| Summary: |
Audio recording of oral history interview with Karnail Singh, covering the period 1904-1947.
Cassette side OA1/61/1: Brief biographical review. Recollections of contacts with British as child and general political background. Lecturers at college. Attitude to British. Reasons for joining North Western State Railway. Story of British and Anglo-Indian reactions to Singh's successes in college athletics. Isolation of British railway officers. Description of Singh's superior and his typically British daily routine.
Cassette side OA1/61/2: Segregation of British within railway colonies. Aspects of British lifestyle. Relationships between British and Indian railway officers. Living on construction sites; allocation of best sites to British. Railway inspection officers and their transport. British eccentrics. Shooting game. Examples of British railway officers. Nature of relationship between British and Indians. British reluctance to learn Hindustani properly; lack of involvement in Indian culture. British planters. Singh's railway career: construction projects; derailment investigation.
Cassette side OA1/61/3: Hierarchy of railway organisation. Daily routine on construction sites. Planning involved in bridge building. Story of encouraging engineer by pointing out job satisfaction in completing projects. Irritation caused by faultfinding bureaucracy. Use of inspection carriages. Travelling in first-class carriages. Relaxations on inspection tours. Keeping carriages cool. High quality railway catering. Tea vendors. Racial segregation observed by railways. Railway institutes.
Cassette side OA1/61/4: Role of Anglo-Indians within railways. British attitude to Anglo-Indians. Special trains: mail trains; VIP carriages. Origin of Indian railways. Famous trains. Problems with landowners during construction work; rarity of British owned land. Opinions on British: morality; ruthlessness; honesty. Assessment of British role in India. Personal debt to British; story of visit as Chairman of Indian Railways to Britain in the 1960s.
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| Main author: |
Singh; Karnail (fl 1904-1972); railway manager |
| Other authors: |
Allen; Charles (b 1940); historian and interviewer |
| Extent: |
2 hr. approx.
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| Admin history: |
Indian Deputy General Manager on North Western State Railway, India. |
| Access status: |
Closed
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| Access conditions: |
Access to sound recording of this interview is currently unavailable at SOAS Library. The transcript can be consulted. Researchers can access a copy of this sound recording at the British Library Listening & Viewing Service. Reference: C1510/61/01-04. For more details see www.bl.uk/listening or contact listening@bl.uk / 020 7412 7418.
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| Copyright: |
Copyright held by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) |
| User restrictions: |
Private study only. For publication or broadcast please refer to Archivist |
| Language: |
English
|
| Copies: |
Copy available at British Library Listening & Viewing Service. Reference: C1510/61/01-04
Copy available at Imperial War Museum. Reference: 004960/04 |
| Related material: |
Transcript available at SOAS Library. Reference: OA1/61/T |
| Format: |
Archive
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