May be, this questions will arise due to the legendary telegraph services stopped in this

year. So,
Indias Legendary Telegraph Service has Stopped:Q: - When the Telegraph launched and who started the idea behind?
Ans: - The First Electric Telegraph line was started between Calcutta and Diamond Harbor in
November 1850. A year latter the line was completed and opened for the East India Company
Traffic. The person who conducted this experiment and thus pioneered telegraph and telephone
in India was Dr William O Shaughnessy. Soon after, he become the Director General of
Indian telegraph Department
Q: - How the TELEGRAPH Department Started in India?
Ans: - After the successful working of above experiment line led to the construction of 6400 km
of telegraph line constructing Calcutta and Peshawar in the North via Agra and Bombay through
Sindhwa Ghats, Bombay and Madras in the south as well as Ooty and Bangalore. Telegraph
Department was set up in 1854 and after the Telegraph Act was entacted and telegraph facilities
were thrown open to public traffic.
Q: - How it got developed and time line of Indian telegraph Department?
Ans:1858:- First DG of ITD and First Indian and Ceylon Cable was laid.
1865:- First Indo European Telegraph Communication was effected and two years later a
new cable was laid between Indian and Ceylon.
1873:- Duplex telegraph was Intoduced between Bombay and Calcutta.
1875:- ITD supplied the 1st private telephone line and two years later it erected a
telegraphline between Srinagar and Gilgit on behalf of maharaja of Kashmir.
1880:- ITD transferred the responsibility of the Ceylon telegraph system to the Ceylon
government.
1881:- Licenses was granted to private companies to operate telephone systems in
Madras, Bombay, Yangon, and Calcutta
1882:- Telephone exchange was opened at Bombay.
1885:- Introduction of Quadruple telegraphy and provision of copper wire, instead of
inron wire, for transmission between Bombay and madras.

1887:- The ITD provided facilities to the IMD to communicate strom signals to all places.
1888:- Marked an important milestone. It was the year, Our ITD was merged with
Overseas Communication.
1895:- Phonograms were introduced for the first time in Bombay and Calcutta
1902:- First wireless telegraph station was established between Saugor islands and
Sandheads.
1905:- Department of Wireless telegraph was introduced and the department was
transferred to Commerce and Industry Department.
1907:- Women Signalers were employed for the first time.
1910:- Technical branch came into being as a separate orgnisation under electrical
engineer in chief.
1914:- Postal and the Postal and Telegraph Departments were amalgamated under a
single Director-General.
1919:- Simla had the distinction of employing women operators for the first time.
1920:- Madras Port Blair route was opned for wireless telegraphy and a year later
national cash registers were introduced in Calcutta CTO for the first time.
1960:- First Microwave route between Calcutta and Asansol was opened and First in
Crossbar local exchange was commissioned at Mambalam (Madras) and the first
Crossbar trunk automatic exchange was put into service in madras.
1970:- Witnessed the installation of SPC gateway telex exchange and introduction of
international subscriber dialed telex service.
1980:- First Satellite Earth Station for domestic communication was set up at
secundrabad.

Q:- From 1850 onwards to 1947, Does the telegraph has helped something in achieving our
Freedom from British?

Ans:- We dont have a railway network fully at that time and telephone was a distant dream. Our
chance was to rely on telegraph or telegram that led to the foundation of Indian National
Congress in 1885. Early nationalist leaders in particular Dadabhai Nourji understand the
impotence of telegraph for political coordination and used it to their advantage. The Success of
our Freedom fighters to use the TELEGRAPH system to their advantage proved the Technology
was developed and deployed in India could easily be used in their favor as well. This shows the
instrumental is not enabling political coordination across the subcontinent but also reducing the
distance between the Indian and British parliament too...
Even J Nehru used it as Prime minister to contact his counter party in England.
A Wealth of important announcements have been delivered by means of the telegram A
230 words message sent on Oct 1947 by the Indias First PM to his counterpart in London,
Clement Attlee, informing him the disputed state of Kashmir had been invaded by Pakisthan
force and requesting Britain help.
We have received urgent appeal for assistance from Kashmir government, it read. We
would be disposed to give favorable consideration to such request from any friendly
state.
The messages of most ordinary users may not have borne such strategic information. But across
thousands of miles of small-town and rural India, the telegrams bore messages that could not
otherwise be delivered as quickly or reliably.
Q: - Why Indian Government want to end the service?
Ans: - They are two conditions which stipulated to close the service are as follows.
1. Financial Crisis
2. Advancement of technology ( Telegrams to Smart Phones)
Financial losses:- Though it used to convey the message in urgent terms and some bad news.
The telegram conveyed the birth of a child, a death and greetings on birthday and festivals. But

NOW INDIAN GOVERNMENT FINALL SAID TO SHUT DWON THE TELEGRAPH

SERVICE ON THE ICONOIC YEAR 163 YEAR OLD SERVICE. As by the words of GM of
BSNL (Which runs Indias telegram Service Shammen Akhtar. THE SERVICE CLOSED
BECAUSE OF MOUNTING FINANCIAL LOSSED AND BECOMING REDUNDANT IN AN
ERA OF MOBILE PHONES AND THE INTERNET and THE LOSSES WERE GETTING
BIGGER. We have lossed $250 million US Dollars in last Seven years and it was time to put an
end to the service.
Advancement of technology:- Countless remote towns and villages across the country
depended on the telegram for getting news where telephones were rare. Most telegraph workers
criss-crossed inhospitable terrain to deliver the messages. In 1985, the service sent 600,000
telegrams a day across India and had a network of 45,000 telegraph offices. Experts say the
telegram played an important in the Indian struggle for independence. But with the arrival of the
e-mail and reliable landline phones, the days of the telegram were counted. According to
estimates, there are now over 850 million mobile phone subscribers and over 160 million
Internet users in India. A recent study by Cisco has claimed that India has the fastest Internet
traffic growth in the world, and that the number is expected to grow to 348 million users by
2017.
Q:- Does any country has wind up the service before to India?
YES. Australia, Ireland, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Pakistan and
USA have closed its services. While some other countries offer services only on Greeting or
Urgent or Death issues only Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Japan,
and UK. Over the past decade, several countries have also phased out telegram services. The
closing of the world's last major commercial telegram service marks an end of an era.
References:1. http://gandhiking.ning.com/profiles/blogs/dadabhai-naoroji-and-mahatma-gandhi-ii-1
2. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/after-163-years-india-sends-its-finaltelegram-stop-mobile-phones-and-the-internet-have-superseded-the-onceessentialservice-8658110.html
3. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?
file=20031010005111800.htm&date=fl2020/&prd=fline&

4. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-163-year-old-telegraph-service-passing-intohistory-1860907
5. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-15/hubli/40589678_1_telegramtelegraph-pinto-road
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_India
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegraphy
B. Hari Teja