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Jai Hind Postmark

Issued on Independence Day, 15 August 1947, the Jai Hind Postmark is the first philatelic expression of Independent India. It is widely believed that it was made available at Head Post Offices throughout the country and official orders allowed its usage till the end of 1947. While the Head Office premise somewhat holds true, there are some exceptions to it. The biggest problem of course is that no official documentation about the postmark is available anywhere.
This type of Jai Hind Postmark was similar in design throughout the country and can be termed the ‘All India Type’. Interestingly, in some cases, it is found used well beyond 1947 and the latest usage is that of 1959 from Cooch Behar.
Apart from the All-India Type is a boxed Jai Hind postmark which is found used only from Jodhpur and this in itself was a subject of Ashish Talwar’s article that can found in the Jai Hind Philately Research section of this website.
Also interesting is the usage of the Jai Hind Postmark as a delivery mark. These are extremely rare and to-date the Talwar Collection has three such examples from three different post offices.
The Talwar Collection of Jai Hind postmarks from different post offices is the largest in the world.

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