The world is celebrating the World Postal Day on 9th October 2011. 9th October was declared as World Postal Day by the Universal Postal Union Congress held in Tokyo in 1969. 9th October is the birthday of the Universal Postal Union which was formed in 1874 in the capital city of Switzerland,Bern.
Universl Postal Union is not a union of the workers. It is the Union of the Postal Organisations all over the world.
It may be a coincidence that the Postal Department in India was also started in the same period. Communication methods were there even at the time of the Moghuls as also other kings. The postal as a system was started by the British, first for their administrative and defence purposes and later for the use of the public. Although the first Post Office was started in 1688 in Bombay by the East India Company the Postal Department was started only in 1854. The services wer made available to the public gradually. Now Indian Posts is one of the biggest postal services in the world.
The neo-liberalisation policy has targeted Postal services also. The government gave permission for starting courier services by the private companies. Works after works of the post offices are tried to be privatised. Government is planning to completely stop the RMS service. The Postal Unions, under the leadership of NFPE are resisting these onslaughts.
The Postal Services is a service which the poor in the country is fully depending. It has to be strengthened, not to be destabilised or privatised.