Үнді субконтинентін зерттеу: Ұлы тригонометриялық сараптама

19th century survey to measure the Indian subcontinent

The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India was a project that aimed to carry out a survey across the Indian subcontinent with scientific precision. It was begun in 1802 by the British infantry officer William Lambton, under the auspices of the East India Company. Under the leadership of his successor, George Everest, the project was made the responsibility of the Survey of India. Everest was succeeded by Andrew Scott Waugh, and after 1861, the project was led by James Walker, who oversaw its completion in 1871. Among the many accomplishments of the Survey were the demarcation of the British territories in India and the measurement of the height of the Himalayan giants: Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The Survey had an enormous scientific impact as well. It was responsible for one of the first accurate measurements of a section of an arc of longitude, and for measurements of the geodesic anomaly, which led to the development of the theories of isostasy. The native surveyors made use of in the Himalayas, especially in Tibet (where Europeans were not allowed), were called pundits, who included the cousins Nain Singh Rawat and Krishna Singh Rawat.

From its inception in 1600 to its domination of the entire Indian subcontinent by the beginning of the nineteenth century, the British East India Company gained more and more territory. The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India started on 10 April 1802 with the measurement of a baseline near Madras. The East India Company thought that this project would take about five years, but it took nearly 70 years, well past the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the end of company rule in India. Because of the extent of the land to be surveyed, the surveyors did not triangulate the whole of India but instead created what they called a "gridiron" of triangulation chains running from north to south and east to west. The Trigonometrical Survey was conducted independently of other surveys, notably the topographical and revenue surveys. In 1875, the decision was taken that the Survey budget should be reduced from 240,000 to 200,000 pounds. This resulted in a reorganization under Surveyor General Colonel J. T. Walker to amalgamate the Great Trigonometrical, Topographical and Revenue Surveys into the Survey of India.

Triangulation surveys were based on a few carefully measured baselines and a series of angles. The initial baseline was measured with great care since the accuracy of the subsequent survey was critically dependent upon it. Various corrections were applied, principally temperature. An especially accurate folding chain was used, laid on horizontal tables, all shaded from the sun and with constant tension. The early surveys made use of large and bulky theodolites made by William Carey, a zenith sector made by Jesse Ramsden, and 100 feet (30 m) chains. Later surveys used more compact theodolites. Accurate instruments could not always be purchased through the standard system of government contract, and Everest personally supervised the construction of instruments. He had a maker, Henry Barrow, set up an instrument company in Calcutta. Barrow was succeeded by Syed Mohsin from Arcot, Tamil Nadu, and after his death, the instruments were supplied by Cooke from York.