India -- History -- British occupation, 1765-1947; Pamphlets
Not during the whole of the journey was the compartment once swept or
cleaned. The result was that every time you walked on the floor or
rather cut your way through the passengers seated on the floor, you
waded through dirt.
The closet was also not cleaned during the journey and there was no
water in the water tank.
Refreshments sold to the passengers were dirty-looking, handed by
dirtier hands, coming out of filthy receptacles and weighed in equally
unattractive scales. These were previously sampled by millions of flies.
I asked some of the passengers who went in for these dainties to give
their opinion. Many of them used choice expressions as to the quality
but were satisfied to state that they were helpless in the matter; they
had to take things as they came.
On reaching the station I found that the ghari-wala would not take me
unless I paid the fare he wanted. I mildly protested and told him I
would pay him the authorised fare. I had to turn passive resister
before I could be taken. I simply told him he would have to pull me out
of the ghari or call the policeman.
The return journey was performed in no better manner. The carriage was
packed already and but for a friend's intervention I could not have been
able to secure even a seat. My admission was certainly beyond the
authorised number. This compartment was constructed to carry 9
passengers but it had constantly 12 in it. At one place an important
railway servant swore at a protestant, threatened to strike him and
locked the door over the passengers whom he had with difficulty squeezed
in. To this compartment there was a closet falsely so called. It was
designed as a European closet but could hardly be used as such. There
was a pipe in it but no water, and I say without fear of challenge that
it was pestilentially dirty.
The compartment itself was evil looking. Dirt was lying thick upon the
wood work and I do not know that it had ever seen soap or water.
The compartment had an exceptional assortment of passengers. There were
three stalwart Punjabi Mahomedans, two refined Tamilians and two
Mahomedan merchants who joined us later. The merchants related the
bribes they had to give to procure comfort. One of the Punjabis had
already travelled three nights and was weary and fatigued. But he could
not stretch himself. He said he had sat the whole day at the Central
Station watching passengers giving bribe to procure their tickets.
Another said he had himself to pay Rs. 5 before he could get his ticket
and his seat. These three men were bound for Ludhiana and had still more
nights of travel in store for them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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