Tonk State - War Purposes Fund Label

In last 1 week, my theory was put on test where I have always claimed the worst disease one can get is fever and cold :-) And I always make it to point that I don't take medications. For some reason, I am totally against medication until it becomes question of life and death! Everyone have their so called theories and this is mine. But, I didn't realise that the one I got last week was really a bad one and caused infection in eyes and throat. I followed my theory for 3 days only to be scolded by parents and finally acceded to medicines. Naturally, my theory spoiled whole of my week because of discomfort I was having in eyes, throat and body. I came to realization that fever and cold was indeed worst disease but more than that I should still continue with my theory in a bit refined fashion i.e. if you see things getting worse then immediately consult doctor and take medicines before get scolded :D

Moving on to today's topic, it is about a War Purposes Fund label issued by princely state of Tonk during WW2 period. Princely state of Tonk was formerly part of Southeast Rajputana States Agency which is now part of modern state of Rajasthan in India. This state, situated partly in Rajputana and partly in Central Indian, consisted of six non-contiguous districts.

The state was granted 17 gun salute. It accessed to India on 7th April 1949. Even though, I couldn't find much information on Tonk state contribution on WWI and WWII on internet but based on war fund label items issued by Tonk state one can easily guess that it contributed a lot to British Empire in WWII since not many states had issued such labels except for Princely state of Hyderabad and Dewas Jr & Sr.

Shown above is 2 of such labels issued by Tonk State. It was of denomination of 1 anna and had text written in English and Urdu in red color:

T O N K
WAR PURPOSES FUND

It show a tower on the left (I have yet to determine which historical building it is currently) and war planes on upper right side. In fact, similar design was issued for Hyderabad War Purposes Fund Label so I assume the designer and possibly printer may be same. The difference in Hyderabad label was that it used Charminar on left side and many language illustrations on right side. I really wonder why other princely states didn't follow suite or perhaps followed, but so far I haven't seen any such examples. It would have made a great theme to collect the various designs of such label issued by different princely states where each was showing its historical place/symbol.

Anyway, Tonk state is also supposed to have issued Cash Coupons on same design pattern during WWII. I am providing a sample of such Cash Coupons (I have yet to get my hands on it).

If anyone have any information on Tonk State contribution during WWII or any cash coupons issued then please contact me. I will be more than happy to buy Tonk State Cash Coupons.

Save For Victory - WW2 Pamphlet

Today's post will be very short. It is about two almost similar pamphlet issued in India during WW2 persuading people to invest in various savings and war bond schemes.

There is an interesting history behind these schemes. During the first world war (WWI 1914 to 1918) the British Government needed to both reduce borrowing and to raise funds for the war effort. Consequently, the National Savings Movement was established in 1916 to encourage the British people to 'save and prosper'. The same was extended to all the British Colonies also.

The National Savings Movement grew from volunteers who were organised into Local Savings Committees, which in turn, were supported by national committees and civil servants. Savings products were sold directly to the public and the funds were sent to the government. The range of products included, saving stamps, certificates, and bonds, which were provided not only by the Post Office Savings Bank, but by other banks and financial institutions, such as building societies. The Movement was a large scale scheme to promote saving in all its forms and the local volunteers were recognised for their dedication by the issuing of 'long service awards', which were simply named 'National Savings'.

To support world war II (1939-1945) the War Savings Campaign was set up by the War Office in November 1939 and Regional Savings Committees were reorganised. War savings were not only limited to the purchase of certificates and bonds, but also used local collections to raise money for aeroplanes, tanks and any items which were urgently needed for the war effort. From 1940 onwards, local savings weeks became regular events with poster campaigns used to support the cause.

Just like WW1, the same schemes were rolled out in all the British Colonies including India during WW2. With all the Indian Princes contributing hefty amount to these, it became a huge success. More and more such schemes were rolled out in India encouraging everyone (general public) to invest in these.

Shown below is first of such single sided Indian pamphlet. It is printed in red color with text.

SAVE FOR VICTORY.

