End of an era. Stop. India scraps the telegram. Stop. - Telegraph.co.uk

Over the past decade, several countries have phased out telegram services. In Britain, telegrams are operated by a private company, but are marketed as retro greeting cards or invitations. Centenarians still receive a telegram from the Queen on their birthday. In the US, the main service provided by Western Union was shut down in 2006. Services of varying scales are still provided in Russia, Germany and Canada among other countries. An antique telegraph transmitter key, right, and a telegraph receiver (AFP) The last telegram to be sent in India on July 15 will use similar technology as the first, which was successfully transmitted over the 13 and a half miles between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour – on the banks of the Hooghly river – in 1850. Its use in India was pioneered by William O'Shaughnessy, a surgeon and inventor. While the world's first ever telegram was sent by Samuel F.B. Morse in Washington DC in 1844, O'Shaughnessy was apparently unaware of Morse's work and used a different code to send a message by transmitting electric signals over long distances. Lord Dalhousie, the Governor of India, recognised the potential of telegrams and authorised O'Shaughnessy to build a 27-mile line near Calcutta. By 1856, the network stretched 4000 miles across the British Raj, connecting the strategically vital cities of Calcutta, Agra, Bombay, Peshawar, and Madras. The next year, the telegram helped the British violently subdue the Indian Rebellion 1857, with one captured Indian soldier, on his way to the gallows, reportedly pointing at the telegram device and stating: "There is the accursed string that strangles us." "The telegraph allowed the British to relay info across large parts of India in almost real time. This leap in communications proved decisive," said BK Syngal, former chairman of VSNL, which had the mandate to send telegrams overseas till 2002. In October 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru sent a telegram to the then British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, surmising India's views on Kashmir – in 163 words. John Lienhard, from the University of Houston, writes: "Question nineteenth-century British colonialism if you will. There is much to question. But you can only admire O'Shaughnessy. He showed what one person can do by trusting the creative ability that's there to claim. He stands as a reminder that one person can make a difference." via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGtsr8ccJL_Bp2twYyqRPAhsNd09Q&url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10118966/End-of-an-era.-Stop.-India-scraps-the-telegram.-Stop..html

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 2598265