India Post will unveil a special cancellation to commemorate the 7th International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2021, said the Ministry of AYUSH on Saturday. The special cancellation will be issued with a pictorial design through its 810 Head Post offices across India in one of the largest such simultaneous philatelic commemorations ever.
All delivery and non-delivery Head Post Offices will put this special cancellation on all mail booked in the office on June 21, 2021, the ministry added.
The special pictorial cancellation stamp will be an inked marking or impression with a graphical design with International Day of Yoga 2021 written in both Hindi and English languages.
A cancellation is defined as a postal marking used to deface a stamp to prevent its reuse. Such cancellations are valued collectables and often subjects of philatelic studies.
India Post has in the past released commemorative stamps to mark the Internation Yoga Day but it will the first time that a special cancellation will be unveiled.
In 2015, a set of two stamps and a miniature sheet on the International Day of Yoga. In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released commemorative postage stamps on Surya Namaskara to mark the commemoration of the 2nd International Day of Yoga. In 2017, the UN Postal Administration (UNPA) issued a set of stamps showing 10 yoga asanas to commemorate the International Day of Yoga in New York.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed June 21 as the International Day of Yoga in its resolution adopted on December 11, 2014.
This year considering the COVID-19 pandemic-led situation, most of the events will take place virtually, promoting the main theme of this year ‘Be with Yoga, Be at Home’.
As the country is cautiously coming out of the lockdown, this massive postal commemoration activity with more than 800 collectibles (cancellation design of each post office being a collectible) opens up immense philatelic opportunities and is likely to re-ignite philatelic activity in the country.
