Railways in India : A Legend : Origin and Development (1830-1980)
Contents: I. Railways in India -- Look Back : 1. Nineteenth century railroads--a flashback : origin and development. 2. Railways on rails: an overview. 3. Little drops of railways made: major railways in British India. 4. Also in the games: Foreign Nabobs and happy princes. 5. Railway\'s kitchendom: wares and accessories. 6. Mapping out times: railways mapped. 7. Appendices. 8. Album heritage. 9. Press collage--believe it or not! II. Railways in India -- A Legend: 1. Steaming off in west: curtain raiser for railways in India. 2. Eastern imbroglio : a drama and the dramatis personae. 3. Rlyscame: a peep through eastern gateway. 4. Space, time and matters: that matter in railways. 5. Aftermath of partition--Rly\'s financial frame: a Janus view from 1953 deck up to 1981-82. 6. A resume of significant railway-accidents in India and accident compensation claims. 7. Railway health care: a look-back on stans-1980. 8. Crime and punishment: not made for each other in railways. 9. Trading trade-unionism in Rlys: a saga of egotistic clashes. 10. Strike on wheels : striking tales. 11. Summing-up, historiographically: yours the Railways. 12. Rabindra Nath Tagore: his travels on and off the rails in India. 13. Bapu and the railways: cost of poverty. 14. Subhas Chandra- an untold story: Rlys made him \'a sultan\' for a day only. 15. Never--before or after: a G.M. in Rly\'s history who...
"There were no railways in India until Dalhousie\'s minute of 1853 and the rebellion of 1857, opened the eyes of the Government of India to their importance. By 1859 eight companies had been formed under what is known as the original guarantee system (Development of Indian Railways--N. Sanyal, pp. 15-17). For forty years they were unremunerative and imposed a heavy burden on Indian revenues (Indian Railways: rates and regulations--N.B. Mehta). From 1870 to 1880 was a period of Government railway construction which was followed, from 1880 to 1900, by a return to a modified guarantee system. After 1900, when the contracts of the original guaranteed companies expired, these railways were purchased by the state. But railway administration remained very complicated and there were no less than thirty-three separate administrative bodies working the railways. From 1900 to 1914 was a period of rapid railway extension and for the first time profits were made.
The development of communications has been one of the most important factors in the history of India since 1857 leading to centralization and national unity.
Until 1951 there were forty-two railway systems in India named after companies and state that managed them. In 1951 they were nationalized and reorganized on zonal basis to make an eventful story of India\'s Rail-transport." (jacket)