British War Savings Movement
BUY ---

NATIONAL SAVINGS CERTIFICATES
NATIONAL DEFENCE BONDS
2-1/2% NATIONAL WAR BONDS 1946-48
3% SAVINGS BONDS 1955-56
REGULARLY

ASK YOUR BANKER FOR AN APPLICATION FORM
OR P. O. BOX 625, CALCUTTA.

Another one is almost similar to above one. It is printed in blue color with a bit different text.

SAVE FOR VICTORY.

British War Savings Movement
BUY ---

SAVINGS CERTIFICATES
DEFENCE BONDS
INTEREST FREE BONDS
-- STERLING OR RUPEE --
REGULARLY

ASK YOUR BANKER FOR AN APPLICATION FORM
OR P. O. BOX 625, CALCUTTA.

Surprisingly, there is no more "NATIONAL" keyword in later pamphlet for any of those BONDS/Schemes. And to encourage people, looks like scheme was offered in either Sterling or Rupee.

The success of the scheme enabled it to thrive in times of peace as well as war, and National Savings were still available until the 1960s. These were the foundation of Indian Saving Bonds issued by the Post Office even today.

Cigraette Postcard - WW2 India

Today's post is an interesting philatelic item. It's called Cigarette Postcard. During WW2, people used to donate packets of Cigarette for British Soldiers serving in all the parts of world and in return generally some one from field unit used to send thanking letter back.

Below postcard is one of such example where a postcard was sent to Mrs. Armstrong thanking her for gift. It is an unusual small size postcard though it is natural given paper was an important commodity during war and in the field.

The above postcard has "On Active Service" printed with faces of all three arms of British forces: Army, Navy and Air Force shown on front. It is franked with the date of 13 August 1943 along with another triangular franking of Field Sensor 59 India. This indicates that the packet was received by a serving unit which was part of Indian contingent.

Back side shows the thanking message written by P. R. Eden Major RE where he says "We are all looking for ward to the time when we can eat some Cambridge Sausage in Cambridge".

The postcard also has printed message that the parcel was presented through the Overseas league Tobacco Fund. They encouraged citizen donations of cigars and cigarettes for the boys in the trenches and included one of these postcards in each bundle, so the recipient could send a thanks.

SEAC Christmas Airgraph - WW2 India

This is my first posting for 2011. I had a very busy 2 months official trip to US and hence I couldn't post new items. I hope my readers have not run away from my blog thinking it is dead. Even, next couple of weeks/months will be tough because of work load still I will try to post as many items as possible.

During my US stay, I happen to purchase couple of Airgraphs, BMALC and Airgraph forms thus this post will be dedicated to Airgraph :-)

Shown below is what is known as a standard SEAC pictorial Airgraph with soldiers in five different uniforms. The Airgraph was issued for soldiers to wish for Christmas and New Year Greetings.

Above airgraph is a used sample sent by Mr. Rayner S. posted with Field Regiment part of SEAC to Mr. Watson in Yorkshire, England on 14-11-1944. This Airgraph is sometimes treated as for 1944 or 1945.

Shown above is original form which soldiers used to fill up and post to local post office before it was made as Airgraph for shipping at Bombay G.P.O.

Even though the Airgraph shown above is known to be very common one, getting hands on original form of any Airgraph is very difficult now days. They are a bit rare. Luck was definitely on my side when a seller offered me two of such forms at reasonable price. Thanks to the genuine seller for keeping philately alive!

Christmas Greetings Card - CBI Theater WWII

First of all Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for the new year to all of my readers and their families. Today's post will be very short one as there is nothing much to talk about on the item except for the fact that it is an interesting one and rarely seen on internet.

It is Christmas Greeting card issued by CBI (China-Burma-India) theater for allied soldiers (Since it is CBI thus it has to be issued by US forces in India).

Year of issue is unknown. The card shows expression of words "Everything is O.K." in Hindi, Burmese and Chinese. It depicts landmark monuments such as Taj Mahal (India), Pagoda (Burma) and entrance of some palace/forbidden city (China).

