Railways and re-imagining travel in colonial South Asia

This paper will explore the ways in which railway travel in colonial South Asia (late 19th and early 20th centuries) played an instrumental role in re-imagining meanings of travel. The paper will show how railway travel added new forms of travel while powerfully shaping the existing varieties of travel (most notably pilgrimage). Broadly, the paper will argue for technology transfer that was mediated by colonisers in ways unexpected by railway promoters and colonial administrators.