ABSTRACT
Except for a few famous imperial highways, communications in pre- British India were poor, even when judged by the low standards of the day in other countries. The Government was to have effective control over all major matters of policy, together with the right to buy the Company out after a lapse of twenty-five years. The Court of Directors of the East India Company gradually became convinced of the soundness of the projects and directed the Governor- General, Lord Dalhousie, to enquire into the principle of further development. The new arrangement was more satisfactory to the Government than the guarantee system and yet proved sufficiently favourable to encourage private enterprise. By 1893 eighteen thousand miles of railway were being operated, and by the end of the century the Indian railway system was on the way towards completion. In some cases the Government managed the acquired railways itself and in other cases it handed them back to the companies for operation.