The inside of card has a greeting printed with native people of CBI theater. It also has "FREE" printed on card indicating this must be free of post just like British Military Air Letter Cards (BMALC) or Airgraphs/V-Mails.

Mengani (Mengni) State Cash Coupon - WW2 India

Today's post is on another princely state cash coupon issued during WWII. Mengani (Mengni) was an estate or taluk, formerly part of Western India States (Western Kathiawar) Agency which later merged in Saurashtra and now part of modern state of Gujarat in India.

I tried digging on it but couldn't make out how many gun salutation state was granted or when did it accede to India . There is very less information available on this princely state forget about trying to find out state's contribution on WWI and WWII.

Above one is the only cash coupon issued by Mengni State/Taluk with denomination of 1 paisa. It has been recorded as number 24.1 in Indian Paper Money Catalogue by Kishore Jhunjhunwalla. It carries a rectangular floral block pattern around a cow in center. This was issued in blue color.

It has text printed in Gujarati and English both. It states "Mengni Taluk Revenue Stamp" in Gujarati while "Mengni Taluka" in English.

Mengni state printed some revenue stamp of same design on wove paper with size of 43x28 mm between 1930-40. It is said that Mengni state printed same pattern on white cardboard (Cash Coupon) in 1942 to use during a coin shortage period (WWII).

Some princely states were permitted by British Government to issue card coupons; they would appropriately be considered as coins or paper money. But it is doubtful if very small state like Mengni would have been permitted to issue the one Paisa revenue stamps on thick card, which apart from their revenue use could also circulate within the small state as coins thus serving dual purpose.

Nevertheless, the dual purpose of these cards has been noticed in the illustration of the document with these stamps tied to the document with thick thread and and stamped " CANCELLED" by a rubber stamp. Besides, some people have seen bundles of well used cards neatly and meticulously tied into lots of 16, and these lots into groups of 4 to make a rupee's worth. (Note that 1 paisa was 1/64 rupee.) It is said that these cards were circulated as coins in the area of Mengni state from about 1942 until 1947.

To Indian Soldiers - IIL War Propaganda Leaflet Against British Forces (WW2)

Every time I have confusion what to post, I pick a WW2 propaganda leaflet now that I have 100+ of them :-) In continuation to my IIL (Indian Independence League) war propaganda leaflet posts, I am sharing another such item. Before we walk through them, let me give some more information on these as I promised in my last IIL/INA post.

After formation of INA, Mohan Singh personally chose volunteers for his propaganda unit for their first assignment. He lectured them on the ideology of independence, infiltrating behind enemy lines and bringing men out of the British Army. The men wore regular uniforms and carried F Kikan passes and "F" insignia to get through Japanese lines. INA and IIL teams went back and forth through enemy fire, bringing in Indians, returning again to the front for more. It was an effective shuttle operation.

With a hand-printing press and Hindi and Urdu movable type, Mohan Singh and Pritam Singh worked day and night printing the first propaganda leaflets. They were distributed over the Slim battle-line by the 3rd Airborne Division, whose commander was a former teacher of Fujiwara in the General Staff College.

As fighting spread through Malaya and the Slim battle-line fell under Japanese assault, increasing numbers of Indians were brought into Ipoh by the propaganda teams. The propaganda was so effective that during the move to Kualalumpur, Indian officers and men holding white flags and propaganda handbills joined the growing procession to Kualalumpur on foot and in trucks, mingling with the pursuing Japanes troops. More than 1000 Indian men/soldiers of British Army surrendered to Japanese Army. This encouraged Mohan Singh to start propaganda broadcast from Saigon and Penang radio....

Shown above is one such War Propaganda Leaflet dropped by IIL/F-Kikan over British Forces somewhere in Eastern Asia. Exact location where and date when this was dropped is unknown. The propaganda urges Indian soldiers part of British Army to kill their British officers and change side. It is printed in English only and uncoded. The text reads:

TO INDIAN SOLDIERS!
-------

All Indians in our Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere are now combined and marching for India's freedom. Inspite of British oppression, the independence movement is progressing in all parts of India. They are fighting for the establishment of India for Indians. Now you are at the point of choosing slavery or freedom for India.

