Philatelic homage

A set of commemorative postage stamps was issued by the Singapore Government in 1999 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the estab­lishment of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO), Sin­ga­pore, writes Jamshed Fozdar of that city, forwarding to Parsiana the stamps and first day cover bearing the date January 15, 1999. Chairman of the Commemorative Postage Stamp Committee of the IRO, Fozdar notes that these were the first religious postage stamps issued by the Singapore Government. Three million of these stamps were printed by Singapore Post.

Fozdar was also instrumental in the issuance of the "World Religion Day” postage stamp by the Government of Sri Lanka in 1985 which depicts a Zoroastrian fire altar along­side the symbols of other religions of the world, notes the write-up.

The Singapore stamps portray the "unity in diversity” of the tiny city-state, listing the membership in historical chronological order of the main religions practiced in Singapore — "Hindu, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, Muslim, Sikh and Bahai.” Unwatermarked and in three different denominations, the stamp for local addressees (no-value indicator, valued at the prevailing postage up to the basic weight step for local mail) is in light yellow with the IRO logo and motto in the center and a slim blue band on the right indicating the country of origin. A 60 cent stamp in muted shades and a one dollar blue stamp com­plete the trinity.

According to Singapore’s Dharma World (May/June ’99), the stamps are unique because they list nine religions whereas simi­lar stamps issued earlier in other countries have included at most only four or five religions.

First day covers and stamps recog­-nizing Zoroastrianism relea-sed by Singa-pore (above) and Sri Lanka (below)

Singapore’s IRO is one of the world’s oldest inter-faith organizations, states the pamphlet issued by Singapore Post. Strengthening community bonding with talks, seminars, in-house bulletins and publication of books, IRO representatives are also invited to appear before the select committees of Parliament when issues of morality or spirituality are under consideration. IRO also encourages its constituent religions to participate in organ donation campaigns and offers its services in rehabilitation programs for drug addicts. Dharma World notes that IRO Singapore has individual members from all religious groups. Churches or religious bodies are not accepted for membership because the IRO does not promote any specific religious teaching.

The Sri Lanka stamp, multicolored on a white background, is in a denomination of Rs 4.60. It commemorates the Government of Sri Lanka’s declaration of the third Sunday in January as World Religion Day. The first day cover bears the postmark 1985.01.20. The accompanying leaflet issued by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications notes that World Religion Day, inaugurated 40 years prior to 1985 by the World Centre of the Bahai faith, was being regularly observed in nearly 70 countries on the third Sunday in January. The motif for the commemorative stamp shows sacred symbols blended together and is representative of the Bahai faith’s principle of the oneness of religion. "Human unity and true equality depend not on past origins but on future goals,” the pamphlet states. World Religion Day observances aim to encourage leaders and followers of every religion to acknowl­edge the similarities in each of the sacred faiths — to see the whole earth as a single country and all humanity its citizenry. Hilla P. Guzder