India bid farewell to its commercial telegraph operation last Sunday after facing stiff competition from the internet and mobile technology. The shutting down of the 163-year-old telegraph service marked the end of an era. Dhanya Nair walks down the memory lane to find out what made this ancient technology, that was the harbinger of good and bad news, so special.
It was once the fastest means of communication for millions of people and for many in India a cultural symbol. The humble telegram which breathed its last on last Sunday was buried without any requiem even as thousands thronged the 75 remaining telegraph offices to send out country’s last telegrams. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, which ran the service, stated that the declining revenues forced it to end the service, which had become obsolete in an age of email, reliable landlines and ubiquitous cell phones.
Started in 1850 on an experimental basis between Kolkata and Diamond Harbour, in the eastern state of West Bengal, it was opened for use by the British East India Company the following year. In 1854, the service was made available to the public. At its peak in the mid-1980s, more than 45,000 telegraph offices dotted the country, with tens of thousands of telegraph workers and delivery men dispatching more than 600,000 telegrams a day. “From birth and death announcements, to college admissions and job appointments, the telegram was the main way millions of Indians — in the remotest parts of the country and in its adjoining cities — received important news, I think it became an integral part of our culture, tradition and times,” says veteran user Jageram Kumar from Punjab.
During the independence movement, the service became a symbol of resistance. Cutting the telegraph wires was a favoured form of nationalist protest and the service was invaluable to the British during the Indian uprising of 1857. What made the telegram so special was the drama surrounding it. It was often brusquely worded, printed out in capital letters with sentences ending with the dramatic “STOP.”
In many parts of the world, with the advent of online communication, telegrams became a nostalgic novelty item. Though the final STOP has been made heritage services continue in many places and telegrams are still used for specific purposes in some countries. For instance, in Argentina, you are supposed to resign from your job by telegram.
In India, the most historical telegram ever sent was when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated; the Centre sent telegrams to all presidencies and princely states. The message read “Government of India. Regret. Mahatma Gandhi was victim of shooting outrage. Gandhiji expired yesterday evening. Cremation will take place Saturday 4 pm. Prime minister has broadcast Saturday 31st be observed as day of fasting and prayer. Suggests offices should close entirely and flags half mast from sunrise.”
The shortest telegram exchange on record is French novelist Victor Hugo’s with his publisher: “?”, he telegraphed when inquiring about sales of his latest book; “!” the publisher replied. Brief and punchy– the perfect telegram.
