Making a Living on India’s Trains

Impoverished families often turn to vending and performing on India’s trains. Railway vendors now seek licensing to legitimize their profession.
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Making a Living on India’s Trains
A young boy collects money from passengers after singing popular Bollywood songs for them on the Kochuveli express train traveling from Bangalore to Kerala, India, on Jan. 27, 2013. Many families turn to railway vending for a livelihood, an easy place to earn a rupee. Venus Upadhayaya/The Epoch Times
Venus Upadhayaya
Updated:
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/IMG_8913.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-344800" src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/IMG_8913-675x450.jpg" alt="A mother financially supported by the train performances of her young son sits near the toilets in a compartment of the Kochuveli express traveling from Bangalore to Kerala, India, on Jan. 27 2013. Many families turn to railway vending for a livelihood, an easy place to earn a rupee. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times)." width="590" height="393"/></a>
A mother financially supported by the train performances of her young son sits near the toilets in a compartment of the Kochuveli express traveling from Bangalore to Kerala, India, on Jan. 27 2013. Many families turn to railway vending for a livelihood, an easy place to earn a rupee. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times).

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/IMG_8910.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-344799" src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/IMG_8910-675x450.jpg" alt="A young boy collects money from passengers after singing popular Bollywood songs for them on the Kochuveli express train traveling from Bangalore to Kerala, India, on Jan. 27. Many families turn to railway vending for a livelihood, an easy place to earn a rupee. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times)" width="590" height="393"/></a>
A young boy collects money from passengers after singing popular Bollywood songs for them on the Kochuveli express train traveling from Bangalore to Kerala, India, on Jan. 27. Many families turn to railway vending for a livelihood, an easy place to earn a rupee. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times)

 

India’s Forgotten Entrepreneurs

Amit Chandra, national coordinator of the Jeevika: Law, Liberty & Livelihood campaign at the Center for Civil Society, New Delhi, said the increase in railway vendors and performers is an indication that India’s national growth model is not inclusive.

“India reformed its market to corporations as part of its liberalization policy in 1991, but it did not reform its market to its own little entrepreneurs like street and railway vendors whose livelihood is still not recognized.”

Indian Railways, a government-run enterprise, is one of the largest railway networks in the world, transporting about 25 million passengers daily.

It traverses the length and breadth of urban and rural India, making it difficult to monitor passengers without tickets. It is a fertile ground for vendors, beggars, and the unemployed seeking to cultivate a livelihood.

Venus Upadhayaya
Venus Upadhayaya
Reporter
Venus Upadhayaya reports on India, China, and the Global South. Her traditional area of expertise is in Indian and South Asian geopolitics. Community media, sustainable development, and leadership remain her other areas of interest.
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