Looking at the following mail cover, it becomes apparent that while we know that there was no postal services in the country during the early 1950’s – there appears to have been some kind of mail delivery system in place. The multiple seals from different Dzongs affixed on the cover are evidence of that.
I wondered – why was the cover stamped at every Dzong en-route to the destination? The only explanation I could arrive at is that it could not have been a single postal runner who carried the mail from Trashigang to all the way to the final designation. Although the cover’s postmarks end at Wangduephodrang, I believe that the final destination would have been Thimphu or Paro.
It is my belief that the mail delivery system was organized on a relay system. A runner from Trashigang would deliver the mail up to Zhongar Dzong and from there on another runner from Zhongar would deliver the mails to Jakar Dzong and so on and so forth. That would explain the presence of postmarks of each of the Dzongs on the route of delivery. Ofcourse we know the existence of postal runners – in fact our first postage stamps issued in 1962 depicted a postal runner on two of the seven stamps. But was a relay system in place? – that is what I am interested to find out.
I looked up the records and find that between 1952 - 1965, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi and Dasho Babu Tashi were the Dzongpoens of Trashigang and Zhongar (Mongar). I do not know who was Kuzang Wangdi – but certainly I know who was Dasho Babu Tashi – as things settle down, I will confirm if there were postal runners during those years.
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