BENGALURU: Constitution Day and 50 years of Karnataka Sambhrama were celebrated in a remarkable manner by India Post at the GPO on Tuesday with the release of 12 permanent pictorial cancellations (PCCs) featuring Karnataka. A special cover was released, along with a special cancellation for Constitution Day.
The PCCs released included the Bonal Bird Sanctuary at Yadgir, Shri Gavi Siddeshwar Samsthana Sri Gavimath, Kumaraswamy Temple in Ballari, and the Rajaji Nagar foundation pillar.
A.V. Surya Sen, Executive Director of Bannerghatta Biological Park, said that upholding the Constitution also mandates the preservation of the environment by taking care of forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife. “The Postal department has already released a cancellation on our park in the past. We plan to open a postal kiosk very shortly at our premises to spread awareness about it, as well as sell stamps and covers featuring flora and fauna. We have already held talks with India Post in this connection and will launch it shortly.”
Vikas Kumar, Economics professor at Azim Premji University, said the Postal department played a crucial role in facilitating the framing of the Constitution by dispatching important documents between the members involved in its drafting. “Even during the first census by the government, the news regarding it was conveyed to the public by the department through its stamps and cancellations. To ensure that those who were illiterate understood what was being conveyed, pictorial representations were used.”
Dr. Chaithra B.V., Joint Director of the Tourism Department, said a total of 80 pictorial cancellations pertaining to the state have been released by the Postal department. “They are very useful in promoting Karnataka’s tourism industry.”
Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka Circle, Rajendra S. Kumar, said, “Colonization is generally understood in the context of the subjugation of people. In a broader sense, it refers to the exploitation of nature for resources. Although nations have achieved political freedom, the colonization of resources continues unabated worldwide. India is no exception.”
A key attraction during the event for postal employees and later at the GPO for the public was the free handprinted Preamble of the Constitution, handed over to anyone interested by the Bangalore-based Citizens Collective, Reclaim Constitution. The public was allowed to take part in the printing process, which took less than a minute.
Vinay Kumar, Founder-Member of the collective, told TNIE, “We are trying to bring in a Constitutional culture. Our group, formed in 2023, has professionals from different fields who try to help spread awareness about the Constitution whenever they can. We have so far printed nearly 60,000 such Preambles and distributed them within India and abroad.”
An original copy of the Constitution from the Parliament of India’s library was also on display.