Colonialism and the Environment in India: Railways and Deforestation in 19th Century Punjab

In: Journal of Asian and African studies: JAAS, Band 46, Heft 1, S. 38-53

Abstract

Much of the deforestation seen in the Himalayas today can be traced back to the second half of the 19th century when railway construction began in colonial India. In this paper I argue that the construction and expansion of railways promoted by the British colonial state was designed to enable efficient resource extraction from India and that this process itself depleted India's natural resources such as forests. In analysing the temporal and spatial unevenness of this deforestation in the specific context of the Punjab province I have drawn on government records of various departments, Parliamentary reports, books, scientific journals and newspapers as primary sources.