INDIAN RAILWAYS AND FAMINE 1875-1914: Magic Wheels and Empty Stomachs

INDIAN RAILWAYS AND FAMINE 1875-1914: Magic Wheels and Empty Stomachs

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Policy-makers interpreted famines in nineteenth century British India as problems of distribution, rather than food production. Railways provided speedier and cheaper transport than road methods employed during that time. They were more reliable than canals, which needed rainfall to facilitate trans...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Stuart Sweeney
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Economic & Business History Society 2008-06-01
Series:Essays in Economic and Business History
Online Access:https://www.ebhsoc.org/journal/index.php/ebhs/article/view/185
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spelling doaj-78385eae1fed45c1adbc4eca1184fbf92020-11-25T03:18:17ZengEconomic & Business History SocietyEssays in Economic and Business History0896-226X2008-06-01261147158185INDIAN RAILWAYS AND FAMINE 1875-1914: Magic Wheels and Empty StomachsStuart SweeneyPolicy-makers interpreted famines in nineteenth century British India as problems of distribution, rather than food production. Railways provided speedier and cheaper transport than road methods employed during that time. They were more reliable than canals, which needed rainfall to facilitate transport. However, they were expensive to construct and maintain, and the British offered various levels of state support to encourage private investors under the façade of laissez faire capitalism. The effectiveness of the largest investment program in the history of the British Empire, in combating appalling famines, was questionable. There was a failure to overcome acute price increases in wheat and rice, and morefundamentally, deindustrialization and poverty in India, all of which colonial railways encouraged.https://www.ebhsoc.org/journal/index.php/ebhs/article/view/185
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Stuart Sweeney
spellingShingle Stuart Sweeney
INDIAN RAILWAYS AND FAMINE 1875-1914: Magic Wheels and Empty Stomachs
Essays in Economic and Business History
author_facet Stuart Sweeney
author_sort Stuart Sweeney
title INDIAN RAILWAYS AND FAMINE 1875-1914: Magic Wheels and Empty Stomachs
title_short INDIAN RAILWAYS AND FAMINE 1875-1914: Magic Wheels and Empty Stomachs
title_full INDIAN RAILWAYS AND FAMINE 1875-1914: Magic Wheels and Empty Stomachs
title_fullStr INDIAN RAILWAYS AND FAMINE 1875-1914: Magic Wheels and Empty Stomachs
title_full_unstemmed INDIAN RAILWAYS AND FAMINE 1875-1914: Magic Wheels and Empty Stomachs
title_sort indian railways and famine 1875-1914: magic wheels and empty stomachs
publisher Economic & Business History Society
series Essays in Economic and Business History
issn 0896-226X
publishDate 2008-06-01
description Policy-makers interpreted famines in nineteenth century British India as problems of distribution, rather than food production. Railways provided speedier and cheaper transport than road methods employed during that time. They were more reliable than canals, which needed rainfall to facilitate transport. However, they were expensive to construct and maintain, and the British offered various levels of state support to encourage private investors under the façade of laissez faire capitalism. The effectiveness of the largest investment program in the history of the British Empire, in combating appalling famines, was questionable. There was a failure to overcome acute price increases in wheat and rice, and morefundamentally, deindustrialization and poverty in India, all of which colonial railways encouraged.
url https://www.ebhsoc.org/journal/index.php/ebhs/article/view/185
work_keys_str_mv AT stuartsweeney indianrailwaysandfamine18751914magicwheelsandemptystomachs
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