The Philatelic Husain

MF Husain’s work on cinema billboards is well known, and even celebrated. Much less discussed, however, have been the  philatelic designs he did for the country. The Department of Posts is known to have used his designs on three postage stamps and two First Day Covers.

The most striking among these five designs is the one titled Swarajya, on a composite postage stamp released to commemorate Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s inspirational call "Swaraj is my birthright" which moved generations of Indians. This stamp was released on 16th August 1988, amidst celebrations of the 40th anniversary of India's independence.

Tilak's thundering proclamation, the enthusiastic response of the country's youth to it, the rising spirit of nationalism and the spread of the message of self-reliance and self-confidence all combined to create an environment befitting an epic struggle. This backdrop of high drama and patriotism, predictably, inspired Husain, and he went on to produce a design that is one of the most striking ever to be seen on a postage stamp.

The Department of Posts and the India Security Press, Nashik also chipped in with their efforts to underline the uniqueness of the design - it was rendered as a composite setenant stamp, retaining every bit of its visual impact. The well known Husain elements like the horse, moving figures and graffiti-like characters are all there, but the mood is definitely one of defiance and the spirit, that of patriotism. The beginning of Tilak's historic proclamation appears in Marathi in Husain's handwriting at the top of the visual.

Though the print order of the stamp was 15 lakh, only a few of these stamps survive today. The surviving copies are proud possessions of the collectors who own them. 

The other two postage stamps based on Husain's designs were also released in the eighties. The first one, based on Husain's 1956 painting Between the Spider and the Lamp was issued in September 1982, and the other, commemorating Rani Lakshmi Bai, in May 1988.

- PN Ranjit Kumar

The author is a former philately administrator of the Government of India. The views are personal.