The Untold Story behind the debut of Indian Railways

The announcement was made. Train no 19259 up Kochuveli Bhavnagar express from Kochuveli to Bhavnagar will arrive shortly on platform no 1. I was at Ernakulam railway station. I was moving back to Mumbai after a work assignment in Cochin, the cultural capital of Kerala, in Western India. I rechecked my coach no on the ticket. Berth: Confirmed, S-7, 13-Lower Side Berth. I was thrilled about the journey back home after spending 8 days in the city. The platform was quiet, not as noisy as the ones you find in Mumbai or Delhi or Ahmedabad. Quite a few of them waiting like me to board the train; some of them had their relatives to give them a send off; A man in his thirties haggling with the Coolie for a few rupees here and there; few mongers trying to sell their stuff. If you take a cross section of any given normal day at a railway station, this was a perfect sample.

The arrival of the train was marked by the typical whistle of the engine. I got into the coach and arranged my luggage. The ticket collector came and checked my ticket. As he did not have any more passengers to check, I invited him for a chat. A long journey and although I was feeling sleepy, somehow train journey excites me so much that I don’t sleep early.

The ticket collector obliged. We got a cup of hot coffee each and a packet of Cashew Cookies to kill the time. The guy was from Mumbai and soon we got a thing in common to share. Having spent three years in Mumbai, I had fallen in love with the city, an emotion of being a Mumbaikar. We went on discussing politics to gully cricket, from historic places to best shopping streets and covered many aspects over half a dozen coffee cups shared between us. He briefed me about how the Indian Railways was celebrating the 160th year of operations. It was a historic moment on April 16, 1853 when the East India Company green signalled the first railway passenger train in India, a feat celebrated even by Google doodle. Mumbai was the centre of all the celebrations. Being an ardent lover of history, I could discuss more on the development of rail over a period of more than 150 years.

It was past 2 O’ Clock on my cell phone. The collector went back to his seat. I adjusted my air pillow and lay down. The memoirs of the railways still in my mind sang the choirs of romantic development of railways in India which had woven the entire nation together during the pre-independence days and became the symbol of progress and development in the later part.

I recalled a story told to me by one of my friends. It is now a part of their family folklore. One of their ancestors was the witness to the first railway route in India. I am taking you to an age even before the historic trail that happened on April 16, 1853. The story shows the sentiments with which Indian railways made their debut.

The first operational train in India started on December 22, 1852 at Roorkee. It was the first goods train in India.  The purpose of building this rail route was hauling construction materials. Back in 1845, the village of Badmara was thrown into turmoil.

The whole village had gathered at the chowk where the panchayats used to conduct the weekly meeting and discuss the happenings. The monsoons had receded and there was still time to reap the crops. This was to be a part of year that welcomed the king of festivals, Deepavali, the festival of lights. Deepavali or Diwali as it is known is celebrated with much pomp and show in all parts of India alike. It marks the victory of good over the evil, of the light over the ignorance. They say that ignorance is bliss. But though not always.

The village was discussing something more serious there. The air was heavy with the smoke coming out of the chillums. Few children were running around playing, unaware of the havoc that was created by the announcer of the British East India company. The village was under the colonial rule ever since the king of the area had fled the battle ground.

The announcer Bindeshwari was earlier a cowherd. He left his family profession to become an announcer for the company. He rode on a black stallion, with silky coat, well grown in height and of Arabic breed. He carried a British flag, wore the usual uniform of the company and carried a drum to beat in order to gain the attention of the simpleton villagers. As Bindeshwari beat the drums, villagers started gathering around him. Jaypaal the village teacher & Sonlaal, the farmer was the first to reach the spot. Everyone left their chores unfinished, trying to gather what was happening. The ladies in village, covered their heads with chunnis, were speaking in murmurs and giggles.

Bindeshwari announced, “Listen....Listen.....Listen Everyone!!! It is an order from the British East India Company. The company is starting a Railway, between Roorkee and Kolkata. This Railway will pass near the village border. Some part of land from the farms of haria, bhumesh, Brijgopal and Lachhman will be confiscated by the company for this purpose. However the company will compensate for the confiscated land. The work will begin after deepavali”.

