The first telegraphic connection between Europe and India, which allowed messages to be sent between London and India within hours, was established in:

The first telegraphic connection between Europe and India was established in 1865, through overland lines and submarine cables via the Persian Gulf.

About the connection:

• It linked London with Karachi and then with the Indian telegraph network.
• It used land lines through Europe and Ottoman Turkey (Mesopotamia), and a submarine cable through the Persian Gulf.
• Messages that had earlier taken weeks or months by ship could now be sent in hours or a few days.
• In 1870, a more reliable connection was set up through the Indo-European Telegraph Line (a land line through Germany, Russia and Persia) and a submarine cable via the Red Sea route.

Telegraph in India:

• The first experimental telegraph line in India was set up in 1851, between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour, by William O'Shaughnessy.
• In the 1850s, under Lord Dalhousie, telegraph lines were rapidly extended across India, linking Calcutta, Agra, Bombay, Madras and Peshawar.
• By 1857, India had about 4,500 miles of telegraph lines.

Importance of the telegraph:

• It helped the British to control their large empire and to move troops quickly.
• During the Revolt of 1857, the telegraph helped the British to communicate and coordinate their response; the rebels often cut the telegraph wires, which they saw as a tool of British power.
• A British officer is said to have remarked that "the telegraph saved India".
• It also helped trade, banking and the press.

The end of the telegram:

The telegram service in India was finally discontinued by BSNL on 15 July 2013.

Why not the other options?

• ✗1838, 1853 and 1903 were not the year of the first Europe-India telegraph connection.