Of all the millions of journeys Indian Railways has undertaken since its founding in 1853, its latest – from British Raj pomp to full “decolonisation” – is arguably its most challenging.
The vast state enterprise that employs some 1.25 million people and operates between 13,000 and 14,000 passenger trains a day has of course been distancing itself from its former rulers for many decades.
But fresh momentum was provided earlier last month when India’s railways minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, announced that the bandhgala, a high-collared suit with buttoned-up jacket introduced during the period of British rule, would no longer be official dress for staff working on India’s trains.
It has been recently announced that the bandhgala would no longer be official dress for staff working on India's trains
It has been recently announced that the bandhgala would no longer be official dress for staff working on India’s trains — Getty
The announcement was met with a mixture of responses, with Indian commentators themselves pointing out that the bandhgala – also referred to as the “prince suit” – originated in Rajasthan and had its roots in Mughal court attire. In addition to serving as a uniform for senior railway staff, the suit – or variations of it – has also long been popular as a rather smart form of dress for Indian men at weddings.
The ruling also triggered a host of other considerations, particularly as it was made clear that the banning of the bandhgala was part of the much wider stated goal of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi – a man who has himself, on occasion, worn a bandhgala to “remove any trace of the colonial mindset”, including the use of the English language.
In the case of the railways, would this extend to a sweeping change of station signage entailing the removal of English versions of the name, which accompany the name in Hindi or the relevant local Indian language?
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a mission to remove any trace of the colonial mindset in the country
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a mission to remove any trace of the colonial mindset in the country — Getty
Would it involve the renaming of the rather quaint and archaic-sounding “pantry” cars found on many Indian trains? And how about the “chai wallahs”, who come up and down the carriages selling cups of sweet milky tea – a beverage introduced by the British. Should they be banned too?
Then there are the trains themselves. As esteemed journalist and commentator Karan Thapar put it in a piece for the Indian Telegraph (sound familiar?): “The railways were built by the Raj. George Stephenson developed the first train in 1825 in Britain. Doesn’t that make them a colonial relic?”
Eradicating all traces of the Raj from Indian Railways – and indeed the country as a whole – would appear to be a nigh-on impossible task.
The rise of India’s railways
There is a strand of thinking that says for all the exploitation and often undoubtedly brutal subjugation that accompanied the almost 200 years of British rule in India, some benefits did accrue. Among those cited are the unification of the country, the introduction of a legal system and a common language (English), the banning of sati (the practice of widows immolating themselves onto their husband’s funeral pyre), the setting up of a postal service and a host of infrastructure developments including, crucially, the building of the railways.
It is typical for passengers to have to hang off the side of India's trains
It is typical for passengers to have to hang off the side of India’s trains — Getty
The British did not – to be clear – build the railways for the benefit of the wider Indian populace. Beginning in the 1830s, when control of the country was still in the hands of the East India Company, the tracks were laid to facilitate the transport of key resources such as coal, iron ore and cotton to ports where they could be shipped back to the factories of Britain. By the 1850s, when India became a full British colony, the railways were dramatically extended to better enable the speedy deployment of troops to quell unrest (such as the Indian Mutiny of 1857).
For their first few decades, senior roles on the railways were filled by British officials and Anglo-Indians, while the labouring was done by local Indians.
Trains quickly became very popular as a means of travelling around the country – arguably helping to cement its unification – but while those of European extraction and means enjoyed travelling in comfort, the majority of Indian passengers had to make do with extremely basic, borderline squalid conditions in third (and for a while fourth) class.
Pantries, while still operational on many trains, are slowly being overtaken by e-catering services
Pantries, while still operational on many trains, are slowly being overtaken by e-catering services — Getty
They flocked to the trains nevertheless, and despite the rapid development of the lines and services, supply never matched demand. Overcrowding – which extended to passengers spilling out of train doors and hunkering down on train roofs – became a defining feature. As did, long before it became fashionable, slow travel, with achingly long journeys across a vast expanse of land that stretches from the Himalayan mountains in the north, through plains, deserts and tropical jungles, to the scenic coastline of the south.
As a young man, I experienced many of these journeys, priding myself in mastering the art of patience and resilience – and revelling in the ease with which it was possible to fall in with fellow travellers, many of whom delighted in sharing their stories and samosas. As an Englishman, I felt some historic guilt, but I never sensed lingering resentments over what my forefathers were responsible for.
The journey towards decolonisation
The end of the Raj in 1947 signalled the start of a new era for Indian Railways, which four years later became a fully nationalised entity, completing a process that had started in the 1920s.
In the almost 80 years since, the popularity of train travel in India has surged, with annual passenger numbers going from one billion in 1947 to 7.15 billion in 2024. In a country of vast distances, the trains – which are heavily subsidised – are seen as a very affordable form of travel and their appeal stretches across all strata of society.Improvements have seen the introduction of the broad gauge over almost the entire network, making it much easier to travel without having to change train – under the British, there were multiple widths, including narrow gauge, still used for the much-loved “toy train” services so redolent of earlier times in Darjeeling, Shimla and the Nilgiri Mountains.
There has also been extensive electrification of the lines. Rolling stock has been expanded and improved – there are now many more air-conditioned carriages – while ticketing has been brought into the modern age with a fully computerised system.
Most recently a class of Vande Bharat semi-high-speed trains has been introduced operating at speeds of 130-160kph, while the country is currently laying brand new tracks for what will be its first proper high-speed service, between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
The journey towards decolonisation has been happening simultaneously. The switch from imperial miles to kilometres came in the late 1950s. Many stations with names evoking the British era have been renamed – most obviously Victoria Station in Mumbai, now the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, a striking architectural blend of Victorian Gothic (if it can still be termed that) and Indo-Saracenic.
Victoria Station in Mumbai has been renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
Victoria Station in Mumbai has been renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus — Tuul & Bruno Morandi
Raj-era train names have also been changed – the Frontier Mail is now the Golden Temple Mail; the Kalka Mail is the Netaji Express (commemorating a former anti-colonial freedom fighter). Another change has involved the replacement of “coolie”, a European-origin term for railway porters, with sahayak (helper). Pantries, while still operational on many trains, are slowly being overtaken by e-catering services.
Seasoned visitors to India, while noting the improvements and changing terminology, report that the experience of travelling on Indian trains remains quintessentially the same – a dazzling, sometimes overwhelming, utterly absorbing, life-enhancing way of seeing the country and connecting with its people, whose curiosity in strangers – yes, even of British extraction – remains undimmed.
Travelling to the southern city of Madurai last month, Mark Preston, a Tai Chi Chuan instructor who lives on the Scottish Isle of Bute, said: “It’s a lot easier travelling by train in India than it was in 1980, and I do notice a huge increase in Indian tourists – people wanting to discover their own country.
“I haven’t felt that people have a chip on their shoulder about the Raj, but colonialism did leave many Indians with an impoverishing, deferential mindset and a diminished sense of the value of their own culture. I think anything that changes that is probably for the good.”
A very valid point. But it does seem a bit of a shame that in the quest to eliminate all traces of the colonial mindset, it has been decided to dispense with the bandhgala, something which has a distinctively Indian design and which, in the eyes of many people, Indians included, would be a strong contender for most elegant railway uniform on the planet.