Course : History Of South Asia (1707-1947)

Course Tittle : BAH-2202

Course Teacher : S.M Tanveer Ahmed
Group : 03 ( from ID B200103021 TO B200103030)
Question : what was the British colonial interest behind the
establishment of Indian railway ? How did the
railway contribute in the growth of indian
nationalism?
Introduction :
The special issue focus primarily on the development of British colonial rule between the
1780s and the 1840s, over the courses of these decades. The East Indian company extended
and consolidated its political and military control Throughout much of the Indian subcontinent.
Many of the crucial developments in the formation of the colonial state occurred during this
period. There are endless paradox about the Indian Railways. They were the greatest gift left by
the colonial power, and yet they were not built to serve the needs of local people. There are
various interest behind the establishment Indian Railway by the British.

Origin of the Railway project :

The idea of constructing railways in india was first put forward in madras in 1831-32
within a few years of the start of early Railway age in England, but this rail line was to depend
for it haulage power on animals. The Court Of Directors of the East Indian company was
lukewarm to the idea of railroads construction either by the government or at private initiative.
The proposal of railway construction also received support from four important celebrities of
kolkata – Ram Kamal Sen, Ram Gopal Ghosh, Moti lal Seal and Dharakanath Tagore. The
governor general lord Hardinge calmly reported that the plains of Hindustan offered remarkable
facilities for building railways which would be of immense value to the Commerce, government
and military control of the country. Lord Dalhousie, the founder of railway project. The
construction began in 1850 and the first experimental line from Mumbai to Thana was opened
in 1850.

The British colonial interest behind the establishment of Indian railway :

There is no denying the fact that, the Indian get some benefits from the establishment of
railways in India. But from the way the railway was built and managed two things are very clear
1) The British didn’t build Railway in this country to benefit the indians or to promote their
economic development.
2) Their main objective was to serve the interests of British empire and British capitalists.

The British colonial interest behind the establishment of indian railway has been
given below :-
1) Delivering the sale goods to the market :-
 The industrial revolution produced a large number of goods in short period of time in
England. But due to the lack of high speed vehicles, it was not possible to spread it to the
far-flung markets of India. For this reason, from 1830 AD, the British capitalists continued to
push for the development of cheap and high speed communication systems like Railways in
India. By 1856, this Railway communication was established with great speed .

2) Collection of raw materials :-

As production increased in England’s factories, there was a need for quick supply of
raw materials. But due to lack of advanced Transportation in India, it took a long time to
collect raw materials from villages and send them to England through ports.
Therefore, one of the objectives of establishing railways in this subcontinent was to
supply raw materials to England easily and in less time by rail,. In 1854 AD. Howrah-
pandua railway was extended to Raniganj 1855 AD. For this reason, so that indian coal
could be easily shipped by rail

3) To protect and the interest of steel traders :-

Iron and steel industry in England flourished as a result of industrial revolution. So,
the British steel merchants wanted the expansion of railways in India to export iron and
steel. Because their interest were involved in various aspects with the establishment of
railway in India.

4) Investment of British capital :-

The industrial revolution led to the accumulation of a large amount of surplus
capital in the hands of capitalist in England. They wanted to increase their accumulated
capital by investing it in large scale industries.
Building large industrial enterpluses like railway was the best way to invest surplus
capital. For this reason, the England bankers repeatedly pressed the British government
to build railways in India. It was mainly under their pressure and for the purpose of
profitable investment of British capital that the colonial government established railways
in India.

5) Dealing with Famine :-

Another major objective of railways in India was to combat famine. Due to the
British government high rate land revenue policy and imperialist exploitation, Indian
faced several major famines throughout the British rule, the “famine prevention
Commission ” therefore recommended the construction of railways in India to combat
famine.
 But unfortunately, during the famine, the British government used the railways more to
store food for the British citizens and soldiers than to help the people in the affected
areas.

The main motivates behind the establishment of Indian Railways :

Railways were developed by the British East Indian Company and then by the colonial
British government to achieve the following motives :-

1) Military motives :-
The British established railways because they felt that it would help in faster
movement of troops and supplies at the time of internal revolution or for defence
against external aggressive.

2) Capital Investment :-
Railways were quite successful in Britain and were earning substantial profits.
Because of this, the British capitalist wanted to establish railways in india also, so that
they would be able to earn profits on their investment.

3) Political interest :-
The Britishers believed that the introduction of railways in India would provide
political stability of the country.

Causes behind the establishment of Indian Railway :-

The idea of introducing railways to India has been mooted as early as the 1830s. In
may 1845,when the East Indian Company's court of directors finally and formally approved the
project of establishing the railways in India, they also impressed upon the current Governor-
general, Lord Hardinge ,the enormity of the task, enumerating the following six reasons :-
1) Periodical and inundations.
2) Continued action of violent winds and influence of a vertical sun.
3) Ravages of insects and vermin
4) Destructive growth of spontaneous vegetation of Underwood upon earth and brickwork
5) The unenclosed and unprotected tracts of country through which railroads would pass
6) The difficulty and expense of securing the services of competent & trustworthy
engineers.
 The railway contribute in the growth of Indian Nationalism :-
Under the gives of nation-building,the railways were primary tools of
economic exploitation and moral policing. But unknowing to British at that time, railways
in India started contributing in the growth of Indian nationalism. It is...
1) Connected indians
2) Connect national leaders
3) Helped vernacular press
4) Provided easy targets for revolutionaries
5) Mobilisation point for the movement
6) Economic critique of British government policies etc.

Connected Indians :-

★ the railways was blessing in disguise because it connected people from

unknown lands and they mixed with one another.

★ It took only a journey by train to remind indians of the hostile treatment meted
out to train travelling India’s by the colonial administration and European
passengers.

★ At the same time, with this Connectivity, people gradually realised that all
Indian subcontinent British rule was responsible for the plundering of land

Connected National leaders :-

★ with Railways, all educational Nationalists, living in different parts came in

contact with one another.
★ The Indian National Congress used the railways as the umbrella to connect
members from the “ Indian intelligentsia.

Helped vernacular press :-

★ press played an important role in mobilising public opinion and growth of
national consciousness.

★ the vernacular press got impetus because with railways, now they could
penetrate the interiors of subcontinent.

Provided easy targets for revolutionaries :-

★ For anti-British sabotage the train became the most symbolic as well as
practical resource.
★ The railways being both the substance of state power and the instrument of
that power, attempts to Isolate them from sites of insurgency was the chief
terrorist strategy.

Mobilisation point for the movement :-

★ the railway stations had transformed into sites of mass nationalism.

★ in the 1920s and 1930s, the railway station was integral to familiarizing indians
with the ethics and politics of Swaraj and satyagraha.

★ the railways were used for truly secular purposes by Gandhi. He had no qualms
about seeking donations, aboard them.

Economic critique of British Government policies :

★ railways ruined Indian's traditional handicrafts industry which increased anti-British feelings
among artisans.

★ the peasant called the railway as the devil's engine and saw in it an instrument for riveting
more firmly the bond of a hated alien rule.
 The invention that did most of keep the indians in check proved to be double edged,
stimulating the nationalistic forces which eventually triumphed. If the British had nurtured the
skills of their Indian economy, and if the companies had treated their third class as customers
rather than as chattels, much of the anger towards the colonial power might have been allowed.
That is not to say independence would not have happened, as early decolonization was an
irresistible historic force, but the horrors of Britian’s rapid departure might have been avoided.

Composed by :
Ahammad Ali (B200103030)
Department of history
16 th batch
Jagannath University