Don't be a tool in the hand of the English. Kill English officers and come to our side. We heartily welcome you as a comrade of Asia.

The leaflets also clearly shows influence of Japanese F-Kikan. Notice the words used in leaflet such as Japanese concept of "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere" and term "Comrade of Asia" which were frequently used for IJA (Imperial Japanese Army) who were projected as liberator of Asia.

Hope you would have enjoyed! I will post more leaflet in coming days. Probably, I will try to post them in chronological order depicting INA/IIL exploitation and advancement through war history even though none of them carries date but I will try to present them to the best of my knowledge based on text present in them.

Bharatpur State Gazette on withdrawl of National War Front restrictions - WW2

Today's item is an important Bharatpur State Gazette issued on 15th May 1945. The gazette carries a message from Maharaja of Bharatpur, Sawai Brijendra Singh on lifting of restrictions imposed as part of National War Front when the war started. Since, the victory is in sight and war is coming to an end, the restrictions are being lifted.

The Gazette was posted hence carries a seal of 19th May 1945. The message is written in English.

PART I.
STATE COUNCIL
Orders, Circulars, Notifications etc.
Notification.

As else-where in India, the National War Front was established in this state early in 1942. It was a time when owing to Japan's winning a series of victories almost dramatically and appearing at the eastern gates of our beloved country, nervous minds were badly affected. Foodstuffs and other civil supplies were cornered and even currency coins began to be hoarded. Under such circumstances, I and my Government considered it necessary to restore confidence by mobilising public opinion and forestalling a lowering of morale not only for the sake of Country's War efforts but also for the welfare of my people and a smooth running of their day to day life.

In a public meeting held on the 1st of May 1942, which was attended by my subjects of all caste, creeds and shades of opinion, I explained the aims and objects of the National War Front in the State, and assumed its command as its "Leader". I am glad to note that under the various committees and sectional leaders, my subjects stood to the occasion and were behind nobody in shouldering their responsibilities.

Thanks to the strategy of the Allied Nations, the situation has changed and we are no longer threatened with the dangers which once loomed over our skies. I therefore think that the need for the National War Front has passed, and therefore order that it may be discontinued forthwith. This should however in no case let us slacken our War Efforts which should be furthered with redoubled energy and zeal till final victory is gained over the enemies of liberty and civilization.

We have yet another task before us - effective solution of problems arising directly out of the War, post-war reconstruction and speedy progress of nation building activities. For this purpose my Government has decided to establish a permanent department of Publicity, which is intended to be a more efficient instrument of public information and instruction. It will be essentially mobile in a character and is designed to reach my subjects even in remotest corners of my State. Its approach to the people will be informative and factual rather than emotional or exhoratory and the Staff will be paid and work under the direct supervision and control of my Government.

I cannot close this, without an expression of my deep appreciation of the work done by all officials and non-officials in making the National War Front movement in the State a success.

1-5-45

SAWAI BRIJENDRA SINGH,
Maharaja of Bharatpur.

Indian Independence Movement Fund - WW2

Today's item is an Indian Independence Movement Fund receipt issued during WWII. Before I share the item and talk about historical background, I want to present my opinion on these kinds of items available for sale.

As we all understand that over period of time, these items have become rare and definitely command a good amount of money. I have seen people selling these items (whenever they appear) on eBay and other auction sites at very high price. I understand that like Gandhi anything related to INA/IIL or Subhas Chandra Bose is now days difficult to procure and they have been becoming costly year by year. Still, I think some of the gentlemen (sellers) on eBay have become greedy. For example, I bought this item at reasonable rate and when I saw similar item for sale later on eBay, the price was at least 6 times more than what I had paid! You can imagine the difference.

