History of Postal Communications in India

by Sangeeta Deogawanka

HISTORY OF POSTAL COMMUNICATIONS IN INDIA
Part 2 - ANCIENT INDIA
A historical perspective
(with emphasis on Overland Routes)

The East has always held an aura of mystery to the Western and Middle Eastern civilizations. India in particular has always lured explorers, traders and pilgrims over the centuries. Thus overland routes and merchant links were established at very early stages, much before the Portuguese gained route by sea in the 15th-16th centuries. These overland routes took a general South-Easterly sweep from Turkey through Middle-East to India.

A historical review of the early postal systems in India reveals an element of anachronism. Well-laid out routes and messenger systems emerged from the trade movements and the dissemination of Buddhism, in the Northern and North-Western frontiers. An efficient communication system with the principal country was spurred by the subsequent foreign invasions from the West. Thus in retrograde, we find the early and subsequent development of mail systems in India were influenced by the Persians, Greeks, Arabs and later, the Mongols.

The Arab and Persian chronicles record the movement of nomadic tribes, explorers and invaders who laid the principal routes with Central Asia and the Far East (present China & South-East Asia). Before the Arab conquests, the Persians were the intermediaries with complete monopoly over the silk trade. The centre of trade activity as early as in 4th century A.D. was Asia, chiefly controlled by the silk traffic. Many of the important land routes connecting the Silk Route necessarily linked India, in particular the Southern (Silk) Route and the Ancient Tea Route. Postal history of a region is inexorably linked with the study of routes. However, the overland link quickly lost its importance as trade across the seas developed.

A royal highway connected Taxila with Pataliputra and terminated at Tamralipti, the main port in the Ganges delta. On the western coast the major port of Bhrgukaccha / Barygaza (modern Bharuch) was connected with the Ganges Valley via Ozene (Ujjain). From the Narmada valley, the routes went into northwestern Deccan and continued along rivers flowing eastward to various parts of the peninsula.

Persian influence
Trends in the early periods suggest a predilection for overland routes, chiefly because of the hazards of sea travel and uncharted sea routes. The Persian Royal Road forged with many routes leading to India which were also protected by the Achaemenids. Topography determined the course of travel and routes. In the North-West, the presence of rivers and the numerous Wadis (riverbeds) served as natural roads. Not only did these Wadis aid navigation, but the presence of subsoil moisture and resultant availability of water also made travel easy. The mountain streams were also easy to cross or ford. So land routes followed direction of the Wadis. To the West of Sind, the topography was more conducive to land traffic. Albeit, the many rivers that united before flowing into the sea, meant that river traffic was also high using boat-bridges (made of timber and rafts) and rafts. However travel by water was slow, and was mostly preferred for carriage of heavy goods, routes being confined to the Cis-Indus region.

The ancient overland routes stretching from Persia to India were mere foot-tracks (which later developed into highways). They were primarily nature-made paths and ruts created by hoofs of animals, and most likely centuries of human traverse. Along these tracks were shacks that served as rest places for the travellers (military personnel, traders and pilgrims). For safety and practical purposes, they travelled in caravans of pack - oxen and doubtless carried letters and messages for fellow tradesmen and private individuals. At the same time the military envoys and Generals conveyed important letters and firmans. Thus two parallel lines of communication prevailed, though the imperial system was more organized and speedy.

From early accounts we know that travel over long distances was either by foot or horse-back, the envoys using horses to carry urgent missives and other messengers conveying letters on foot. However, organised postal stations and relays existed at regular intervals along the Royal Road for use by royal messengers. It was only with the advent of the Arabs that a stable form of communication was adopted with the Indian territory and the tracks developed into highways.

Arab influence of the Caliphate (7th – 11th century A.D.)
Quest of political power and wealth by the Arabs, led to their increasing presence in the Indian sub-continent. Initially by the peaceful means of commerce and later with conquests, extensive routes were laid over both land and sea.

