Why read Railways & the Raj?

Book cover of Railways & the Raj: How the Age of Steam Transformed India

Book description

India was the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, an Empire that needed a rail network to facilitate its exploitation and reflect its ambition. But, by building India's railways, Britain radically changed the nation and unwittingly planted the seed of independence. As Indians were made to travel in…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Railways & the Raj as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Sathnam Sanghera

Author

Approaching the subject not as an imperial historian but as a specialist on transport, Wolmar dismantles the lie at the heart of a thousand TV documentaries: that the British bestowed railways on India in an act of benevolence.

Every TV commissioner in Britain should be made to read this.

From Sathnam's list on The best books to understand the British Empire's impact on the world.

Rajendra B. Aklekar

Author

I am personally recommending the book because it covers the essence of India’s railway history in an English context. The English context is particularly important because the railways have been an English creation in India. Despite the English context, the book in a way accepts and humbly admits how the railways were built for the colonial power to govern the huge country and is purely based on facts and records. India joined the railway age late: the first line was not completed until 1853 but, by 1929, 41,000 miles of track served the country. The book accelerates history in a…

From Rajendra's list on The best books on railways and trains.