I just thought I should warn fellow readers from purchasing such items on any auction site. Just think for a moment before buying whether it is worth paying or not irrespective of emotions flowing in your mind :-) This way we all can keep these items within our reach and available for trade.

Shown above is the fund receipt issued in 1944 at Taiping, Mallaya. Even though the date mentioned on receipt indicates 24-12-04, seller from whom I bought it told it is 1944. I forgot to ask him how did 04 (which I thought to be year) change to 1944 (like everyone my mind was already over powered by my emotions :D

Well, I believe the seller. There are couple of reasons behind it. I will trace them through history lesson that I am about to start so anyone not interested can stop here. I sound like a prof in college :-) In professional life also, I have to wear sometimes 3GPP hat and act like a professor in front of customers.

History (Guest) Lecture - Prof. (self crowned) Jyotirmay Bareria

It was late 1941 when Japan unfolded its strategy in Asia to counter British forces. Based on experiences in China, the Imperial Japanese Army established a semi-autonomous unit to carry out liaison duties with local independence movements in Southeast Asia and transmit intelligence gathered from these movements back to the army command. Two such units were established before the outbreak of World War II in South-East Asia: the Minami Kikan and the F Kikan. We will focus on F Kikan in this post.

The Japanese IGHQ in October set up the Fujiwara Kikan, or the F-kikan, in Bangkok, Headed by the Major Fujiwara Iwaichi, chief of intelligence of the 15th army. He was tasked with intelligence gathering and contacting the Indian independence movement, the overseas Chinese and the Malayan Sultan with the aim of encouraging friendship and cooperation with Japan. Fujiwara's staff included five commissioned officers and two Hindi-speaking interpreters. Again, we will focus of F-Kikan's achievement with Indian Independence Movement. In reality also, they were hugely successful with Indian struggle than Malayan or Indonesians.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th Dec 1941, the 15th Army was tasked with the invasion of Malaya. During Malaya campaign, Fujiwara was camping in Alor Star when he learnt that there was a body of men from the 1/14 Punjab Regiment, with their British commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzpatrick, sheltering in the jungle east of Alor Star. The British force in the northern part of the Malaya Peninsula including Captain Mohan Singh's battalion, 1/14 Punjab Regiment, was fleeing towards the south. Mohan Singh's own forces had been outgunned and destroyed by superior Japanese forces at Jitra.

After preliminary negotiations, Fujiwara went into the jungle to contact the unit, and persuaded the wounded battalion commander that it was his duty to his men to surrender. Captain Mohan Singh agreed with Fujiwara and was taken to Alor Star where he met Pritam Singh at a joint office of the F-Kikan and the Indian Independence League (IIL). Although Pritam Singh was involved to a large extent, it was Fujiwara who, with his sincerity of purpose and belief, convinced Mohan Singh to betray his oath to the Crown by uniting with the Japanese mission for the greater motive of Indian freedom.

Fujiwara accompanied Mohan Singh to the Tactical Headquarters of 25th army where they met General Yamashita. Impressed by general's sympathetic views, Mohan Singh returned to F-Kikan HQ with a set of propositions that had been drawn up by him after discussion with other Indian prisoners-of-war.

1) An Indian National Army (INA) should be formed.
2) The Indian National Army should cooperate with the already existing Indian Independence League.
3) Indian POWs should be put under Mohan Singh's command for the Indian National Army.
4) The Indian National Army should be considered by the Japanese as an allied force.

These principles were accepted, in principle, by Yamashita, and the Indian National Army was born at Taiping on 31st December 1941. Now you understand the importance of Taiping :-) To me, Taiping holds a very important place in history.

After the British surrender of Singapore in 1942, F-Kikan was dissolved, and replaced by a new liaison agency, the Iwakuro Kikan, or "I-Kikan", to coordinate activities between the Indian National Army and the Japanese army.

Of course later, INA was put under supreme commander Subhas Chandra Bose. There is more history behind it. I will shed more light on exploits of INA under Mohan Singh and Subhas Chandra Bose in future posts (next class :-) when I share IIL/INA war propaganda leaflets.

