Nain Singh
Nain Singh | |
---|---|
Born | 21 October 1830 Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, India |
Died | 1 February 1882 | (aged 51)
Occupations | Asian explorer |
Nain Singh (21 October 1830 – 1 February 1882),
Early life
Pundit Nain Singh was born to Lata Burha in 1830 in Milam village, a Bhotia village at the foot of the Milam glacier on the India-China border in the present day Uttarakhand state of India. Milam is in the Johar Valley, one of the Bhotia abodes in the Kumaon division, where the river Goriganga originates. The Rawats ruled over the Johar Valley, during the reign of Chand dynasty in Kumaon; this was followed by the Gorkha rule. In 1816 the British defeated the Gorkhas but maintained a policy of non-interference and friendship towards the Johar Bhotias. The famous Bhotia explorers mostly belong to the villages of Johar.
After leaving school, Nain Singh helped his father. He visited different centres in Tibet with him, learned the
Schlagintweit expedition
Singh traveled to
British Tibetan expeditions
Context
The
Recruitment and training
In an 1861 letter, Smyth recommended Singh as a possible surveyor to Walker. Walker travelled to meet with Singh and recruit him and his cousin Mani. The two were sent to
First expedition
Singh's first expedition began in 1865. He and Mani separated during the survey, with Mani travelling through western Tibet and Nain walking to Lhasa. Nain Singh reached Lhasa on 10 January 1866. He spent some time in Lhasa as a teacher of accounts before returning to India.[6]: 431 During this expedition, Nain Singh estimated the altitude of Lhasa as 3,420 meters by boiling water; this was close to the actual value of 3,540 meters. He also estimated the position of Lhasa with celestial observations.[7]: 195
Second expedition
Singh's second expedition explored western Tibet in 1867.[7]: 195–196 Nain and Mani were accompanied by Kalian Singh, Nain's brother, and the three disguised themselves as Bashahri traders. The expedition reached the goldfield at Thok Jalung, mapped the Sutlej river, performed an 850-mile-long route survey, and verified the position of Gartok. [6]: 432–433
Third expedition
Singh's third and final expedition returned to Lhasa via a more northern route than his first expedition and ran from 1873 to 1875.[7]: 196
Surveys
During his secret survey of Tibet, Nain Singh was the first non-Tibetan to visit many legendary areas of Tibet, including the Thok Jalung goldfields on 26 August 1867.[1] He would later say that Thok Jalung was the coldest place he had ever visited.[8]
Nain Singh was a cousin of Kishen Singh, another famous pundit explorer.[9]
Legacy
In May 1877, Singh was awarded the
On 27 June 2004, an Indian postage stamp featuring Nain Singh
The Nain Singh Range of mountains south of
On 21 October 2017, Google celebrated Nain Singh Rawat's 187th birthday with a Google Doodle.[1]
See also
- Shauka - Johar
- Krishna Singh Rawat
- Mani Singh Rawat
- Cartography of India
Notes
- ^ The dates are tentative. The date of birth is based on the Google Doodle issued in 2017. The date of death is based on an obituary letter where Col. Edmund Smyth notes in April 1882 that Nain Singh died of cholera at Moradabad around the "1st of February last". He mentions an obituary in "the Times" dated 15 March.
References
- ^ a b c "Nain Singh Rawat's 187th birthday". Google. Alphabet. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-61200-814-1.
- OCLC 773021726.
The pundit Nain Singh, the first surveyor to fix the location of the Tibetan capital, traveled on foot from Sikkim to Lhasa and then all over central Tibet, walking 1,580 miles, or 3,160,000 paces, each counted.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8131-4904-2.
- ISBN 978-0-7524-9586-6.
- ^ JSTOR 1781169.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4214-0511-7. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ISBN 0719564492.
- ^ BALASUNDARAM, M., DUBE, A. Ramgarh, 1973, "Structure, India", Nature (journal), 242, 40 doi:10.1038/242040a0.
- JSTOR 1799720.
- ^ Trigonometrical Survey. midco.net
Further reading
- Secondary sources
- Johnson, Robert (2006). Spying for Empire: The Great Game in Central and South Asia, 1757-1947. Greenhill Books. ISBN 978-1-85367-670-3.
- Dean, Riaz (2020). Mapping the Great Game: Explorers, Spies and Maps in 19th-century Asia. Casemate. ISBN 978-1-61200-815-8.
- Hopkirk, Peter (2012). Trespassers on the Roof of the World: The Race for Lhasa. John Murray Press. ISBN 978-1-84854-726-1.
- Smyth, Edmund (1882). "Obituary: The Pundit Nain Singh". Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography. 4 (5): 315–317. JSTOR 1800228.
- Primary sources
- Montgomerie, T. G. (1868a). "Report of a Route-Survey Made by Pundit, from Nepal to Lhasa, and Thence Through the Upper Valley of the Brahmaputra to Its Source". The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London. 38: 129–219. JSTOR 1798572.
- Montgomerie, T. G. (1868b). "Report of the Trans-Himalayan Explorations during 1867". Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London. 13 (3): 183–198. JSTOR 1798932.
- Montgomerie, T. G. (1869). "Report of the Trans-Himalayan Explorations during 1867". The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London. 39: 146–187. JSTOR 1798550.
- Trotter, H. (1876). "Account of the Pundit's Journey in Great Tibet from Leh in Ladákh to Lhása, and of His Return to India viâ Assam". Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London. 21 (4): 325–350. JSTOR 1799962.