Disclosure : This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Spying For The Raj: the Pundits and the Mapping of the Himalaya

A pundit (or pandit) is a Hindu Brahmin who has memorised a substantial portion of the Hindu scriptures. In the second half of the nineteenth century, however, the term was used to denote native surveyors, who explored regions to the north of India for the British Raj. The British initially sent army officers to map these countries, but the task was fraught with danger. In the 1860s, Captain Thomas Montgomerie realised that the solution was to train natives from Indian border states to be surveyors, and have them explore the region covertly. These men, known as pundits, were disguised as traders or lamas (holy men). This is the first book devoted to these servants of the Raj who managed to map the Himalayas, Tibet and surrounding areas with remarkable precision, thereby helping the British to consolidate their rule in the Indian sub-continent.

Related Products:

Mapping the Great Game: Explorers, Spies & Maps in 19th-Century Central Asia, India and Tibet Himalaya: The Exploration and Conquest of the Greatest Mountains on Earth Himalaya ITMB Indian Himalaya Trekking Guide Indian Himalaya terraQuest Trekking Map Default ThumbnailThe Frozen River: Seeking Silence in the Himalaya Flowers of the Himalaya Mapping India The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia Mapping an Empire: The Geographical Construction of British India 1765-1843 Along the Ganges Climbing Ramabang: One Irish Climber`s Explorations in The Himalaya and His Overland Trip Home Colliding Continents: A geological exploration of the Himalaya, Karakoram, and Tibet India: Leomann Trekking Maps of the Indian Himalaya Himalaya: A Human History The High Road To China Spying on Whales: The Past, Present and Future of the World`s Largest Animals Ganges: The Many Pasts of an Indian River Mapping the Airways Tales from the Himalaya Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure Indian Art -Concise History Kanchenjunga Region Great Himalaya Trail Map Temples of Deccan India: Hindu and Jain, 7th to 13th Centuries Scotland: Defending the Nation: Mapping the Military Landscape Default ThumbnailLamas de Moreira CNIG Topo 74-3 Everest & Himalaya ITMB Lonely Planet Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya Hindu Art And Architecture USA: GTR Mapping Recreational Maps of Rocky Mountain States Illustrated Atlas of the Himalaya British Isles Global Mapping Political Wall Map ENCAPSULATED British Isles Global Mapping Political Wall Map SMALL PAPER Oxford: Mapping the City American War of Independence – War of 1812 NGS Folded Map American War of Independence – War of 1812 NGS NGS Wall Map PAPER Mabel Opal Pear and the Rules for Spying Mapping Latin America Indian Wisdom 365 Days Mapping America