SOCT PRESENTATION
NAME - PRIYANSHI
ROLL NO. - 2220012
TRACES OF INDIAN RAILWAYS IN MODERN NATION BUILDING SINCE IT’S COLONIAL INCEPTION.
Indian Railways made history on 16 April 1853 by launching its first-ever passenger train
on a 34-kilometre journey from Mumbai to Thane, carrying 400 people.
Cut to 2023, 170 years later, India has the world’s FOURTH-largest railways network.
operated on a total track length of 1,28,305 km .as of 31 st march 2022 It has 7,325
stations, 1.3 million employees, and a carrying capacity of 24 million on
an everyday basis. More than the entire population of Australia.
THE TOTAL DISTANCE COVERED BY INDIAN RAILWAYS daily EQUALS 3.5
TIMES THE DISTANCE TO THE MOON.
Can you believe this?
From a 34 km journey to carrying a total of 25 million passengers daily this is where the
nation and the railways developed. Did you know that:
The first railway proposals for India were made in Madras in 1832. India's first train
transport named Red Hill Railroad built by Arthur Cotton to transport granite for road-
building , ran from Red Hills to the Chintadripet bridge in Madras from 12 th of September
1837. It ran as an Experimental railway in Indian Subcontinent which was only used for
freight transport. In 1845, the Godavari Dam Construction Railway was built by Cotton
at Dowleswaram in Rajahmundry, to supply stone for the construction of a dam over
the Godavari River. In 1851, the Solani Aqueduct Railway was built by Proby
Cautley in Roorkee to transport construction materials to construct a bridge over the
Solani River. These railway tracks were dismantled after these projects were completed
and no longer exist.
In 1843, Lord Dalhousie proposed to establish a link between ports of Bombay, Calcutta, and
Madras by rail. A few years later, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway was formed.
Under the leadership of James John Berkeley, the Chief Resident Engineer, India’s first
passenger train was started.
This gave birth to what would be called ‘India’s lifeline’–the railways.
Great Indian Peninsula Railway came into being during the period of important
economic and socio-political changes. The story of advent and evolution of Railways on
Indian soil too has its roots in the history of the emergence of modern Indian nation. The
rebellion movements had always influenced the railway working at that time. Soon after
the first journey was undertaken on 1853, April 16th the progress thereafter was marred at
first instance by the Santhal rebellion in 1855 and; then by the mutiny in 1857.
The railways affected Indian economy in two ways, on the one hand it enabled people to
take long distance journeys and thereby break cultural and geographical barriers. While, on
the other hand it fostered commercialization of the Indian agriculture which adversely
affected the self-sufficient village economies of India. The volume of India’s exports
undoubtedly expanded but it’s benefits rarely reached to Indian people.
The unavailability of transport and communications in colonial India meant an unstable
administration of the great expanse of the Indian subcontinent. Introduction to Railways thus
provided impetus to the development of the country. It brought about great changes in the
social, economic, political and cultural life of India. The growth of the railways thereby was
followed by movement of British goods to interiors of India, thereby making it the sole
massive unit of international investment of the 19th century. Of-course, the ulterior motive
was of the strategic value it held, which helped them in easy movement of troops. However,
the most obvious motive was the economic motive. they gained good access to raw material
in addition to the markets of British finished products. This new formed development of
railways served an easy purpose of British political and economic control and was an
effective tool for exploitation of the India's resources. However, the privilege was given to
the economically beneficial lines rather than making tracks which would be politically
important. The major cause for the rapid development of the railways was due to the
restlessness of the railway managers and agents. They wanted the rapid expansion as they
wanted the political stability in India which otherwise could badly affect their economic
activities in India. Let’s talk about the modern scenario:
In today’s world, Telecommunication, Energy resource and Transport are a very
important vital infrastructural requirement which acts as an indicator to the growth of any
Economy. Transport gives useful link between production centre, distribution areas and
consumer at the end. When we talk about the land transport mode, one of the major
transport industries comes to our mind which is the Railways. Which carried almost
1418.1 million tonnes of freight in 2022.Indian Railways played a remarkable role in
driving the country's economic growth. It connected various regions of the country, which
helped in the movement of goods and people, promoting trade and commerce. Indian
Railways also provided new employment opportunities, and its construction created many
new industries, such as iron and steel, which led to the development of a large industrial
base.
It is hard to imagine our Indian economy without Railways today. We always feel happy
and proud when we think about our Indian Railway which is Asia’s first and world’s
second largest network under the single management. Also, the Indian Railway is world’s
largest employment provider.
1. It introduced many new technologies in India transforming Indian economy from
the agrarian one to the industrialized one. Introduction to high-speed rails, metro,
electrification and many other things. It integrated the national markets by
providing remote areas access to the markets and locals market a recognition.
Increased the tourism of India. It provided an affordable and comfortable means of
travel for tourists, and many scenic routes, such as the Darjeeling Himalayan
Railway, became popular tourist attractions.
2. The railways facilitated the movement of people and ideas across the country,
which helped in the spread of nationalist ideas and the growth of the Indian
national movement.
3. It played a major role in the labour movement as it was the largest employer in the
colonial India.
4. The construction of railways required significant investments in infrastructure like
roads, bridges, and ports. This led to the development of new industries like iron
and steel, cement, and construction, which contributed to the overall economic
development of the country.
5. the railways changed the income of the government by generating significant revenue
and promoting economic development. The railways were an important symbol of
colonial power, and their impact on Indian politics continues to be felt even today.
6. Over the years, the government invested heavily in the expansion of the railway
network, which contributed to the growth of new industries and job opportunities. We
can say that railways was the building block of Indian economy.
7. And it still continues to make new developments in the country contributing to the
economy of India. We can take the example of Gati-shakti master plan.
8. As the PM Modi has said that The Indian railways will become the growth engine
of the nation’s “Vikas yatra”. Reflecting the future capabilities of Indian railways.
