Today we live in the age of Information Technology where information can be passed on in fractions of seconds. But this wasn’t always the case, was it? So, how did ordinary people, businesses and administrators relay important information, orders or messages? Here is a brief history of organised postal, parcel and messaging systems in our country.
The existence of an early postal system in India can be found during the reign of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya which was between 321–297 BCE. He divided his empire into provinces. The difficulty of communication between the capital city and the provincial capitals was solved by the use of pigeon post. The pigeon post system continued even during the time of Emperor Ashoka. The letters in little cachets were tied to the feet of trained pigeons which were made to fly to specific destinations and this is how important messages were sent.
Later on, there were many systems developed by numerous rulers to perform this very important function. Below is a quick rundown of the different rulers, era’s and their systems.
The Mughlai Era (1296- 1750 AD)
The kind of postal system designed during the times of the numerous Mughal emperors was dependent primarily on horses. Babur also developed a runner service along the road from Agra up to Kabul. For the horse carriers exchanging communication on the Agra – Kabul road, he had organized for six horse to be stationed at every 36 miles.
Shershah Suri further reorganized and developed the communication system. He built the Grand Trunk road (from Bengal to Sindh) and commissioned rest houses known as “Sarai’s” along its length. In each rest house, horses were kept ready for conveyance of news. It is said that he kept 3400 horses with riders exclusively for the despatch of news. The total length of the Grand Trunk Road is 2500 kilometers.
The British Era
The East India Company started establishing post offices in India when it opened its first post office in 1727. In 1774 the Calcutta GPO was established. The site where the GPO is now located was actually the site of the first Fort William. These were followed by the Madras GPO In 1786, the Bombay GPO in 1794 and the Bangalore G.P.O in about 1800 before further developments began to occur. One of the first developments was the reference to the refused and returned letters with insufficient address which was reflected in a Postal Notice issued by the Postmaster General, Calcutta G.P.O on 17th April 1816. Lord Dalhousie appointed a Post office commission in 1850. Finally, the approved recommendations of Commission were framed as Post office Act XVII, 1854.
Lord Dalhousie then recognized the Indian Post Offices as separate organization of national importance. It was placed, for the first time, under the unitary control of a Director General, Henry Phillip Archibald Buchanan Riddell, on 1st October 1854 with 700 Post offices (Post offices -645 & Receiving houses – 55). The Head Quarters was at Bengal, responsible to Home Department of the Government of India.
Post-Independence
While the Indian postal services that exist today may have started off as a carry forward of the British Era, there have been quite a few notable developments in it after independence. Some of them are;
- First postage stamp: The first postage stamp of independent India was issued on November 21, 1947. It depicted the Indian flag and the slogan “Jai Hind” (Long Live India).
- Expansion: The Indian postal service expanded rapidly after independence, with a focus on reaching remote areas. The number of post offices increased from 23,344 in 1947 to 1,55,015 in 2016, with 90% of the latter in rural areas.
- Modernization: The postal service adopted advanced technology like computerization and automation to streamline operations.
- Financial inclusion: The postal service extended its banking and savings services to the most remote and underserved areas.
- Speed Post: The launch of the Speed Post service in 1986 provided faster delivery options for time-sensitive mail.
- Project Arrow: Launched in 2008, this project aimed to improve the quality of postal services by revamping infrastructure, customer service, and efficiency.
- Postal Index Number (PIN): The PIN system was introduced in 1972 by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
I’m compiling this historical information with a ting of sadness, because even as you’re reading this article, this department, the Indian Postal services, may itself be on the verge of becoming history. With the easy availability of reliable, efficient and professional private courier services, acceptance of emails as an official and documented communication, messaging apps, telephony and many more fast and easy ways of communication, it may not be long before the Indian Postal services go down the same road as the telegram.
Unless of course, they pull up their socks and start capitalizing on the incredible infrastructure and network that the organization has built over the span of centuries. Good news is, that they are doing so and may still have sufficient time to consolidate their position. While the availability of the above mentioned private and modern services may make a difference to the Postal department in the urban areas, it is a different story in the semi urban and rural belts. In these belts, which are the vast majority of our country, the Post office is still the most trusted and relatable option available. Its postal services, their saving accounts, recurring and fixed deposits, insurance services have a solid foothold in these areas.
The Postal department has begun leveraging this trust and its vast network of over 1,64,000 post offices across the country (highest in the world for any postal service) and are in the process of utilizing these for providing many more services to its customers. Their “Retail Post” department offers convenience to the general public by making third party products and services available in their vicinity through select Post Offices.
Under Retail Post, a range of services are offered including the collection of electricity bills, collection of taxes, collection of other bills and fee for the Government etc. Further, under Retail Post, the Post Office sells application forms of various educational institutions and recruiting agencies, sale of Railway Reservation Tickets, sale of Rakhi envelopes, address verification service etc.
Selected Post Offices across the country provide Aadhaar Enrolment and Updating services. Some make Gangajal bottles available for the convenience of public. It is available on the online portals i.e. e-Commerce Portal and e-postoffice Portal of Department.
Department of Posts (DoP) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have mutually agreed upon leveraging the network of Post Offices for creating Passport Seva Kendras. This will ensure wider coverage for the benefits of the citizens by making passport services available in their vicinity and save save them the trouble of travelling long distances in order to obtain a Passport.
For more details visit (https://www.indiapost.gov.in/MBE/Pages/Content/POPSK.aspx)
In association with the ministry of Railways, post offices are now providing Railway Ticket Reservation services. The service is being provided in those areas where there is no Rail head/Railway counters. This service is presently available at 333 Post Offices across India especially in rural and semi-rural areas.
With all these initiatives in place, let’s hope that this almost 300 years old institution evolves to survive the tide of changing times and has a long and fruitful journey ahead.
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Next week I’ll be sharing the story of Alexander Graham Bell and his many innovations.
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