The railways occupied the nerve centre of Indian

economy in the colonial period. Railways revolutionised and

helped to link the Indian economy with world economy. It

brought about a fundamental change in India's socio economic

conditions. The British introduced railways in their colonial India

for military purpose as they wanted to retain the "brightest jewel

of the British Crown" at all costs.

In Tamil Nadu there were two railway systems. One

was Madras and South Mahratta Railway and the other was

Southern Indian Railway. The incentive namely five per cent

guarantee of interest on the money invested in railways

announced by the British government in India motivated the

business interests in England to diversify the surplus capital in

the railway system in a big way.

 There are some pioneering studies on the subject of

railways. Edward Davidson's Railway of India, with an Account

of their Rise, Progress and Construction (London, 1868)

highlights the process in which the railways worked under the

guidance of T.T. Pears, the Consulting Engineer of Railways

appointed in Madras. Horace Bell's Railway Policy in India

(London 1894) dwells on railway rates policy which decided the

tariff with special emphasis on railway rates and fares. J.N.

Sahani's Indian Railways One Hundred Years 1853-1953

(Delhi, 1953) vividly narrates the construction of railway

buildings at various stages. Daniel R. Headriek's 'Tools of

Empire' (New York, 1981) describes the scope of investment in

railways by the British capitalists. Y. Saraswathy Rao's, Railway

Board . A Study in Administration (New Delhi, 1978) gives an

account of the governing agency since 1905. Jeffrey Richards'

and John Mackenzie The Railway station . A Social History

(New Delhi, 1986). discusses the role of stations played in

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society as centres of cultural mixing. U.S. Nock's Railway of

Asia and the Far East (New Delhi 1980) deals with the

various phases of evolution and introduction of railways in India.

Ian J. Kerr's Building the Railways of the Raj 1850-1900

(Delhi, 1995) analyses how far local work force was utilised in

the construction process especially in the laying of lines and

blasting of the earth.

However a regional studty pertaining to Tamil

districts in the then Madras Presidency has not been attempted,

to my knowledge, so far. The object of the work is to provide

a comprehensive account of the development of railways in

Tamil Nadu which was part of British province namely Madras

presidency. The period from 1850s to 1940s that covers the

study underwent several phases of colonialism and it is therefore

imperative to see how the building of railways coped with the

changing patterns of colonial administration.

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The colonial Tamil Nadu then consisted of twelve

Tamil districts namely Madras, Chengelpattu, North Arcot, South

Arcot, Salem, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Thanj avur, Madurai,

Rananathapuram, Tirunelveli and Nilgiris.

While doing investigation, the following research

questions are posed.

. What were the various railway companies established from

time to time in the nineteenth century during railway

construction in colonial Tamil Nadu.

Who were the important officials connected with the

preparation of plan, routes and search of entrepots.

How far the District Boards played a role in acquiring

ownership in the construction and maintenance of District

Board Railways.

How long the practice of guaranteed interest continued?

. What role did the labour organisation play in securing

their rights?

. When did Indianisation process start?

. To what extent forest tracts were utilised for fuel

consumption that caused ecological imbalance.

What was the income and expenditure pattern of railways?

Answer to the above questions are attempted based on

primary and secondary sources. The primary data for the

construction of the thesis have been collected mainly from Tamil

Nadu State Archives. The records in the Archives furnish wide

range of information. The Public Works Department files are

very useful for building the frame work of the thesis. The

reports of the Administration of Madras Presidency for various

years, printed railway reports, the marinuals and gazetters, census

reports, government orders of Public Works Department and

 6
proceedings of the Board of Revenue, legislative proceedings,

fortnightly reports, reports on Native newspapers, Police reports,

Madras Handbooks, Indian Railways Administration Reports of

the Railway Board give much information regarding the various

phases of construction, development and growth. The articles

from Indian Economic and Social History Review, South Indian

History Congress Proceedings, Unpublished Ph.D. thesis add

further to source material for the study. The books consulted

are appended in the bibliography.

The dissertation has six chapters. The first chapter

deals with the introduction of railways in India. The condition

of transport on the eve of British rule and the circumstances

that forced the colonial rulers to introduce railway network are

the aspects that are dealt with in this chapter. Chapter II

delineates the beginnings made in the railway building in the

Presidency.
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Chapter III describes the phases of development of

Railways in Tamil districts. There were two system of railways

in the Madras presidency. One was South Indian Railway

System which had its own major trunk lines covering the entire

region thereby connecting the major ports and cities. The other

was South Mahratta Railway System that covered the northern

part of Madras. The District Board undertaking railway work

was peculiar to Madras Presidency and first of its kind in India.

The Tanjore District Board and Tirunelveli-Tirchendur District

Board and their working receive special focus.

Chapter IV discusses the composition of man power

in railways and the service conditions of the workforce. In a

labour intensive industry, labour was found cheap except during

harvest season and proved to be a boon in Tamil Nadu context.

Agents controlled and supervised the workforce. There was a

hierarchy of officials who wastefully spent the money allocated.

At the same time, labourers suffered a lot due to racial

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discrimination, low wages and ill treatment. The out break of

First World War and the emergence of Soviet Union as a

communist state gave hopes to the labour to form union. The

agitation and struggle of railway workers and their role in Indian

National Movement are the highlights of this chapter.

Chapter V dwells on income and expenditure pattern

of railway administration. The Madras Railway company and the

Great Southern of India Railway offered attractive guarantee at

the rate of 5% to the British investors that facilitated the free

flow of money for construction of railways. Till 1900 the rate

of interest varied from time to time (5%, 4%, and 3 '/2 %). The

state had to bear the loss while company amassed wealth. The

structure of the railway rate was designed to promote the

movement of British manufactured goods. Income was derived

from passenger and goods traffic, while the expenditure involved

many heads, the laying of lines, rolling stock, cost of the staff.

How income and expenditure of the Railways Department

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fluctuated and what measures the colonial state initiated to

overcome financial crisis are the concerns of this chapter.

Chapter VI reviews the fallout of railways in Tamil

Nadu. How laying of lines drained the country's wealth and

ruined the domestic industries and how racial complexities

aggravated the situation by driving a wedge between the

Europeans and Indians. What extent forest resources were

plundered under the pretext of railway building are the aspects

dealt with. Urbanisation was yet another matter discussed in

this chapter.

The essence of each chapter is summarised and given

in the concluding part of the thesis.