During the British era the water transport, telegraph, railways are in a developed condition but these facilities are for the British people not for the common people. The roads are not properly connected to rural India and the situation during the rainy season becomes worst. When it comes to the development of India the negative point will be more. One of the most important contributions of the British government is the introduction of railways in 1850.
It had helped a lot to boost the economic development of India. Firstly, the people can travel long distances, and secondly, it helped in commercializing Indian agriculture which helped in the development of the village economy. If you are interested to know more please refer to my blog about Infrastructure development in India
Pre-colonial Infrastructure
The infrastructure condition in the pre-British era in India is very bad. The condition of transport and communication is not good. The villages are connected to the Kuccha roads. The condition of roads forms a big depression during the rainy season.
When some natural calamities occur the entire villages are cut down from the roads. At that time we don’t have a motorized vehicle. Only animals carts have used the mode of transport.
Water transport is in the northern part of India where Rivers are perennial. As a whole, it can be said that the infrastructure during pre-colonial India us very low.
Infrastructure development in British India
When the British ruled over India their main focus is to drain India s wealth and take it to their country. But they had to face a lot of problems to do so because of the poor infrastructure.
Transportation of raw materials to ports is very difficult and it takes a long time. It became a necessity for the British to develop the infrastructure. So, the British have focused on the development of roads, railways, water transport and avoided the basic need of the common people.
Aspects of infrastructure development
The roads during the pre-colonial era were not well developed and it became a necessity for the British administration. Many officials came for the development of roads. The roads were designed in such a way that the British Army could move around properly and for the easy movement of raw materials to the nearest station.
In 1950 the development of the railway has changed the shape of the Infrastructure. At the start of the 20th century, the British government bought all the rail lines and started direct investment. The development of the railway has helped to travel long distances easily. But soon this development has shown its negative side and the exploitation of Indian resources has increased. The British also introduced inland waterways, the telegraph, and the postal service. Most of the canal became operational and the telegraph was used to maintain public order.
British have done a lot of development during their rule in India. Otherwise, before they arrive in India, the infrastructure development is in very bad shape. But it is also true that all the infrastructure development is done with the selfish motto to fulfill the requirement of the British government. Read more about infrastructure in detail.