There are not many newspapers in the world that have survived for 150 years, and when one does, there is cause to celebrate. On the subsequentenary of the Times of India, the only national newspaper to have reached that landmark in India, the Department of Posts issues a goldn commemorative stamp. The reason for the longetivity of the Times of India, perhaps, is that long ago it became a veritable institution through which news and reports, opinion and analysis, concepts and comment passed and, in the most recent and historically conscious era of India's long existance, sedimented, separated formalised and accuired 'body' as they made their hurried journey through the institutional filters.

Events shaped The Times of India, but The Times of India played an important role in shaping the memories of these events. As a leading "newspaper of record", the material The Times of India has carried has always been seen as being of significance not only for the day but even for posterity: news pictures, cartoons, commentry, editorial viewpoint, readers' opinion, even advertisements have been perceived to have had a longer validity than would be indicated by their appearance in a daily broadsheet. Indeed, The Times of India has had a presence which has been more than that of a simple daily; it has been preceived as an institution in national life. The Times of India has changed over 150 years of its existence.

But none of these changes have taken away from its image as a sober, reliable "newpaper of record". The Thimes of India has been in the vaneguard of Indian journalism and as such it has sought to perform in a considered and responsible manner the important role that the press has ina democratic society. After 150 years of positive and constructive engagement with the process that shape India, The Times of India continues to remain a leading nespaper and is a champion of the cause of the free press.

The issue of a befiting stamp is a tribute to the historic role of The Thimes of India.

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