The origin of the postal system during the Muslim rule can be traced to the conquest of Sind by the Arab ruler of Iraq, Mohammad bin Qasim, in 712 A.D. The Arab chiefs established many territories which necessitated maintenance of a regular line of communication with the Caliph of Bagdad, for military intelligence and administrative instructions. The special horse couriers carried letters from Caliph to Qasim on every third day and from Iraq to Sind in seven days.

The Caliph Mu’awiyyah (602-680) is considered the first ruler to have established the Department of Posts or Diwan-i-Barid for official communication throughout his far-flung Caliphate. Although the Barid* was used primarily for imperial communication, it later became less exclusive and included personal and business letters.(The word Barid means a “post-animal”, “post-horse”, “courier” or institution of “post” according to ‘Encyclopedia of Islam’)

Barid messengers also became the bearers of information like the price of goods traded, but unlike their doot counterparts in ancient kingdoms of India, barids were publicly appointed officers. In this way, the Barid service played a role similar to modern postal system and is indeed used even in the modern times in various Arab countries as the original term for the Post.

The Caliph kept an elaborate system of posts at intervals of a few miles, where the official messenger could avail of a fresh relay of horses or pass his despatch to another member. These postal services extended across the Hindukush in the north as far as Kabul and Delhi in the South, with 930 post stations along six routes from Bagdad to India. The postal system under the Caliphate was independent of the political administration. It was solely used for conveyance of letters with two categories of officials, the nowaqquium and the farwaneqqyun. The former played the role of the modern postmaster, in charge of receipt, despatches and supervision of the conveyance of official letters, while the latter was in the garb of the modern Post Master General controlling operations at every province and reporting to the Caliphate at Baghdad. Thus, it is evident that the State postal systems in the Princely States of India were influenced by the systems pioneered by the Caliphate.

Relays of horses were used for long distance postal services, to keep the Caliphate and the Muslim invaders posted about the happenings throughout their vast territory. There is mention of frequent use of the horse-collar, the breast strap, the cross-bow, the stirrup, and even the wheelbarrow for rendering the horse service swift.

Though there is record of wheeled carriages, oxen drawn chariots, bullock carts, ekkas and tongas being used for trade and travel purposes, no mention has been found by this author of any of these being used for carrying mail during this period.

During this time, the Empires of the Han Chinese, Romans, Kushans, Mauryans and Greeks, provided a safe route for traders to travel. They encouraged long distance trade and speedy communication.

To increase speed of communication the speed of the messenger had to be enhanced. Thus spawned good roads and well provisioned staging posts at which fresh men and horses were always kept ready. Much has been written about these swift horse couriers who galloped with fine abandon, braving the mountainous terrain, crossing swift-flowing rivers and ice-covered slopes in the most extreme of weather conditions.

In the ancient period, when external influences were primarily through overland trade and incursions, the swiftness of the horse messengers played a key role in communications, and to an extent, probably shaped the subsequent historical events in India.

*The word barid, according to Hitti is not derived from the Latin Veredus or the Persian burdan meaning ‘a swift horse’ but from the Arabic birdhawn meaning ‘a horse’ or ‘burden’.
It may also be derived from ‘the towers built to protect the roads by which couriers travelled’ which was later used as yardstick to denote distance between two post stations.
[P. K. Hitti, “History of the Arabs”
T.W. Arnold, “Arab Travellers and Merchants, 1000-1500 A.D.”
A. P, Newton’s “Travels and Travellers of the Middle Ages”]

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Copyright © 2007, Sangeeta Deogawanka, Kolkata

Sangeeta Deogawanka is a freelance writer & researcher based in Kolkata. She is an award winning stamp collector and author of the handbook Stamp Collecting Today. Her current focus of interest are Modes of Mail Transport in India and Postal History of Travancore State. A contributor to various websites, with many essays, blogs, health and parenting articles to her credit, she is an active citizen journalist and has also served as Parenting Expert on www.allexpert.com.
Comments, queries and exchange of ideas are welcome at s_deogawanka@yahoo.co.in