Satyagraha

October 2, 2007

A Miniature Sheet consisting of 4 nos of commemorative postage stamps on the Centenary of Satyagraha, a particular form of non-violent resistance or civil resistance :

Issued by India

Issued on Oct 2, 2007

Issued for : The Department of Posts is happy to issue a set of four commemorative postage stamps on the occasion of centenary of Satyagraha which portrays the stirrings of Satyagraha in a beautiful and inspiring depiction.

Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Sankha Samanta
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Miniature Sheet, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi Colour

Denomination : 500 Paise each

Stamps Printed : 0.8 Million each

Miniature Sheet : 0.2 Million

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printer : India Security Press, Nasik

About :

Satyagraha is the philosophy of non-violent resistance most famously employed by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in forcing an end to the British Raj in India, beginning with his struggles in South Africa. It was in South Africa in 1893 that Gandhiji conceived of Satyagraha, which he defined as the technique of mass force based on truth and moved by non-violence.
Satyagraha was an important constituent of Gandhi‘s programmes of national self-purification. When he started campaigning against the racially discriminatory measures in South Africa, Gandhi discovered that his countrymen there lacked personal and communal self-respect, courage and the willingness to organize themselves. In a memorable phrase he urged them to ‘rebel’ against themselves. This call initiated the stirrings.
Mahatma Gandhi coined the term Satyagraha to describe his philosophy of non-violent resistance, and he described it, thus :“Truth (Satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) engenders and therefore serves as a synonym for force. I thus began to call the Indian movement Satyagraha, that is to say, the Force which is born of Truth and Love or Non–violence.“
The special set of commemorative stamps is dedicated to the spirit of Satyagraha. It should make us pause to reflect on how a colossal revolution took place in India without the violence attached to revolutions that occurred in other countries of Asia and Africa and to turn the search light on oneself to find an alternative to violence, which threatens to destroy the very fabric of civilized existence.
Text : Based on material provided by the proponent.