For now, go ahead and read Wikipedia and other links to lighten yourself :D

Hyderabad War (WW2) Purposes Fund - Part II

Last weekend, I had to travel to my relatives place hence I couldn't update the blog. My aim this year is to not only to cross last year's posts but also touch at least 52 posts (1 each for 1 week in year :-) That was the goal I had in mind when I started blogging for this year. One can say it should have been easy posting at least a week but I think that's max for me :-) You can see that I have barely been able to maintain it. I am naturally excited hoping to cross the mark this year! Another successful blogging year for me.

I know you may not be interested in my personal gains :D so lets talk about something which interests you. Today's post is continuation of an old post "Hyderabad War Purposes Fund, Part-I" where I had shown 3 different war purposes fund issued by Princely State of Hyderabad during WWII. I had mentioned that Hyderabad had issued some more such stamps and I would share them in future.

Well, the reason was I didn't have that stamp in my possession that time. I was desperately looking for one of them shown at the end of this post. Even when it was offered on eBay, it was neither in good condition nor at good price. Finally, I bought it in good condition at very reasonable rate. Patience finally paid off. In fact, during that process I bought another rare War Charity stamp issued by Princely State of Hyderabad which is not mentioned anywhere. Since I am still trying to do research on it, I would keep it for future post ;-) I guess, this way I can still keep my readers interested :D So, we will cover them in Part-III of this post.

Before I share the stamp of this post, I would like to show some better images of earlier stamps. Over period of time, I happen to gather block of 4 of such labels in my collection. Shown below is first of such one Anna "Faithful Ally" Hyderabad War Purposes Fund label in green color.

Next is another variety again in block of 4 (this one seems more colorful and attractive to me):

I have yet to acquire block of 4 of third stamp of this set. Still, you can see 2 stamps set below.

And finally, the main attraction of this post is shown below. It was issued with 1/2 Anna denomination. The label shows famous tourist attraction of old Hyderabad "Charminar" and its market through one of doors leading to Charminar.

The stamp/label was issued in yellowish brown color and it has a text "Hyderabad War Relief Seal". The exact year and reason behind this issue is unknown. I am still digging on it to find out more. If any of my readers have any information to share please feel free to comment.

Outward Bound Souvenir Edition - WW2 Newspaper

As the Cyclonic Storm ‘JAL’ is weakening over Bay of Bengal, I think it is time for another voyage into history :-) Hell, no I even don't know swimming forget about sailing. The only sea where I can attempt to dive is history. So, I will post a small article today on one of the on board publication called "Outward Bound".

June 1945, a British ship sailed towards India carrying British Soldiers to carry on their duty in that vague area termed S.E.A.C (South East Asia Command). The warship was commanded by Lt. Col. G. M. Perry of Coldstream Guards. As usual, the two main things which the troops missed on board the ship were mail and news. To compensate that and keep sailors in high spirit for long voyage to India, the officers of ship made use of reverse side of Army Form N1513.C. by converting them into a wall-newspaper. The broadsheet contained all the latest news [culled from the B.B.C.'s news broadcasts], items of topical interest en route, Quizzes [with prizes] and items of general information. Based on the grand reception the newspaper received along with contribution from soldiers, it was decided to conjure a kind of newspaper out of absolutely nothing. Hence the Outward Journey, a souvenir edition was printed on board the ship.

It was 12 page special edition newspaper, published just above the water line with 3,000 copies only. The newspaper or booklet contains short stories and poems penned down by the sailors along with interesting events organized on board the ship through the eyes of sailors.

The booklet just leaves short of naming the actual ship. It gives some hint though. It mentions that the ship (named S.S. ----) was once the pride of P.&O. line. It was kind of a floating palace-like the Ritz. During the war, it was rechristened as Mistress H.M.T. (His/Her Majesty Trawler) carrying troops overseas.

I tried looking into P&O line ships but couldn't identify this one which sailed in June 1945 to India. It will be great if someone can shed some light on this beauty so I can dig more on history of this ship.

