Pundits
Also called: Nain Singh Rawat · Topic: Maps and Map Scale · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Pundits were Indian surveyors trained by the British in the 1860s to map Tibet in secret. Tibet was closed to outsiders, so they travelled in disguise, often as pilgrims or traders. They counted their steps on prayer beads to measure distance and hid their instruments in their baggage. Their work filled a large blank space on the map north of the Himalaya. It also shows that Indian surveyors played a key part in scientific mapping, not just the British officers.
Example
Nain Singh Rawat, the best-known Pundit, walked into Tibet and fixed the position of Lhasa, its capital. He worked this out from his counted paces and from secret readings he took on the way.
Don't confuse with
- Great Trigonometrical Survey (GTS): an open, official survey begun in 1802 at Madras by William Lambton. It fixed points with chains of triangles. The Pundits worked in secret beyond India's border and used paces, not triangulation.
- Radhanath Sikdar: an Indian computer (calculator) of the GTS who worked out in about 1852 that Peak XV was the highest peak. He was not one of the Pundits.
Related concepts
- Survey of India
- Map series
- Great Trigonometrical Survey
- Geodetic datum
- National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation