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(Image source: Britain Loves Wikipedia)
BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN
If you happen to be a fan of antiquated forms of communication you might have heard what
happened in India Sunday night characterized like this:
"The world's last telegram..." (Via WTOL)
"The end of a long era. The world's last telegram..." (Via NECN)
Don't worry — it's not true. You could still send a telegram if you really wanted to. See,
what really happened was India's state-run service ended Sunday night.
It was billed by many as the world's last telegram. (Via USA Today and The Week)
When really, it was the last from that particular service.
People just weren't using the 163-year-old service much anymore, what with email and
texting — and it was becoming a financial drain on the state. (Via BBC)
Of course, just because there's no state-run telegram service in India doesn't mean a private
company isn't doing it somewhere else in the world.
In fact Telegrams Canada told The Toronto Star the company is still profitable, and
there are no plans to shut its doors.
Still — we understand the temptation to paint the "end of an era" picture.
Because it kind of was in India. The service used to be a big part of Indian life. In 1947,
Indians sent 20 million messages according to euronews. But by 2012, that became around
40,000.
In any case, it's possible for smaller private companies to grab at whatever market there
might still be in India. According to Slate, 74 percent of Indians still don't have mobile
phones, which means the telegram could still have a role to play there.