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Part 60, Issue # 119 - June 5, 2003
We have a vision for
the future of philately in India and are committed to realize it.
The vision is about creating the basic infrastructure for the development of
philately in India. It includes an annual plan of philatelic activities, a
philatelic exhibition on national level, a professionally edited and produced
monthly philatelic magazine with a circulation in five digits, a national
federation of philatelic organizations facilitating their growth, and a national
philatelic policy to promote philately at the grass root level.
We believe that it is possible to have 100,000 stamp collectors organized in
1000 or more philatelic clubs across the nation in the first year itself.
However the ground reality in India today is as far removed from this as
possible. We need to disassociate with our recent past that is also an example
of how not to do things.
India, in the current scenario, presents perhaps the biggest opportunity in the
world for large scale philatelic activities and a huge market for philatelic
industry.
A dedicated team is needed as also the requisite funds to help achieve the goals
with a focused approach once the short term and long term plans are finalized.
The philatelists in India have been successfully participating in the
International exhibitions since pre-independence days. Yet the numbers are
miniscule keeping in view the potential of large number of persons who could be
encouraged to join the hobby. China took twenty years to achieve 20 million
stamp collectors and we must learn and improve upon this.
We now await your feedback and suggestions to proceed further on this vision and
turn it into reality.
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