A relay system of mail delivery used in British India where messages were carried rapidly by couriers.
From Hindi 'ḍāk' (post or mail), adopted into English during the British colonial period in India. The word represented an indigenous system that colonists adopted and adapted for their own communications.
Before email or telegrams, the 'dawk' was how British officials in India stayed connected to London—riders on horseback would relay mail across vast distances in a human version of a modern network. It's why 'dawk bungalow' appears in colonial literature.
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