Introduction: The Railways in Colonial South Asia

Abstract

This chapter explores the origin, expansion and implication of the railway system in colonial South Asia. The railways had a revolutionary impact on the life, culture and economy of the Indian people. The earliest proposal to build railways in India was submitted by Macdonald Stephenson in 1844 for a railway connection from Calcutta to the North West frontier. Stephenson adopted a plan to write about railways in various journals, to publish reports of the European railway companies and to write personal letters to influential persons, so that they could be made aware of the benefits of the railway. The court of Directors of the East India Company (EIC) was, however, apathetic in its response to this proposal, as they anticipated the failure of the railway project because of poverty and famine in India. The proposal of railway transport in Pakistan was first thought of in 1847, with the possibility of Karachi becoming a major seaport.