German WW2 Propaganda Leaflet against Indian Soldiers - Hoshiar!

It's celebration time :-) It's Diwali today. So, along with my best wishes here is a propaganda leaflet for my readers to celebrate with!

It's long time since I showed a German WW2 propaganda leaflet against British India. This one is not in very good condition but then you can't expect more from a leaflet. It survived all odds of war for us to enjoy and admire it now after more than 60 years itself is wonder.

Shown above is front side of German War Propaganda leaflet targeting Indian Soldiers part of British Army. It depicts a Sikh soldier listening to radio broadcast consisting of news and music/dance program. The soldier is imagining a female dancing on some music. It also has text in Urdu and English (Hindi words formed using English alphabets).

Attention!
Attention! Attention!

Bhai Band is calling you!
You are listening to Radio Bhai Band.

"Bhai" in Hindi means brother in English.

If you see the reverse side then you will understand the real propaganda. The reverse has text in Hindustani (Hindi), Urdu and English (again Hindi words are formed using English alphabets).

HINDUSTANIO (INDIANS)!

Do you know how to listen to Indian music and dance program?

Tune in to Bhai Band Radio!

Do you want to get the true news from all over the world?

Then listen Bhai Band Radio!
--------
When can you listen Bhai Band Radio?

Daily 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the evening on 449.1 medium wave and 28.3 or 39.6 short wave.
--------
Who speaks on Bhai Band?

Only your fellow countrymen, Indian Brothers!

Basically, the leaflet asks soldiers to tune in to Bhai Band Radio so they can be brain washed and misled about the then situation of war in Africa, Europe and Asia where Indian soldiers were fighting against German and Japanese forces as part of allied forces.

Here I am borrowing text from Herbert Friedman's article, which states:

It is said that India’s real involvement in modern psychological warfare began when Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army waged it. The Azad Hind radio stated its regular broadcasts from January 1942, in most of the prominent Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Pashto and also English.

"Free India Radio" (Azad Hind Radio) was the main propaganda station for India set up by the exiled Subhas Chandra Bose with German assistance. Bose’s Provisional Indian Government in Berlin also had two other radio stations, namely "National Congress Radio" and "Free Moslem Radio." ("National Congress Radio," by the way, had nothing to do with the short-lived "Congress Radio," which was a clandestine station operated by Gandhi supporters on British soil). Moreover, there was an Italian-sponsored Indian station known as "Radio Himalaya," run by the exiled Indian Moslem Iqbal Shedai. In addition to these stations, there was a German station manned by Indians called "The Brothers" or "Bhai Band" (BBC Monitoring Service translation), to which the soldier in the above leaflet is shown listening.

WW2 V-Mail (India) - Thanksgiving Greetings

It's Deepawali or Diwali time in India. I was searching for some WWI or WWII item in my collection which could be related to Diwali but there was none. So, I settled down on next big holiday, of course not for India but nevertheless it is related to WWII. Yes, I am talking about Thanksgiving Day celebration.

For the US forces stationed in India, V-Mail served the same purpose as Airgraph for British forces. There are variety of V-Mails known to exist for India Command with creative illustration though Airgraph is more popularly seen. I bought this item sometime back because I had no example of V-Mail and it was related to India.

Shown below is example of V-Mail which was also photographed and sent as picture roll which got later developed and then posted.

But the surprising thing is that it was posted from New York to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania i.e. within US and still it was posted as V-Mail. Though, the posting date indicates 19 Sep, 1945 so it was posted after the war had ended. And that's the reason there is no censor marking in it. Still, I wonder why it was posted as V-Mail since it was within US. If you see the cover already mentions that usage of this for private will attract penalty of USD $300 but we still see this example! Or is it that sender address is misleading where it mentions NY?

Anyway coming down to the mischievous illustration itself, it mentions "Thanksgiving Greetings" from the India-Burma Theater. One of the character is shown wearing CBI (China-Burma-India) patch on his dress. A really funny and interesting example of V-Mail.