How was the development of transport and communication related to britain's economic and political policies ???
Answers
The relationship between the growth of British capitalism and the evolution of a dependent, colonial economy in India is greatly manifested in the development of Indian railways, roads and bridges, irrigation works, etc. Of these, railway construction profoundly altered India’s destiny. Marx predicted in 1853 that “the railway system will therefore become in India truly the forerunner of modern industry”. But railways were not developed in India to stimulate industrial development. The first important consideration that led to the construction of railways in India was the commercial needs of the Lancashire mills for good and clean cotton as its carrying by typical local mode of transport (i.e., cart) led to dirt.
The second consideration that required railway construction was the military strategy. Railways would provide quick and reliable transportation of goods, troops, and stores. Thus, surely commercial and political objectives encouraged the building up of an extensive railway system in India. While estimating its overall impact, Marx in 1881 commented that the railways were ‘useless to the Hindus’ as much of the burden arising out of guaranteed interest system was borne by the poor Indian taxpayers. In addition, the normal ‘multiplier’ effects of railway investment were conspicuously absent in colonial India. Before the introduction of railways in India, transportation was costly, undependable and difficult. With the acquiring of political power, the Government of India together with the British Government realised the importance of the improved means of transport and railways were thought to be most ideal so far as low transport costs, reliability, and speed were concerned. Not long after railway construction began in England (1825), the idea for the construction of railway lines in this country was first mooted in 1832.