By
Amar Nath Wadehra
& Randeep Wadehra
Today it is commonplace to
communicate with people across the globe in real time. The information
technology has made it possible for us to use email, chat applications and
audio-video conferencing with anybody, anywhere and anytime; mutual convenience
is the only condition. Those who have grown up in this milieu will only have a
faint idea about the vital role played by postal services until a few years
back. The story of Indian postal services is intertwined with the country’s
history as well as technological progress. In fact, the story also underscores
it versatility and dynamism vis-à-vis changing socio-economic trends.
Since time immemorial, postal
services existed in one rudimentary form or other. According to historians, the
roots of Indian postal services go back to 2000 BC. People have been
communicating with others living far and near through formal and informal
channels. Apart from facilitating social interaction, the communication
channels were a vital tool of governance and management of international
relations for different governments since ancient times. There are records
dating back to 322 BC pertaining to transmission of messages in the Mauryan
Empire. In the 12th century AD, Changhez Khan had pioneered a speedy and
effective equestrian communication system across Asia and Europe – the best in
those days. It was known as Yam, a system of postal-relay horse
stations for speedy transfer of written messages. The Mongol mail system was
the first such empire-wide service since the Roman Empire. Traditionally, kings,
nobles and other elite classes used to employ “harkara” as carrier of messages.
Based on various descriptions, we can visualize a harkara as someone carrying a
bag and a spear and wearing rough clothes and a turban. Sturdy of body and mind,
he would walk or run over long distances through variegated terrain, carrying
messages. Then there were other methods like riders on horse or camel backs.
However, for the common folks, there was no reliable postal system. Ibn Batuta,
the Moroccan traveler to India in 1310 AD, had detailed the mail system of
Sultan Mohammed bin Tughlaq. In fact, around this time, big traders in India
had started organizing their own postal services. This not only helped them
expand their trade but also enabled others to utilize these services after
paying nominal fees. In effect, the East India Company too, initially, used
these services before setting up their own postal network in 1688 at the Bombay
and Madras Presidencies; the postal service was named as Company Dak or Company
Post. Over a period of time, with the gradual consolidation of the British Raj,
postal services assumed All India status when the first Indian Post Office Act
was passed in 1837, which emphasized upon uniformity in rates as well as
appearance of postal stationery as well as infrastructure. In 1854, the Act was
replaced with another one that, apart from producing adhesive stamps within
India, also established the post of Director General of Post Offices of India.
Our postal network has expanded
since the British Raj. At the time of independence, there were 25,464
departmental post offices of which 23,344 were in urban areas. Today, we have
about 1,55,000 post offices. 90% of these are operating in rural areas. Each
post office serves about 7100 persons in about 21 square kilometers of area.
The post offices are located in a wide range of terrain ranging from deserts to
islands in oceans to the Himalayas. In fact, the highest post office in the
world is in Hikkim, Himachal Pradesh at a height of 15,500 ft
(4,700 m); moreover, we have a floating post office on Srinagar’s famed
Dal Lake. There are 22 postal circles, each circle headed by a chief postmaster
general. Every circle is divided into regions, headed by a postmaster general,
and regions are further divided into field units known as divisions, which have
various subdivisions under them. In addition to the 22 circles, there is a base
circle to provide postal services to the country’s Armed Forces. The base
circle is headed by a Director General, Army Postal Service; the DG is a senior
Indian army officer holding the rank of a major general.
In order to set up a wide range
of services, a number of acts were passed during the British Raj to expand and
regulate Posts and Telegraphs service:
· * The Government Savings Bank Act 1873 facilitated
opening of Post Office Savings Banks with effect from 1 April 1882.
· * Postal life insurance began on 1 February 1884
as a welfare measure for the employees of the Posts & Telegraphs Department.
·
* The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
·
* The Indian Post Office Act 1898 was passed for regulating
postal service.
·
* The Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933.
The world's first official
airmail flight took place in India on 18 February 1911, a journey of 18 kilometers,
which lasted 27 minutes. Henri Pequot, a French pilot, carried about 15
kilograms of mail (approximately 6,000 letters and cards) across the Ganges
from Allahabad to Naini; included in the airmail was a letter to King George V
of the United Kingdom. Telegraphy and telephony made their appearance as part
of the postal service before becoming separate departments.
In April 2008, a project was
launched to upgrade post offices in urban and rural areas, improving service
and appearance on the lines of contemporary MNC office style ambience. Moreover,
there are plans to ensure that an effective and friendly environment is created
for staff and customers. This project facilitates providing of secure IT
services and improved mail delivery, remittances (electronic and manual) and
postal-savings plans. There is a serious effort to focus on branding,
information technology, human resources and infrastructure. The government has
approved an IT modernization project in the Department of Posts for the computerization
of all post and mail offices, administrative and other offices, establishment
of IT infrastructure and software development. In fact, multipurpose counter
machines with computers were introduced in post offices as early as in 1991 to:
·
*Improve customer service and increase revenue
and staff productivity
·
*Make the post office the focal point for
delivery of state social-security programs
·
*Enable the electronic networking of about
1,30,000 rural post offices
·
*Enable paperless transactions for mail, postal
banking and insurance services
·
*Enable tracking and tracing of articles intended
for delivery
There is also a planned effort to
computerize rural post offices so that both financial as well as postal
services can be improved. There are a number of savings plans, including
National Savings Certificates, the Public Provident Fund, savings-bank
accounts, monthly-income plans, senior-citizens' savings plans and time-deposit
accounts.
There are specific life insurance
policies for government employees:
·
*Santosh (endowment assurance)
·
*Suraksha (whole-life assurance)
·
*Suvidha (convertible whole-life assurance)
·
*Sumangal (anticipated endowment policy)
·
*Yugal Suraksha (joint life endowment assurance)
The following are the life
insurance policies for general public:
·
*Gram Santosh (endowment assurance)
·
*Gram Suraksha (whole-life assurance)
·
*Gram Suvidha (convertible whole-life assurance)
·
*Gram Sumangal (anticipated endowment assurance)
·
*Gram Priya (10-year RPLI)
·
*Children's policies
There are also concrete plans
afoot for the Indian postal service to enter the banking industry. The proposed name of this financial
institution is the Post Bank of India. Anyway, the post office has
traditionally served as a financial institution for millions of people in rural
India.
Moreover, collaboration between
the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MOS&PI) and the
Department of Posts has enabled the computation of consumer-price indices for
rural areas. These statistics were previously unobtainable, due to problems of
remoteness and scale. The agreement authorizes the postal service to collect
data on prices paid for selected consumer goods; in February 2011, MOS&PI
published its first Rural Consumer Price Index and All-India Consumer Price
Index. The information has since been published monthly, based on data from
1,181 villages across the country.
With the passage of time, the
Indian postal services have been adapting to changing technological
environment, while striving to meet the needs of various segments of the Indian
society. Nothing underscores this more than the change in its profile from the
informal “harkara” of yore to today’s hi-tech delivery systems.
Published in the Haryana Review's October issue.
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