Monday, May 16, 2011

Microstates : 07 Nagaland (bogus)

I did some studies :-) but Nagaland was not directly ringing a bell.
However, it exists. Having many friends in India, (because that's where we going today), i want to inform them, that this article is only about 'stamps' or what they are supposed to represent.
Let me explain to the rest of the world why I refer to my Indian friends.

Nagaland, a rural state is situated in the extreme north east India. Nagaland is one of the smallest state in India, with a total area of 16,579 square km. This state is bordered by Assam in the west and north, in the east by Myanmar (Burma), in the north by Arunachal Pradesh, and in the south by Manipur. Nagaland is a narrow strip of mountain territory between Assam and Burma and a population of over one millions. The state is divided into seven districts which are Kohima, Phek, Mokokchung, Wokha, Zunheloto, Twensang and Mon. Kohima is the capital city of Nagaland. Dimapur is the principal entry point for Nagaland and an enchantingly beautiful hill city. Its colorful people, great verdant landscapes, cultural festivals and tribes are a delightful combination for a delightful holiday experience. The state is inhabited by a variety of Tibeto-Burmese tribes speaking over two dozen dialects. Nagamese, Hindi, English, Chang are the various languages which are spoken in Nagaland. Nagaland has a monsoon climate with generally high humidity. The best time to visit Nagaland is from September to April. The foreigners require area permit to visit Nagaland.
It's mainly a christian region, and the goal of being an independent region, hasn't been very successful so far.



Since I m not outing any kind of political statement, nor being against or in favour or any form of independency claim, i just give you an opinion on the stamps, issued by this particular part of the world.

The word 'rebel' in the next paragraphe is a word used by the original writer of the article, and is worth what it's worth for the writer (see source).

"Civil strife in India in an area located between Assam and Burma resulted in the rebels calling their 'country' by the name Nagaland.  No legitimate nation ever recognized this struggle for independence, which began soon after India became a nation in 1947 and extended central control over all regions. Open conflict occured between 1956 until cease fire in 1964.

The British Philatelic Association gave their opinion that the Rebels issued many "stamps" for political purposes only, and any Nagaland issues should be treated as Propaganda labels, or if desired, Civil War Propaganda labels.
The rebels claimed these stamps were valid for internal postage and frequently used by supporters for independence.  It is possible that they were used secretly by supporters.  However, during the period of all of these Nagaland issues, the Indian Post Office provided local and international service with stamps from India. Anyone known to support or use the Nagaland stamps would have been severely punished for disloyalty to India."
source : http://www.sossi.org/


Back to the stamps cinderellas then.

At first sight, i tought having another set of "Staffa" labels (see previous articles).
The style of the items is quite similar, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were actually printed by the same printing company.

In contrary of what is stated in the article above, i don't see any kind of 'political' themes on the labels of Nagaland. (Except for the name then).
All items I have found - so far - are themed issues, on flowers, fish, coins, paintings and sports.
Very common themes by theme collectors, so very likely to appear in many albums and collections.

I only scanned the - according to me -'full' sets (8 stamps).




Anyone who wants to get rid of their 'Nagaland' labels, feel free to send them to me, there's still some place left in the album :-)

5 comments:

Kiron Manuel said...

Nagaland is one of those regions of the world that contributed and got nothing.The stamps by themselves are grand.

rainbowstampsandcoins.blogspot.com said...

I wouldn't call them stamps actually. Nagaland issued them in their struggle for independency. If you compair with other issues (especially the scottish ones, you will see many similarities in the printing, items and cancels. I wouldn't be surprised if they were all printed in the same place.
If you have a closer look, you will also see that the quality of printing is really poor.

Kiron Manuel said...

there are many people groups who have been disenfranchised.Do you want to help the people of Nagaland?The stamps of Nagaland when compared with other countries with more means and resources is far better off.Some countries issue stamps based on the backing of China, printed in China and and not really legitimate countries.Stamps are all about life and politics.

André Dufresne said...

The first issue was postally used on international mail routed through Pakistan, in combination with Pakistani stamps. The first issue is rare and I guess it was used as a basis for Feigenbaum to issue his many topical stamps (or labels) for Nagaland. He may have had (or not) an agreement with a rebel group operating in Nagaland just as he did when he issued stamps for the State of Oman.

rainbowstampsandcoins.blogspot.com said...

Thank you for your interesting and helpful contribution!