Perhaps, Bindeshwari had ignited a fire that drew flak from all the village persons. Bindeshwari was hated among the villagers. His forefathers had been cowherds. He had flouted the norms of caste by working for the company. Belonging to the family of cowherds, he was supposed to carry the legacy forward.

The peepal tree under which the panchayat stood transfixed as panic struck. Neminath Pandey, the Sarpanch of the village rose to announce. “Brothers and sisters. This is an hour of crisis. The Britishers are planning to destroy this land of Bharat. The rail system as I know will destroy our forests and farms. We will not allow this.”

Sonlaal seconded the thought, “I know about the rail. It is a fire spitting demon. It emits fire and smoke and will choke us to death. If the rail runs on this land, it will lead to Earth Quake.”

The word earthquake indeed was a shaker. The whole village erupted in shock. “We will not allow this. We will not allow the rail to pass through our village,” the chorus echoed.

“Our mother earth will shake and kill all of us. The crops will dry and the whole of the country will face famine. The land on which railway passes will lose its fertility. What will we have to feed our children? We cannot sustain this development. All the woods of entire Bharat and all the coal would be burnt away to feed the Demon on rails.  On the day the rail passes, we will be forced to leave our houses and move farther. Because the force of the rail will break down our homes. The smoke will ensure that we do not have any air left to breathe.” Added Sonlaal with a worry in his voice. Now the worry was turning into anger.

“Would that mean, we will have to leave our homes?” asked a nervous Pandey. “Yes”, exclaimed Sonlaal. “We will have to leave our homes, our farms, our cattle. All will get destroyed due to the development of the rail”.

Ignorance is bliss. The Britishers were shocked by the gloomy anticipation of the Indians, especially the uneducated and depressed class. But this was just the first uproar at the onset of the railways. Back then it was not everyone who realized what a great undertaking the Railways would be, or what it would do for the common man and traders alike. The affect that railways was to leave on development of trade, especially Kolkata was yet to see the sunrise.

This was the juncture when Jaipal entered the debate and took the centre stage. Jaipal was the product of the British Education in India. He was a staunch believer of development. He had been trained and educated in England. He returned to India to serve his village through teaching. Although he knew that the railways were meant to benefit the British rule, he also understood how could India gain and prosper.

“Friends,” as he rose to speak. “There is no need to panic. As you all know, I have been in England and have seen the railways there. I have travelled in them and I am alive here to speak in front of you all”

“Railways will never cause the earthquakes or tremors.” Jaipal marshalled his arguments in best possible way to convince the ignorant folks that the Railways was not a fire spitting demon and would not harm them.

“The railways are meant to benefit you by decreasing the time of travel. Imagine, your farm produce being sent to distant Kolkata. This will enhance your reach.”

Haria was still not convinced. He argued, “But Jaipal Bhaiya, would not that mean we have to leave our farms.  The rail line would pass from my farm. I will have to part with my land. The left over land will be of no use since the fertility of the soil would be lost.   Goddess Earth will not forgive me for that.”

“Haria, the land will still remain fertile. Apart from that the British East India Company will compensate you for the land you are parting with them” replied Jaipal.

“Apart from that, the coal reserves or the woods would not be depleted by the rails. You can travel to Kolkata faster than your bullock carts, can send letters to your relatives easily, and can sell goods faster. This will lead to a social revolution in this country. Take my words, Railways will be the biggest boon and one day will be the backbone of the country’s progress.”

We may ridicule & laugh at the situation at the Badmera. But we have a lesson here to learn from the event. The Indian society has had its renaissance from the ignorance, customs & blind beliefs of the Nineteenth century. But it has come a long way due to visionary who worked at the grassroots levels to change the India we have today.

Still in my thoughts were the words of a person who could imagine the development and convince his village folks to welcome the wave of change in the rural, economically degrading, India made up of villages. By the time I recollected this story, the train had reached Manglore station. My morning coffee greeted me.