may find these rare stamps - Penny Black, Treskilling Yellow, Inverted Jenny, British Guiana 1c magenta, Perot provisional, Hawaii Missionaries, Basel Dove, Uganda Cowries, ScindeDawk, Granchi Rosa and more.
Protect your stamp collection with sheets and folders so they last longer and stay in mint condition.
Find both used and unused stamps from the US and all over the world.
Search eBay and you may find these rare stamps - Penny Black, Treskilling Yellow, Inverted Jenny, British Guiana 1c magenta, Perot provisional, Hawaii Missionaries, Basel Dove, Uganda Cowries, ScindeDawk, Granchi Rosa and more.
Protect your stamp collection with sheets and folders so they last longer and stay in mint condition.
