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Engineers working in India before 1947 are the poor relations of the
British Raj, seldom featuring in those nostalgic histories of the period
and even less so in romantic novels. In fact one would be hard pressed
to name a book or a film in which an engineer features as hero. Yet
engineering could be seen as an heroic occupation, particularly at the
start of the nineteenth century when young Britons, just out of the
military seminary at Addiscombe, were put in charge of enormous
projects in India and an equally large workforce. These early engineers
were part of the 'technical regiments' of the East India Company, like
the Madras Sappers and Miners or the Bombay Engineering Corps, and
they retained their army rank even when engaged in civil projects.
British military engineers were responsible for many fine buildings in
the sub-continent, and were frequently 'lent' by the Company to local
rulers to build European-style palaces. When Arthur Cotton was
recuperating from a fairly serious accident in 1841, (he had been experimenting with a steam-engine that blew up), he was assigned the
'suitable light duty ' of building a church at Vizagapatam. Cotton, later
Sir Arthur Cotton, is certainly one of the two heroes of this book - the
other is Sir Proby Cautley, and it is their work in tapping and diverting
the waters of India's great rivers, that provides the engineering epics of
the title. There had been successful efforts at damming the rivers as
far back as the second century AD when the Chola kings built a
thousand-foot long barrage across a branch of the Cauvery river.
Indeed, the word 'anicut,' used to describe these early riverine
diversions comes from the Tamil anai kattu, meaning a dam.
Quite apart from the technical details of water control, which are
lucidly explained with excellent illustrations, it is the rivalry between
Cotton and Cautley , mediated by the East India Company, always
watching the rupees, that is explored here in detail. Cotton wanted
irrigation canals to benefit the local farmers, while Cautley was more
interested in solving hydraulic problems and writing a three volume
engineering manual. Today it is Arthur Cotton who is more fondly
remembered in India, with a handsome post-Independence statue and a
modern barrage across the Godaveri that bears his name. He was 'a
natural rebel' who believed the Government 'was there to help him
realise his dreams, not to demand accurate budgets'. Cautley, on the
other hand , was very much a pro-government establishment figure ,
who survived the scandal of divorce following his wife's adultery. It
has to be said that this handsome, beautifully produced book does lose
some of its momentum, once these two characters disappear from the
stage.
Sadly, the author Alan Robertson, died before it was finished. After a
successful career in the computer industry he took a Master's degree m
Imperial and Commonwealth History at King's College, London and
had become fascinated with the work of the great Victonan water
engineers. The book was therefore edited and completed by Jeremy
Berkoff, an expert in Asian irrigation and water management. It's a
good read, and no-one should be put off by the word 'engineering' in
the title. It is time that the work of these pioneers was properly
recognized, and this is a very good starting point.
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