Bengal In Maps

Reviews: Bengal in Maps

Masefield, G. B. · 1951

Some Recent Regional Atlases: A Review

Ristow, Walter W.; Nielsen, Niels; Schou, Axel; Calvert, W. E.; Hassinger, Hugo · 1951

This article reviews sixteen significant general regional and topical regional atlases published between approximately 1940 and 1950, representing eleven countries and diverse subjects such as viticulture, textiles, peat bogs, hydroelectric power, regional planning, physical geography, and resource distribution. Drawing on Wright and Platt's classification, the review distinguishes these specialized works from general world atlases, emphasizing their role as essential tools for serious research. The atlases are examined individually with attention to sponsorship, cartographic design, scale, textual content, and thematic coverage. Notable examples include the French Atlas de la France vinicole and Atlas hydroélectrique de France, the highly regarded Atlas of Denmark with its innovative block diagrams and bilingual presentation, the loose-leaf Atlas général du Congo, and resource-oriented works such as Bengal in Maps and the Tasmanian regional planning atlas. The review finds that these atlases not only document resource inventories and planning priorities but also reflect national and colonial interests of the post-war era. Many were produced through cooperative efforts among government agencies, academic institutions, and private sponsors. Cartographic quality varies, with several attaining high standards. The collection as a whole illustrates the vitality of regional atlas production and offers valuable comparative insights into mid-twentieth-century geographic knowledge and mapping techniques.

Taking Stock in India and Pakistan: A Review

Spate, O. H. K. · 1950

This review article critically assesses the state of geographical scholarship in India and Pakistan shortly after partition, using ten recently published works as a lens. The purpose is to take stock of both the discipline’s academic standing and the regional, economic, and historical geographies that were emerging. Methodologically, Spate provides a detailed, comparative evaluation of monographs, atlases, and surveys, highlighting their contributions, methodological weaknesses, and the institutional constraints under which they were produced. Key findings reveal a discipline still struggling for full university recognition, burdened by inadequate libraries and uneven training, yet showing genuine progress through dedicated societies, journals, and a small but growing body of rigorous research. The reviewed works vary markedly in quality: while some suffer from careless data, unrealistic planning assumptions, or compilatory approaches, others—such as Deshpande’s regional monograph on Western India, Chatterjee’s cartographic analysis of Bengal, and Thomas’s survey of basic industries—represent substantial achievements. Spate concludes that despite immaturity and “culturable waste” in research coverage, the foundations for a modern geographical tradition in the subcontinent are being laid, with vast untouched areas and problems awaiting investigation. The review thus offers both a snapshot of post-1947 geographical endeavor and a programmatic call for greater field-based, integrative scholarship.