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Indian Railways: The Weaving of a National Tapestry Paperback – February 15, 2017

by Bibek Debroy (Author), Sanjay Chadha (Author), Vidya Krishnamurthi (Author)

4.1 88 ratings

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The fascinating story of the network that made modern India The railways brought modernity to India. Its vast network connected the far corners of the subcontinent, making travel, communication and commerce simpler than ever before. Even more importantly, the railways played a large part in the making of the nation: by connecting historically and geographically disparate regions and people, it forever changed the way Indians lived and thought, and eventually made a national identity possible. This engagingly written, anecdotally told history captures the immense power of a business behemoth as well as the romance of train travel; tracing the growth of the railways from the 1830s (when the first plans were made) to Independence, Bibek Debroy and his co-authors recount how the railway network was built in India and how it grew to become a lifeline that still weaves the nation together. This latest volume in The Story of Indian Business series will delight anyone interested in finding out more about the Indian Railways.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bibek Debroy is an economist and is currently a member of Niti Aayog. Vidya Krishnamurthi is a researcher with Indicus Foundation, New Delhi, with interest and experience in ancient Indian history and cultural history of pre-modern period. Presently working as joint secretary in the department of commerce, Sanjay Chadha handles international trade with Northeast Asia including China, Japan, S.Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin/Portfolio (February 15, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143426753
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143426752
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.51 x 1.57 x 7.87 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,085,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.1 88 ratings

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Farid

For the connoisseur

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2017

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Truly nostalgic. Nothing to beat or compare to the charm if Indian Railways

One person found this helpful

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Mrkopalj Baricevac

If this were a train it would be scrapped

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2018

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This is a pastiche of almost totally unconnected material, indifferently written, with execrable illustrations and illegible maps.

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B.Sudhakar Shenoy

Nostalgic and colourful tapestry

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2018

‘A Rolex watch might let you down but not this train……’, might lead one to think of the Japanese bullet train’s punctuality or that of the ICE in Germany. But, this refers to the Frontier Mail of the GIPR or Great Indian Peninsular Railways in 1928.

In the introduction of this book, Gurucharan Das says that with the railway time table, ‘If our pre-modern world was space bound and time-free, our modern world became space-free, but time-bound’.

The Internet in a broader economic and social perspective is often compared to the Railways of the Nineteenth Century. India is no exception, except that this happened to be under the British Rule. This book brings out many brilliant facets of the history of the great Indian railway network under the British, covering historical, business, economic, social, and political aspects from its inception in 1836 till India’s independence in 1947. This is not to say that this is a chronological history book. This book is an unbiased account that puts things in perspective. It gives due credit to the visionaries, engineers, the British Raj for undertaking an enormous task with professionalism and diligence at all stages. It also highlights the racial discrimination of the natives by the ruling class, even on trains.

To conceive of a railway network that connects all corners of this vast country, to progressively build on that plan, traversing plains, hills, ravines and even flood prone areas, in no mean achievement. There are many heroes who made this happen, and not to underestimate the loss of lives and toil of the native workers braving all hardships.

The tale of Col Barog for example, who failed in his calculation in drilling a railway tunnel from two opposite ends is touching. When a fine of Re 1 was imposed for this error, he shot himself and his dog, shamed at the ignominy. A tale worth narrating to all our engineers responsible for public works in modern days when accountability for quality, cost and schedule are no one’s business despite being an independent nation, guiding our own destiny.

As a child brought up in Tamil Nadu near Rameswaram, I always used to wonder why a train is named ‘Boat Mail’. Similar are the fond memories on the now heritage railways in the Nilagiri hills, which many of our children remember for melodious film songs shot on this railway, and even the names of the heroes and heroines, and are perhaps blissfully unaware the real history and greatness of the railway.

Outstanding book. You have made us proud of our Nation, and our Railways. JAI HIND.

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Top reviews from other countries

Anonymous

Indian Railways

Reviewed in India on June 19, 2023

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Best one with all the timelines, comprehensive book

RNRN

Good one!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2019

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My father enjoyed the quality of this book!

RABBANI MOHAMMAD

A very nice book to read and very interesting things to know.

Reviewed in India on August 16, 2018

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A very nice book to read and very interesting things to know about the Indian Railways and it's past history.....

Neeharika Bhowmick

Untold facts of the Railways!

Reviewed in India on May 6, 2018

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Enjoyed it thoroughly. Facts described in this book are based on research. You can find the references of each and every photograph, letter and events. People, who are interested in the history of India and of course those who are rail enthusiasts, will have a ball. So much unknown and never-told-before information is revealed in this book.
Events are described in chronological order: conception, proposal, construction, operation and expansion. The book highlights the people who played crucial roles in making the railway a reality in the country and the impact it had with their untimely deaths.After construction the biggest challenge faced was it's successful operation to which we are still looking for solutions.To some extent you will get an idea that the present scenario of the Indian Railways is not what the promoters and builders had on their minds at the time of its inception.

4 people found this helpful

Soham Banerjee

A Prosaic Treatment of an interesting subject

Reviewed in India on February 28, 2018

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I had bought this book hoping for some new interesting and engaging stories about how the Indian Railways enterprise came to be. While it surely gave me information about how IR was concieved and built and operated, it severely lacked in the interesting and engaging part. The subject matter has been written in the most boring and mundane manner which apart from some moments of absorbing attention, will make sure that you will put off the book till as long as possible.
After going over the Introduction by Gurcharan Das, I had very high expectations because it is the only piece of writing in the entire book which is original and will captivate you to turn the pages. I never been more wrong. This book has been written more like an academic report than an engaging prospect. The authors dwell on the original sources too much and reproduce verbatim the reports and letters which could have been paraphrased in a better way. Too less original content.
Some of the parts were really eye opening which one would not find even on the Internet. The story behind Dwarkanath Tagore is an example.
People would be better off not buying this book and instead visit the IRFCA website which I personally found more interesting, has more photographs and travel memoirs.

21 people found this helpful

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