Nain Singh Rawat (English: Nain Singh Rawat, born- October 21, 1830, Kumaon; died- February 1, 1882, Moradabad) was the first Indian to discover the Himalayan regions. He was one of those scholars of the 19th century who explored the Himalayan areas for the British. Nain Singh Rawat was a resident of Kumaon Valley. He mapped the trade route from Nepal to Tibet. He was the first to determine the position and height of Lhasa and also mapped a large part of the Tsangpo, the main river flowing through Tibet. Nain Singh Rawat is not only remembered as an explorer, but he was the first Indian to write a book on modern science in Hindi named “Akshansh Darpan”. This book is like a treatise for generations doing research.
Nain Singh Rawat was a resident of Kumaon region. He was born on 21 October 1830 in a village named Milam in Pithoragarh district of Kumaon. He received his early education in the village itself, but due to financial constraints he soon joined his father in the traditional trade between India and Tibet. Along with his father he got the opportunity to visit and understand many places in Tibet. He learned Tibetan language, which helped him a lot. Apart from Hindi and Tibetan, he also had good knowledge of Persian and English. The great explorer, surveyor and cartographer Nain Singh Rawat had also prepared diaries of his travels.
In the 19th century, the British were preparing the map of India and had made a map of almost the entire India. Now he was preparing to move ahead, but the biggest obstacle in his progress was Tibet. This area was hidden from the world. Not only was there very little information about it, but foreigners were also strictly prohibited from going there. In such a situation, the British were in a dilemma as to how the map there would be prepared? Although the British government made many attempts, it failed every time. According to retired IAS officer SS Pangati, who has written a book on Pandit Nain Singh Rawat and is doing research on him, “British officers had failed to know Tibet.” After several failures, the then Surveyor General Mount Gummery decided that instead of the British, Indians should be sent there who often come there to trade with Tibet. And then the search began for people who could collect geographical information about that place, and finally in 1863, Captain Montgomery found two such people. Pandit Nain Singh Rawat, 33, and his cousin Mani Singh.
Nain Singh Rawat is not only remembered as an explorer, but he was the first Indian to write a book on modern science in Hindi named “Akshansh Darpan”. This book is also like a treatise for the coming generations of surveyors. The works of Nain Singh Rawat were greatly appreciated during the British Raj. In 1977, the British Government gave him the Jagirdari of three villages near Bareilly as a reward. Apart from this, considering his works, he was given the title of ‘Companion of the Indian Empire’. Apart from this, many organizations appreciated his work. His contribution in preparing the map of Asia is paramount.