National atlas of India. First edition

Summary

This article reviews the first edition of the National Atlas of India (1957, in Hindi), edited by geographer Shiva Prasad Chatterjee. Comprising 26 sheets and 95 maps, the atlas systematically covers India's physical geography, agriculture, industry, transport, population, science, and culture. The review praises its rich content and scientific design, highlighting innovations such as using worker numbers as a uniform indicator for industrial maps and village-level data for population distribution. It also notes shortcomings, including the absence of regionalization maps and weak livestock maps. The author concludes that the atlas represents a major achievement in Indian cartography and holds significant value for both domestic development and international scholarship.