Withdrawn: 68p stamp that offends the Hindus

ROYAL Mail was embarrassingly forced to withdraw a Christmas stamp yesterday amid protests from the Hindu community.

The 68p stamp – which could be used to send letters to India – features a man and woman with Hindu markings worshipping the infant Christ.

Since the stamps went on sale last week, Hindus have poured scorn on the Royal Mail for its alleged insensitivity.

They described the stamp as ‘the equivalent of having a vicar in a dog collar bowing down to Lord Ram ( a Hindu deity) on a Diwali ( a Hindu festival) stamp.’

Yesterday, Royal Mail said its 14,000 post offices will not be issued with replacement 68p stamps when their current stocks run out.

Any customers who ask for a 68p stamp will be given the Christmas version only if they specifically ask for it. If not, they will be given the standard 68p stamp which is used on long- distance international mail.

Messages were sent to all 40,000 Post Office counters yesterday morning telling staff about the new rules which came into force immediately.

The stamp is one of six Christ- mas stamps all based on the mother and child theme – the first to have a religious context for five years. A Royal Mail spokesman said yesterday that the company has been apologising ever since the furore erupted last week.

He added: ‘ The last thing we wanted to do was to cause any offence to anyone. If there has been offence caused, that was done inadvertently.’

He refused to reveal how many 68p stamps will be destroyed as a result of the fiasco, or how much this will cost the struggling company. The decision comes after a ‘ heated’ meeting with the Hindu Forum of Britain on Monday about the stamp. The forum had urged Britain’s 750,000 Hindus – the UK’s third largest faith – to send an unstamped letter to Royal Mail’s headquarters in protest.

Its leaders had hoped this would cause ‘a logistical nightmare worse than withdrawing the stamp’ as the system became clogged up with protest letters.

Ramesh Kallidai, secretarygeneral of the forum had described the image on the stamp as insensitive, because it showed people who were clearly Hindu worshipping Christ.

Yesterday he said he was pleased with Royal Mail’s decision to withdraw the stamp.

He advised the firm, which has its stamp designs approved by a multi-faith committee, to ask for advice in future before risking Hindus’ wrath.