BANGLA DESH is a hope, an aspiration, the dream of millions of East Pakistanis. Bangla Desh—Bengal Nation, or homeland, is what Sheik Mujibur Rahman sought through his Awami League, but its victory at the ballot box has resulted in the imprisonment of Banga Bandhu (Bengal”s friend) — Rahman, and the killing of thousands of East Pakistanis, and driven millions of them into refugee privations in neighboring India.

There is a Bangla Desh “government”. of sorts, and a leadership that functions from a floating capital, “Mujibnagar,” which shifts from location to location to avoid the ruthless West Pakistan armed forces that have run rampant through the cities, towns and countryside of its eastern region of approximately 75 million people, mostly Hindus, but including thousands of Moslems, both groups subjected to reported bonyata (savagery) from troops of the Islamic Government of General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan.

What has all this to do with stamps?

On July 26, in London, so called stamps of Bangla Desh appeared. A “first‐day” ceremony was staged for this so‐called “definitive” series. The site was the House of Commons, and John Stone house, M.P., until recently Britain”s Postmaster General, and Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, vice chancellor of Dacca University, in East Pakistan, were the principals involved.

No matter the hopes, dreams or aspirations of the Bangla Desh, these are not postage stamps. They are propaganda labels intended to broadcast East Pakistan's difficulties to the world. Some day, if there ever is a Bangla Desh, they may be recognized as the “first definitive stamps” of the Bengal Nation. Until such a time, how ever, stamp collectors, who may wish to contribute to the Bangla Dash cause, must recognize that, as of the moment, these attractive adhesives are only labels. There are so‐called “first‐day covers,” available in New Delhi and Calcutta, India, and in London, but, again, they are souvenirs of a dream.

These labels will not, now, receive recognition from the Scott or Minkus catalogues, the principal repositories for authenticity in the United Slates: and it is unlikely that the Gibbons catalogue, England's prime compendium, will accord recognition.

It is obvious, of course, that General Yahya's Pakistan Government is not likely to condone operation of rival mail facility in her territory, especially that of per sons she considers rebels.

When word of these propaganda labels reached this columnist, inquiry was made of New York Times correspondents in the field, Sidney Schanberg, in New Delhi and Malcolm Browne, in Dacca and Anthony Lewis in London.

Mr. Schanberg cabled:

“There are eight stamps ranging in denomination from 10 paise (2 cents, at the official Pakistani rate of exchange) to 10 rupees ($2.10). They were designed by Biman Mullick, an Indian Bengali living in London, who designed Britain's Gandhi memorial stamp in 1969.

“At this point at least, the function of the stamps is largely, if not completely, symbolic and fund‐raising. Bangla Desh officials in India insist that the stamps will actually be used as postage in ‘liberation areas’ of East Pakistan, replacing Pakistani stamps.”

Mr. Schanberg continued: “The Bangla Desh officials SAY a Bangla Desh postal service is already operating in these areas, but up to now has been using Pakistani Stamps, If so, this service is quite recent and no foreign observer or correspondent has seen the system in operation.

“It is not clear whether India is going to post such letters onward, but she will probably deliver them inside India. The Bangla Desh diplomatic mission says it will be gin negotiations with the Universal Postal Union to get international recognition for the stamps so that they can be used externally.

Even if some of the stamps are used as postage in liberated areas, it is clear that the, higher denomination such as the three, five and 10 rupee stamps, are meant to be sold as fund‐raisers. A. first‐day cover of the eight stamps, whose total face value is 21 rupees 80 paise (approximately $4.60) is being sold here. The covers are also on sale at the Bangla Desh mission in Calcutta. In London, of course, the stamps are being sold only to raise money.”

As to the post office head quarters, “Mujibnagar,” Mr. Schanberg‐reported, that it is the "name the Bangla Desh government has given to its capital, which has no fixed location, and which shifts, apparently, whenever the Pakistani troops attack. The government, which actually works out of Calcutta, has also been talking about issuing its own currency soon, but nothing has come of this as yet.”

Malcolm Browne, reporting from Dacca, provided similar material contained in the Schanberg dispatch, also reporting that the “exact location of the ‘capital’ is unknown, but believed to be in one of the small Indian enclaves within Pakistani territory, probably ceded by Indians to Bangla Desh people.” Mr. Browne continued:

“Letters bearing Bangla Desh postmarks from Mujibnagar have reportedly appeared in Dacca, presumably delivered by clandestine couriers who lately also have been bringing posters and handbills to Dacca.

“The main idea of the stamps, sources here say, is to show the flag for morale purposes. No one takes seriously the idea of real Bangla Desh postage, service, although no one doubts that the rebel organization has good internal communications.

“It is recalled that the Vietcong [South Vietnam's resistance forces] issued several postage stamps at various times for the same over all purpose. [Years ago, Chinese revolutionary forces maintained regional postal services. Ed.]

“Apart from a clandestine radio, which can be heard here at various times of morning and evening in Bengali, Urdu and English, rebels put out a weekly paper called ‘Shadin Bangla,’ and according to one source, an English daily called ‘The People.’

“Obviously, possession of any such subversive literature in Dacca or other population centers would be very dangerous and I imagine circulation is limited.”

The stamps, according to the Inter‐Governmental Philatelic Corp., P. U. Box 259, Cedarhurst, N. Y. 11516, the philatelic agents, follow:

10 paise, map of Bangla Desh; 20p, symbolic of the massacre at Dacca University—the name of the university in sans serif letters, pock marked by shell holes; 50p, the title “A Nation of 75 Million People,” the figures “75” dominating the vignette; 1 rupee, flag of independence, showing a map of East Pakistan (Bangla Desh); 2r, Election 1970, displaying a ballot box, inscribed “167 seats out of 169 for Bangla Desh” (this being the event that brought the assault from West Pakistan); 3r, Proclamation of Independence, depicting broken chains; 5r, portrait of Sheik Majibar Rahman; 10r, “Support Bangla Desh,” again, a map of the East Pakistan.

Anthony Lewis reporting on the London “first day” said that “a spokesman for the Steering Committee of Bangla Desh, United Kingdom, observed that the stamps were a symbol of the authority of the Bangla Desh Government over the territories they hold. They claim 78 per cent under their control.”

Mr. Lewis added that, as of July 30, “no letters with Bangla Desh stamps have yet arrived in this country, so it is too early to know what the reaction of the British postal authorities will be. The letters are leaving Bangla Desh through India, which is accepting them for onward transmission.”

The stamps were printed by Format International Security Printers of London.

There is a Bangla Desh Philatelic Agency, 11 Goring Street, London, E.C.3, England, which is also the ad dress of the Steering Committee. A spokesman for the committee on the first day said $13,200 worth of stamps were sold.

The spokesman said the proceeds would go toward standing security against the Bangla Desh currency, which reportedly will be issued very soon.

The eight stamps were sold in England for the equivalent of $2.64.

In New York, the representative of Bangla Desh is Mahmood Ali, 10 East 39th Street (10016). Mr. Ali said that stamps were on sale in the Jesore and Rangpur areas of Bangla Desh.