Lucknow Railway Story (III) (as received)

Lucknow Railway Story (III) Charbagh and Railway Station a map of 1893 The railway arrived at Lucknow on 23rd April 1867 at Charbagh. There are many questions raised at the mention of Charbagh. Why Charbagh? Who owned Charbagh and how was it acquired? Did the coming of the railway destroy the Charbagh? Let me answer the first question, with two more questions, Why not Charbagh? Where else? I am trying to understand these issues with a map of 1893, 25 years after the opening of the Railway Station. A station is a place for mode transfer, where users shift from road mode to rail mode and vice-versa, and must be located at a convenient place. Map of 1893 clearly shows that the city was populated on the other side of the Haider canal, the most prominent bridge over this canal, Charbagh Bridge, through which the road connecting Kanpur via Alambagh was passing was located close to the Station. Thus the station was situated at the place with the best access to the city from the station. This road on which the station was placed predated the station by about 25 years. If we look at the March of Havelock from Alambagh, he has followed the same path, approaching the city via Charbagh, crossing Haider Canal at Charbagh bridge, now a small culvert at Naka Hindola. Thus, the location of the Railway Station at Charbagh close to the emerging new cantonment was an added advantage and not the sole criterion. Primarily it was the ideal place for accessing to and from the city. Charbagh, a garden built by Asaf-ud-Daula followed a Persian-style layout that came with the Mughals to India. Thus, the name of style, a generic name became the name of the place. In February 1856, when the British took over the reins from Nawabs, like other places, outlying country houses and gardens, the proprietorship of Charbagh too got vested with the British government. There were a few houses located in the Charbagh, but as records suggest they too were the property of Nawabs. When Agha Mir was banished for forcibly demolishing/occupying houses, it included some houses located in the royal gardens from where Nawab was getting the rent (A Fatal Friendship). This proves that whatever houses were in the Charbagh were the property of the Nawab and with the transfer of power in February 1856, they became the property of the British Government. Thus the entire Charbagh area was property belonging to the government and the agreement with the IBR clearly stated that they had to be provided free land along with the subsidy, and whatever compensation had to be paid was to be paid by the government. Sometimes wrong conclusions are drawn focusing too much on a specific area. Any assumption that some special provisions, regulations, or laws are specifically applicable to Lucknow. Railway construction started in Calcutta and Bombay in 1850-51. The first land acquisition legislation in India was the Bengal Resolution I of 1824. The law enabled the government to “obtain, at a fair valuation, land or other immovable property required for roads, canals or other public purposes. “In 1857, a land acquisition act was made covering the entire India and further amended and revised in 1863 which should have been applicable when railway construction was done in Lucknow. It is said that there were some houses in the Charbagh whose residents were provided alternate locations. Residents and a few royal family members of Nawabs residing here were allotted lands and homes in the Purani Imli area of Maulviganj locality. Was it the first time that an alternate use for the Charbagh was thought of? No. Much before, in the autumn of 1931 Nawab Nasir-ud-din Haider sent an official l note to the Resident, Col. John Low which requested that the residency be shifted to the Charbagh, ‘, on account of its extensive grounds is a delightful place, and the water and air of which is pure,’. The reason he cited was that the residency is situated very close to the Palace of Kusur oos Sooleman, as the Residency is at an elevation it overlooks many palaces affecting privacy. Despite his citing many factors, the resident did not agree to the change, because of multiple reasons after initial acceptance. Thus, it was not the first time that an alternate use for Charbagh was thought of. And it was not the first construction. The road to Kanpur which passed through Charbagh was built during the reign of Amjad Ali Shah. There is another myth that it was the railways that annihilated the Charbagh. Only partly true. The Charbagh Garden was stretched up to the Haider canal. Map of 1893 clearly shows a lush green area in the front of the station, extending up to Haider Canal. Even the later days map of the early 20th century indicates a green Charbagh in front of the Station. And one does not need a map to see the distance between the Railway area and the Haider Canal. Thus, the location of Charbagh for the railway terminus was selected for three specific reasons, its location on the road connecting to the city across the Haidar canal close to the Charbagh bridge, the vast space available and the closeness of the cantonment was also an advantage. In the next part, I will try to share some information about station building, expansion of the network, headquarters of ORR, and working of ORR. These posts are long may be drab, but I want to clear many misinformation about Charbagh and the Railway station in 1867. .