Geographical Record: The National Atlas of India

Summary

The National Atlas of India, published in 1982 in eight volumes, is one of the world's most comprehensive national atlases and a landmark in Indian postcolonial cartography. This review article examines the genesis, format, content, and significance of the atlas. Initiated by S. P. Chatterjee and prepared by the National Atlas Organization in Calcutta, the atlas reflects India's development-oriented planning, with particular attention to agriculture and regional differentiation. The review details the atlas's physical characteristics: oversized pages, seven map scales, four projections, and a total of 274 maps distributed over 220 sheets. Its contents are organized into eight volumes covering general and political information, physical geography, climate and water resources, population, economic activities (especially agriculture), cultural and historical patterns, and regional administration. The author also offers a critical assessment. Despite the atlas's impressive scope and precision, it contains outdated demographic and economic data (some based on the 1951 census), omits important topics such as industrialization, family planning, and the impacts of the green revolution, and fails to map levels of economic development. Nevertheless, the atlas remains an indispensable reference for understanding India's spatial diversity and a model for other developing countries. The review concludes that the atlas is both a cartographic achievement and a useful research tool, despite shortcomings that future revisions should address.