The Importance of River Transport in Agra Region in the Early Modern Period and the Present Need for its Revival- Challenges and Suggestions

Abstract

Transportation has been fundamental to the development and progress of civilisations all over the world. Conquests and expansion have been achieved through the sea, as well as through inland movement over the rivers. The mode of water transport afforded a swift alternative to the movement over roads, wherever feasible. With the advent of the Mughals, the Yamuna riverfront at Agra soon developed as the prime residential area of the nobility in the vicinity of the Fort. The relevance of the Yamuna River as an important mode of transport continued well till the first quarter of the twentieth century. The paper emphasises the relevance of water transport in the Agra region as an important mode of freight movement in the early modern period, and establishes the importance of the Yamuna as a lifeline of the city. The paper encompasses the various districts that served as hotspots in the riverine travel and trade to and from Agra. Further, the present study also follows the trajectory of the rise of river transport in Agra, documenting the volume of travel and trade on the riverine route, and its significance, in the early modern period, which can be described as a golden age for river transport in Agra. It also notes the subsequent decline of river transport in the region, owing to the introduction of the railway system. Finally, the paper attempts to present the future challenges to a revival of river transport in this region, and also offers certain suggestions to re-invigorate the river transport system in Agra.