1922 index to the
Great Trigonometrical Survey, a project that aimed to survey the entire
Indian subcontinent with scientific precision. It was begun in 1802 by the
British infantry officer
William Lambton, under the auspices of the
East India Company. Under the leadership of his successor,
George Everest, the project was made the responsibility of the
Survey of India. Everest was succeeded by
Andrew Scott Waugh, and after 1861, the project was led by
James Walker, who oversaw its completion in 1871. Among the many accomplishments of the Survey were the demarcation of the
British territories in
India and the measurement of the heights of
Mount Everest,
K2, and
Kanchenjunga. The Survey had an enormous scientific impact as well, being responsible for one of the first accurate
measurements of a section of an arc of
longitude, and for measurements of the
geodesic anomaly, which led to the development of the theories of
isostasy. The native surveyors employed in the Himalayas, especially in
Tibet (where Europeans were not allowed), were called
pundits, and included cousins
Nain Singh Rawat and
Krishna Singh Rawat.
Image: Survey of India