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History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

Critically examine: “Not until independence, when economic development became a conscious and pursued policy, did the Railways begin to realize their potential for assisting in the transformation of the Indian economy.”

  • UPSC 2019
  • Economic Impact of British Colonial Rule

Railways were colonial India's single largest infrastructural investment, yet the purpose they served changed fundamentally between 1853 and 1947 and again after independence.

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What the full answer covers

  • Colonial Railways: Imperial Objectives
  • Unintended Economic and Social Effects Under Colonial Rule
  • Railways After Independence: A Consciously Developmental Instrument
  • A Critical Qualification

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