Remembering the Role of Indian Railways During the Freedom Movement

Independence Day 2025 is just around the corner. While many remember the political leaders, mass political movements or patriotic songs associated with the Freedom struggle, an unsung hero remains in the shadows. The Indian Railways played a pivotal role in the spread and strengthening of the freedom struggle.

Although introduced in the Indian Subcontinent with greedy imperialistic intentions, it soon started disseminating something else: political ideas. With the introduction of Indian Railways, you could reach Lahore from Calcutta in a matter of a day, which earlier used to take several days. This superfast means of transport also meant that the political ideas could be disseminated at a pace never seen before .

Arrival of Indian Railways

The Indian Railways came to India in two waves: for Industrial reasons and Passenger trains. Many people credit the starting of Passenger trains with the coming of Indian Railways. However, Industrial trains started between Red Hills and Chintadripet in Mysore. The railway tracks were constructed by 1835 while operation began as early as 1837.

The first passenger trains started in 1853 where the first train ran from Godavari to Thane. Soon after the first train ran India witnessed the great revolt of 1857. The Indian Railways played a vital role in mobilisation of the troops during the revolt for the British.

The British, having understood the importance of Indian Railways in mutinies like these which they termed as the “First War of Indian Independence”, intensified the construction of Railway lines. By 1929, the Railway Network had expanded way beyond 66,000 kilometres highlighting the pace at which the British grew railway lines.

The growth of Railway lines was also laden with British imperial needs. The Railways provided a fast way to disseminate the Industrial products of Great Britain to the vast untouched markets of India. However, an unthought beneficiary during this Railway expansion were the political ideas.

Railways provided a fast way to disseminate ideas. Newspapers, pamphlets, revolutionary novels, journals, biographies could be transported in a matter of few days across the length and breadth of the country. This made revolutionary ideas spread like wildfires.

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Railways: The Logistic Lifeline of Freedom Movement

The biggest contribution from the Indian Railways was spreading the idea of India as a country in the truest sense. Before the Indian Railways, Indians mostly had regional loyalties because that’s the farthest they could frequently travel with the available means of transport.

With the arrival of Indian Railways, a person from the North could come and have a conversation with a person from the Indian south. Similarly a person from western lands of Saurashtra could discuss political differences from a Bengali intellectual. This reach made sure that Indians could truly look far beyond their regional identities and understand what it is like to be an Indian.

Beyond instilling nationalistic feelings in the Indians, Railways also spread ideas at an unprecedented pace. The feeling and spirit of Swaraj reached every corner of the society because of the Indian Railways. Most political leaders used the train platforms to spread their ideas. This technique was uniquely perfected by Gandhiji and Nahruji.

Revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Chandra Shekhar Azad frequently used trains under a disguise to travel and spread revolutionary ideas. Interestingly Railways also became intertwined with British Imperialism with many revolutionaries interrupting it to send a political message. In case of any political movement or activity in the region, Railway Stations were the first area to hold protests and present grievances. 

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Mahatma Gandhi’s Unique Approach to Indian Railways

Mahatma Gandhi had a unique experience with the Railways that shaped how he thought and behaved in political movements. While travelling through a first class train in South African train a white person saw Gandhi. This was the time of Apartheid and as a result of the complaint Gandhiji was thrown off at the Pietermaritzberg railway station. Gandhi stayed at the spot where he was thrown until constables removed him.

This incident had a huge impact on Gandhiji and his perception towards the British. Indian Railways as a concept was always opposed by Gandhiji because of its roots in imperialistic greed.

However Gandhiji utilised the Railway perfectly as a method of spreading political ideas, understanding the sentiment of the people and also collecting funds for the Satyagrahis. 

Gandhiji famously travelled in Third class railway coaches to have a direct contact with the Indian masses. He used this platform to interact with common Indians and understand what they want and what a free India should comprise of.

He often used Railway platforms to address public speeches and collect funds for Revolutionary movements. Gandhi pioneered the utilisation of Indian Railways as a tool to spread ideas and connect to the masses.

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Major Historical Events Associated with the Indian Railways

Indian Railways was a part of a number of political events as a central backdrop. Here are a few instances of this:

• Acceleration in construction of Railway lines post the Revolt of 1857.
• In the year 1907, two attempts were made to derail the train carrying the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, Andrew Fraser who had played an active role in the partition of the Bengal province. Both attempts were unsuccessful.
• In the year 1929, an attempt to bomb the special train carrying Viceroy Lord Irwin was carried out.
• Kakori Conspiracy was another famous event where an Indian train coach carrying the government treasury was stopped and looted to fund the revolutionary activities of the Hindustan Republican Association. 
• During the Chittagong Armoury Raid of 18th April 1930 a successful attempt was made to sever the communication lines which included the railway connectivity.
• During the Non-cooperation movement Indian Railways Platform became an active area to spread political ideas. Railway workers were also the foremost contributors to the strike and the movement.
• During the Quit India Movement every attempt was made to paralyze the British infrastructure. It included disrupting especially the Railways tracks, stations and telegraph towers. 

Partition and the Indian Railways

Indian Railways were also witness to the extreme horrors and aftermath of the partition of the Indian Subcontinent. The partition led to one of the biggest mass migrations known to humankind.

Millions of passengers waited earnestly for the next train so that they could be transferred to the country of their religion. Many sat on top of the train coaches while many sat on the joint of two railway coaches. Such was the desperation among the refugees.

Railways were also witness to the horrendous murders by rioting mobs on trains. Sometimes the whole train came loaded with dead bodies. Such trains were called ‘ghost trains’.

Despite its difficulties and problems, Railways  was a prime agent in transporting the refugees to their designated countries.

Legacy of Indian Railways Post the Freedom Movement

The Indian Railways was revolutionised and finally came to its being. Post independence a nationalisation of railways was carried out in which Private companies and Railways controlled by the princely states were all amalgamated into one entity: The Indian Railways.

Since independence its nature and functioning approach has drastically changed from the imperialistic needs of the empire to the betterment and welfare of the Indian Citizens. Indian Railways has since then launched a number of services for the betterment of Indian Citizens.

The launch of superfast trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi are a testament to this. Indian Railways has also launched its section of luxury trains in the Vande Bharat express and the awaited Bullet Train. Indian Railways is also a front runner in electrification percentage across the various countries of the globe.

Currently Indian Railways is the fourth largest in railway network size and the ninth largest employer in the world. In India, the Railways is behind only the Indian Armed Forces in terms of providing employment.

Conclusion

As we head into Independence Day 2025, let’s spend this historic day remembering the contributors of this festival of Independence. While we remember their political leaders, their speeches, their ideas, it is also important to address and respect some vital entities that made the spread of these ideas possible.

Indian Railways is a silent watcher that has witnessed the growth of Indian consciousness right from the Revolt of 1857 to the political struggles of Swaraj, Non Cooperation and various armed revolutionary attacks. It was witness to the horrors of partition and is also a testament to the growth India has shown from a poor deprived nation to the front runners of the global economies.