Railways against Country Boats: an environmental history of transport in colonial Bengal (1830-1880)

• Project/Area Number: 24K15484
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 80010:Area studies-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: デスーザ ローハン 京都大学, アジア・アフリカ地域研究研究科, 教授 (60767903)
• Project Period (FY): 2024-04-01 – 2027-03-31
• Project Status: Granted (Fiscal Year 2024)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,550,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,050,000); Fiscal Year 2026: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000); Fiscal Year 2025: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2024: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
• Keywords: Railways / Country-boats / Rivers / colonialism / Bengal-Delta

Outline of Research at the Start

The purpose of this study is to recover new historical sources and reinterpret existing primary material in order to counter the existing claims about the history of transport in 19th century colonial Bengal. In particular, how the introduction of the railways was aimed at challenging canal navigation interests and country boats. Such a study becomes particularly salient given that the Indian parliament just recently passed The National Waterways Act of 2016, which aims to restore river in-land navigation in India.