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Mapping the Territorial Space in British India: Anglo-Nepalese War and the Formation of Non-Regulation Province

Presenter:

· Hansa Rawat Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) (New Delhi, India)

Timeslot:

07/29 | 11:00-11:20 UTC+2/CEST

Abstract

The introduction of the Non-Regulation system after the occupation of the British Garhwal and Kumaon province brought changes in the structure of the existing geographical discourse. The Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16 impacted the geographical, commercial, and political nature of relations in the Himalayan region. By 1814, they had established their dominance in the entire Himalayan region and the Tarai area between Darjeeling and Shimla. In conclusion to the Anglo-Nepalese War, a part of the present-day Garhwal was annexed into the British territory and merged into the region of Kumaon under the commissionership of the Non-Regulation system which was known as Kumaon province. Soon Kumaon formed the northernmost frontier of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces in British India, that later became North-Western Provinces of India. Being the first mountainous possession of the East India Company and the sole channel of British trade with Tibet, it was accorded the special status of a Non-Regulation Province where Bengal regulations were not applied. This paper deals with the shaping of the territories of Garhwal and Kumaon of the Himalayan region under the colonial regime. It established new geographical knowledge which was ‘scientific’ and ‘modern’ in nature. The modern mapping techniques, surveying and mapping narrate the imperial stance on the construction of territorial space. Accordingly, it would be interesting to see how mapping becomes the defining instrument in the study of the history of the present-day Garhwal and Kumaon region.