
India to send last telegram - bane
http://m.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2013/0614/India-to-send-world-s-last-telegram.-Stop?cmpid=addthis_twitter#.Ubtm6T2Rpus.twitter
======
PakG1
_The Victorian Internet_ is an interesting and fairly quick read. Check it
out.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Victorian_Internet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Victorian_Internet)

~~~
Trufa
Hmm... it's an interesting point/perspective (I haven't read the book, just
the wiki), but isn't that like saying that the log under something heavy to
transport is more significant than the wheel?

Maybe you could argue that you couldn't have had the internet without the
telegraph but I isn't that the case with every single piece of technology?
This leads us to "standing in the shoulders of giants" etc.

So my point is, what is the point of making this point, since even if his
point is valid/true, they are in different orders of magnitude of how they
affected the world.

Note that I don't want to dismiss the whole argument without even reading the
book, I'm just wondering...

~~~
Thrymr
The main argument is that the qualitative difference was in communication at
the speed of human transportation (by horse, rail and sea, not yet by air)
versus at the speed of light. For the first time in human history, events
around the world could be known effectively instantaneously. Everything after
that was an increase in the quantity of information.

~~~
Trufa
Speed of electricity, not light :) But that's a good way to put it the way you
do, it might be more fair to the authors point.

------
lifthrasiir
Is this really the world's last telegram? I think many countries still retain
telegram services (many of them are operated by private companies now, but
Japan is a major exception).

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegram#Worldwide_status_of_t...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegram#Worldwide_status_of_telegram_services)

~~~
Trufa
It's most definitely not. Of course telegraphs day's as a mainstream
communication are long gone, but many countries including mine (Uruguay) still
use telegraph for legal and billing procedures.

~~~
keithpeter
The original article also mentions the legal force of a telegram, in India it
is accepted as a 'petition'.

I'm just wondering if an e-mail printed and signed at receipt by a notary or
something similar could be taken as a substitute?

~~~
piyush_soni
Yes. I guess this is (was) the main use of telegram in today's time in India.
It serves as a perfect legally acceptable proof that you sent a letter to
someone and that they received. Normal letters/posts wouldn't have that value
I guess ... May be registered post does.

------
maximilianburke
How well do telegrams compare to, say, overnight courier services like FedEx,
or even the telephone? What is their main use in this day and age?

~~~
patio11
They're, if I recall correctly, a $X0 million [edit to add: crikey, checked
stats: $500 million a year _at the telephone company alone_ ] a year business
in Japan. The overwhelmingly most common use is sending a message similar to
"We regret that we were unable to attend your wedding. Best wishes to the
bride and groom on their unending journey together." That will run you about
$20. For an extra $30, you can send the telegram with (e.g.) two dolls of
Micky and Minnie Mouse dressed in bridal attire holding a scroll case for the
telegram, so that it can be held on the gift table until the bride and groom
have the opportunity to read it.

Of course it's inefficient. That's precisely the point.

~~~
henrikschroder
Same in Sweden, it's only really used for sending wedding greetings.

The reason is that telegrams are seen as the most formal mode of
communication, because once upon a time it was faster delivered and more
expensive than a hand-written letter. Although there now exists many modes of
communications that are way, way, faster, it retains the traditional
formality, and is therefore used in traditionally formal settings, such as
weddings.

~~~
dsego
In Croatia it's still customary to send condolence telegrams.

------
compay
Meanwhile in Argentina, to quit a job you are legally obliged to send a
telegram, and people still send them to congratulate newlyweds on their
weddings.

------
jasimq
I think they mean "India's last telegram"

------
coldtea
> _India to send last telegram_

Will we live to see "Oregon to send last Instagram"?

------
steve19
How are telegrams sent these days? By email or a phone call between post
offices?

------
pattisapu
That's fascinating that a telegram to a court claiming an illegal detention is
taken as a "writ petition" (for habeas corpus, presumably). I can see now why
this system's loss would push someone to hunger strike in protest -- seems
like a super cheap way to access the courts.

My experience has only been in the US, where court filing fees are pretty high
and can run hundreds of dollars unless you can jump through quite a few hoops
to prove you're poor enough to get those fees waived (ideally a lawyer working
pro bono would do it for you). The filing fees are a combination of user fees
to the government + fees paid to private vendors who set up the sites you
upload the PDFs to for filing.

------
dedward
I find the legal stuff mentioned in the article of interest - that a telegram
is taken seriously by the judiciary - as if it were given in person.

This is potentially huge.

I suppose there is room for a service that notarizes (something like that, no
offense meant to notaries!) messages before sending them in an otherwise very
casual fashion, as well as records receipt in a somewhat official way could
take it's place. There is still probably room for such a thing/

------
drzaiusapelord
I wonder if the line can be repurposed into a high speed data line. DSL seems
to handle noise and crappy wiring well.

------
hodgesmr
"the telegram has lost too much ground to smartphones"

------
Nekorosu
The title is misleading and pompous and of course that's not true but I guess
that's how "The Christian Science Monitor" rolls.

~~~
marcosscriven
I can't believe the oxymoronic 'Christian Science' Monitor website is being
linked to for anything other than ridicule.

~~~
rquantz
The CSM is actually a very highly respected news source. It regularly wins
Pulitzer prizes. See this encyclopedia britannica entry:
[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115192/The-
Christi...](http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115192/The-Christian-
Science-Monitor)

~~~
marcosscriven
I can't see any Pulitzer prizes in the last decade. All I can see is
'articles' like this [http://www.csmonitor.com/The-
Culture/Family/2013/0616/School...](http://www.csmonitor.com/The-
Culture/Family/2013/0616/School-prayer-50-years-after-the-ban-God-and-faith-
more-present-than-ever) promulgating religion in schools, and quizes entitled
"Are you smarter than an atheist".

