1st April: Islamic Republic Day of Iran

Islamic Republic Day of Iran is celebrated on Farvardin 12, which falls on or around April 1st every year.

On April 1st, 1979, the Iranian Revolution resulted in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was supported by the United States, and its eventual replacement with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. 

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was the ruler of Iran (Shah of Iran) from 1941 till 1979. The above image depicts the Shah on a circa 1959 stamp issue by Iran.

30th March: National Doctor's Day (America)

 On October 30, 1990, President George Bush designated March 30 as America's National Doctor's Day.This day was first observed in the year 1991. This day is commonly celebrated in healthcare organizations to recognize the contributions of physicians to everyone's lives and communities. 

The following stamp was issued by India in the year 2009.

27th March: World Theater Day

World Theater Day is celebrated on 27th March every year. It was first observed in the year 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI). 
This  day is  celebrated  so that everyone  in the world can collaborate around the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace.

On this day, ITI invites a personality who is outstanding in theatre or outstanding in heart and spirit from another field to share his or her reflections on theatre and international harmony.

The author of the Message of World Theatre Day 2002 was Girish Karnad - the only Indian theatre personality to have this honor till date.

The author of the Message of World Theatre Day 2014 is the South African play writer, designer, director and installation maker Brett Bailey.

The above stamp was issued by Kenya in 1979. It shows a scene from "Lion and the Jewel", a novel written by Wole Soyinka. This Nigerian author won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986 and incidentally was the World Theatre Day Message Author in the same year.

26th March: Bangladesh Independence Day

Bangladesh's Independence day is celebrated on 26th March every year. Bangladesh got its Independence from Pakistan on 26th March 1971. This day  acts as a memorial  of thousands of civilians who died for their own country during the Bangladesh Liberation War. 

Dhaka is the capital of independent Bangladesh. Above is a stamp depicting the Kamalapur railway station in Dhaka issued in the year 1983.    This railway station is the largest in the country and the most important terminal for transportation between Dhaka and the rest of the country.

23rd March: World Meteorological Day

The World Meteorological day is celebrated on March 23rd. It was first observed in the year 1950. 

The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization which was founded in 1873. This UN body  recognizes the importance of weather, climate and meteorological forecasting to the natural environment and human well-being.

The above stamp was issued by India in 1975

21st March: International Day of Forests

March 21st is observed as the International Day of Forests.  In 1971, the 16th session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)  gave their vote to “World Forestry Day."  Then the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) held six Forest Days from 2007 to 2012.  Finally, the date was fixed, on November 28, 2012, by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).  And it was first observed on March 21, 2013.  

A plant takes several years to grow, yet we took 41 years to fix a date to remind ourselves of the importance of nature, knowing well that it takes as little as a few minutes to destroy years worth of nature's growth. We know too well how much we are dependent directly and indirectly on forests for shelter, fuel, food, supplies for everything little to huge. Though we are benefitting from it, we are damaging forests in a massive way.  Think about it, that every minute, we are destroying 60-foot ball playground size forests.

Our greed seems to have taken over. For how long will play dumb and turn a blind eye?  For how long will we shove away the moral and ethical responsibility we have by not utilizing god's gift properly?  For how long will we continue to kill our forests? 

We are not the owners of the forests, we are but simple borrowers of nature's supplies, and we must be responsible and cough up reparations for the forests, starting now. Let this day be a reminder to all of us to build a plan for sustenance.  

Every act as every individual matters.  I have planted one on my balcony, how about you?  

The above stamp issued by India in 2009 depicts the "Silent Valley" National Park in Kerala, India. A unique preserve of tropical rain forests, it is closed on all sides with high and continuous ridges and steep slopes.

21st March, World Poetry Day

World poetry day is celebrated on March 21. This day is celebrated for those who are remembered for their talent in poetry. 

When we think of poetry day, most of us remember famous poets like Rabindranath Tagore and Subramania Bharathi. A poet who has had an enormous impact during the formative phase of India is Kavi Pradeep (Kavi means poet). He is best known for his poem "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" (O people of my country). This poem can be seen in the backdrop of the stamp issued in 2011 by India.