Empire and Post-Empire Telecommunications in India: A History

This book, on the history of telecommunications in India is the first of its kind to intentionally link the past and present, the continuities and discontinuities between telecommunications in the era of the British Raj and telecommunications in 21st century India. Beginning with the history of the telegraph, it explores in separate chapters, the history of oceanic cables and wireless in the context of the political economy and compulsions of Empire to control global flows of communications. Telecommunications was vital to the Imperial project and connecting their Jewel in the Crown, India, was a key priority. However inter-colonial rivalries outside and within India and contestations between private and public ownership of telecommunications made that task difficult. This book explores these contestations and the changing priorities related to telecommunications in the era of the British and in modern Independent India. It makes the case that history is absolutely critical to understanding the present and the imprint of the past continues to shape the Indian state’s engagements with telecommunications.