Phool Walon Ki Sair began about 150 years ago as a token of thanksgiving for a prayer fulfilled and was stayed on to become a symbol of harmony. Flowers have been traditionally used the world over for expressing a variety of emotions. In Phool Walon Ki Sair they occupy pride of place in a unique festival of communal harmony and national integration. The festival dates back to 1812 during the days of Akbar Shah II, one of the later Mughals. It began with Begum Mumtaz Mahal's presentation of a 'Chaddar' and a 'Pankha' at the tomb of Khwaja Bakhtiar Kaki and at the Yogmaya temple. The colourful procession continued through the difficulties days of 1857 and even after the fall of the Mughals. In the days of the Raj, the Deputy Commissioner and the prominent citizens of Delhi joined hands to continue the tradition. In 1942 the Sair suffered a setback.

It was discontinued during the 'Quit India Movement' due to the 'Devide and Rule' Policy of the then Government. But 1961 saw the revival of the festival under the former Prime Minister, late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who saw it as a 'symbol of our nation's integration and communal harmony." A modest revival in 1961 has today become a large scale festival organised for 3 days by the Anjuman Sair-e-Gul-Faroshan. In the recent past, its popularity has increased considerably, and different States send Pankhas as offering and troups of dancers, musicians and singers to perform before thousands of people who gather on the grounds of Jahaz Mahal.

The Pankha, which is carried jointly by different States and offered at the Dargah and at the temple, is made of flowers and embroidary work representing the craft of various States. Fostering the spirit of emotional integratio throughout the country, the festival has acquired national character, as surely as a variety of flowers make a garden. The Department of Posts is happy to issue a postage stamponthe Phool Walon Ki Sair.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India