History News Desk !! Nain Singh Rawat (English: Nain Singh Rawat, born- 21 October, 1830, Kumaon; Death- 1 February, 1882, Moradabad) was the first Indian to discover the Himalayan areas. He was one of the 19th century pandits who searched the Himalayas regions for the British. Nain Singh Rawat was a resident of Kumaon Valley. He mapped the business route from Nepal to Tibet. He first found the position and height of Lhasa and also maps a large part of Tsangpo, the main river flowing from Tibet. Nain Singh Rawat is not only remembered as an explorer, but was the first Indian to write a book called “Latitude Mirror” in Hindi in Hindi. This book is similar to a book for generations doing research work.
Introduction
Nain Singh Rawat was a resident of Kumaon area. He was born on 21 October 1830 in a village called Milam in Pithoragarh district of Kumaon. He did his early education in the village itself, but due to financial constraints he soon joined the traditional business running between India and Tibet with his father. Along with his father, he got a chance to visit many places in Tibet and understand him. 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 investigator, surveyor and mapistic Nain Singh Rawat had also prepared diaries of his visits.
Contribution
In the 19th century, the British were preparing a map of India and had made a map of almost the whole of India. Now he was preparing to move forward, but Tibet was the biggest obstacle to move forward. This area was hidden from the world. Not only the information there was very few, but the foreigners were also strict. In such a situation, the British were in a misery that how would the map be prepared? Although the British government made many efforts, every time the failure was handed over. According to SS Pangati, the retired IAS officer SS Pangati, who had written a book on Pandit Nain Singh Rawat and doing research on him- “British officers failed to know Tibet.” After failing several times, the then surveyor General Mountgumari decided that instead of the British, those Indians should be sent there who often come there to trade with Tibet. And then the search started of people who could collect geographical information there, and finally in 1863, Captain Mountgumari got two such people. 33 -year -old Pandit Nain Singh Rawat and his cousin Mani Singh.
Prize and honor
Nain Singh Rawat is not only remembered as an explorer, but was the first Indian to write a book called “Latitude Mirror” in Hindi in Hindi. This book is also similar to a book for the upcoming generations of surveyors. The works of Nain Singh Rawat were highly appreciated under the British Raj. In 1977, the British government gave him a prize as a prize of three villages near Bareilly. Apart from this, the title of ‘Companion of the Indian Empire’ was given in view of his works. Apart from this, many institutions also appreciated his work. His contribution in preparing Asia’s map is paramount.
Achievements
The British wanted to make a map of Tibet in the 19th century, but European people were not welcome everywhere at that time. He was one of the early Indians to investigate the Himalayas regions for Britain. Nain Singh Rawat first launched his journey in 1855–1857 with German people. He traveled to Mansarovar and Rakas Taal Lake. He then went to Gartok and Ladakh. Nain Singh Rawat was the first person to survey Tibet. Rawat, known as Tibetan monks, went from his home in Kumaon region to Kathmandu, Lhasa and Tawang. Nain Singh Rawat was one of the trained, highly educated and brave local men in the geographical atrocities. The exact location and height of Lhasa was determined by Nain Singh Rawat, made a map of Tsangpo and told about the gold mines of Jalung.