Commemorative Stamp of 'King of Ghazal’ Jagjit Singh Launched by Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today launched postal stamps in honour of legendary Ghazal singer late Shri Jagjit Singh. The event held at the PM House in New Delhi was attended by many government officials, cabinet ministers, Jagjit Singh's wife Chitra Singh and Armaan Chowdhury. The event was held to mark what would have been Jagjit Singh’s 73rd birthday. The postal department released a set of 2 stamps in denominations of Rs 5 and Rs 20.

This is the second instance of a double stamp released by the Postal Department - the first one being in honour of Mahatma Gandhi.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh said “There is a special place for Shri Jagjit Singh in the history of music in India. I am glad to release a commemorative stamp in his honour. He is not among us today but his magical voice and music will continue to have an impact on us.” Remembering him fondly, he further added: “ He was a unique artist and excelled in all genres of music, but he will be remembered the most for his ghazals.”

Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Kapil Sibal, was quoted saying that Jagjit Singh's songs have been able to move generations and will continue to do so. “He composed songs for several films and generations get swayed away and mesmerized by those timeless songs.”

Jagjit Singh, who was greatly responsible for the revival of ‘The Ghazal’, famous for his deep soulful voice and extensive support to philanthropic causes, passed away in October 2011. Armaan Chowdhury, chairman of Jagjit Singh Foundation, remembered him fondly. “In spite of avoiding paper titles and accolades, he garnered so many. A pioneer in his field with nothing but humility and kindness in his heart. Jagjit sir  has left us with a void that could never be filled but also with so much to learn.”

Jagjit Singh is remembered for many of his famous ghazals like ' Kagaz ki Kashti', 'Chitthi Na Koi Sandesh' and many more. He certainly carved a permanent place in the hearts of music lovers from across the world and generations. He garnered several accolades in his illustrious career and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2003.