Japanese Journal of Human Geography 60―6（2008）

Progress of Human Geography in : A Status Report

Shanmugam Pillai SUBBIAH

I Introduction II Spread of Geography and Geographic Research in India III Ph. D Th eses submitted and the Progress of Human Geography IV Research Papers published and the Progress of Human Geography （1） ICSSR Journals of Abstracts and Reviews : Geography （2） The Indian Geographical Journal V Progress on Some Fronts of Geography in India （1） Progress on Urban Geography （2） Progress on Agricultural Geography

Key Words : Human Geography, Progress of Geography, Landuse, Agriculture, Urban Geography, Social Geography

I Introduction

Running for 3,200 km from the in the north to Kanyakumari on the shores of Indian Ocean in the south, and 3,000 km from west to east in its maximum width in the vicinity of 23 degree parallel, and spreading over an area of 3.3 million sq. km, and supporting a massive population of about 1,030 million living in 5,161 towns and 593,7311） villages, and speaking 22 officially―recognized languages, India has been known for its unfathomable diversities, complexities and historicities. To map and understand these unfathomable attributes of India, Geography is naturally the choice of tool, and temporal and spatial progression of these complexities further argues for the need of Geography. Also, India with its diversities and complexities provides a rich laboratory for Geographers to experiment and explore the logics of Geography. But the sad and hard reality is that Indian Geography had a very late beginning and is yet to achieve its due recognition among the Social Sciences. Imperial Gazetteer, the write―ups done for each district of India by the British traveler―authors in 1881 based on detailed field visits and meticulous observations, may be the beginning of Geography in India. With the adoption of British model of school system in India, geography was first taught in schools under civics or social studies ; at the university level, it was introduced much after the establishment of the universities. As such, geography teaching and research in India has a very limited history. The first university was established in 1857, and the first department of geography was instituted in 1931 at Aligarh Muslim University at Aligarh, a small town in the state of Uttar Pradesh in the Gangetic Plain. Geography had thus a colonial beginning, and its spread far and wide and its acceptance as a University―level subject for teaching and research happened only after Independence. In 1947, there were 17 universities but

― 21 ― 502 人文地理第60巻 第 6 号（2008） only five universities, Aligarh, , Varanasi, Allahabad and Agra（ all in the Gangetic belt）, had geography departments. Two―thirds of the present geography departments in the universities got established during 1950―1970. Progress of Geography was a little more quick and wide―spread in 2） north India during Colonial and post ―Independence periods. South India has been traditionally clamouring for science subjects, and geography, though kept both in arts and science streams, is not readily accepted or treated as science by academic world. For long, the university departments were providing geography degrees both in arts and science streams, and currently most of the universities switched over to science stream because of the notion that it might fetch more grant and support for the subject from the government institutions. In south India, geography is taught normally in government colleges, and private institutions never supported geography teaching. On the contrary, in north India, private institutions too participated in promoting geography. Geography, though it is crazy to make tens of branches affixing a plethora of adjectives, was traditionally used to be divided into two, Physical and Human Geographies, and certainly this duality may be more logical too. However on the advent of Industrial Revolution in Europe and the subsequent spread of colonization, Economic and Regional Geographies became more relevant, of course, to accelerate the exploitation of the colonized countries ; and thus there came into existence two more branches in Geography. In Indian universities where the seeds of Geography were laid down by colonial rulers, these four branches were popular for long. However, it is normally accepted that Human Geography includes economic and regional geographies and all other sub―branches other than Physical and Environmental Geographies, what we have now. Progress of Human Geography in India may be traced by consulting the professional journals brought out by different associations for geography, the Ph. D theses submitted to various universities, research projects undertaken by the geography faculty, the books published by geographers, and the content of syllabus at the university level. Assembling the relevant data from these sources for assessing the progress is not easy and is almost impossible for an individual scholar, because of the size of the country, poor maintenance of records during the post―Independence period, and non―availability of comparable data and at a single location. As such, progress of Human Geography in India in the last 50 years or so is sketched in the present paper from sources immediately available to the author, and the correspondence and contact that the author was able to make with a number of fellow― geographers from different parts of the country in the last a few months ; and thus, here is an over view on what is happening to Indian Geography since Independence.

II Spread of Geography and Geographic Research in India

It is counted that there are now about 450 institutions of higher education including 238 universities in India3）. However geography is now taught only in 78 universities in the country. In the southern four states, it is available only in 11 universities. In Delhi, the capital of the country, all the three universities have geography departments. There were only 17 departments till 1950s, and it increased to 48 during 1960 and 1980. Between 1991―2000, no new department was added to Indian universities4）. As mentioned earlier, Geography started its journey in India from Aligarh and by 1980, it had representations in all parts of the country. During the Colonial time, scholars who got trained in UK were responsible for developing geography. Legacies of British geographers ― exploration and

― 22 ― Progress of Human Geography in India : A Status Report（SUBBIAH） 503 expeditions, regional studies, field observations and map interpretations, historical studies, and social, economic and political geographies― continued to have thus attracted Indian geographers for long5）. Sir Dudley Stamp’s influence was quite dominant in the beginning on land use studies in India6）. After Independence, those who had got trained in USA, returned and took up university positions, resulting in American imprints. Aligarh Muslim University at Aligarh, Kolkata University at Kolkata, and Banares Hindu University at Varanasi were the major centres of Geography till 1970. Department in Aligarh was known for landuse studies, and in Varanasi, known for settlement studies. Physical Geography was the leading branch in Kolkata University, and Prof. S. P. Chatterjee of Kolkata Geography was instrumental in establishing the National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organization（ NATMO） in Kolkata in 1956 ; and faculty in Kolkata department still works more actively on geomorphology, climatology, hydrology and cartography. However, directions of research in Geography in rest of the country before and after 1970 were largely guided by Aligarh and Varanasi schools of Geography, because of their scholars after their Ph. D in Geography having got university positions in different parts of the country. For instance, university departments in Chennai, Madurai and Bangalore in south India became more active after got chaired by Varanasi―trained scholars. Russian influence on Indian Geography, though not much, was routed through India’s Five Year Plans which were originally based on socialist beliefs7）. By late Seventies and Eighties, the Centre for the Study of Regional Development at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi became another centre of influence for Indian Geography ; with Prof. Moonis Raza, a socialist geographer, in chair, this Centre provided to Indian Geography a new orientation with an emphasis on social responsibilities of the subject and regional dimensions in inclusive growth and development. As Gosal8） points out, in Sixties and Seventies, geographers were more attracted towards systematic geography wherein population geography, agricultural geography, geography of settlements and urban geography got wider attention of the researchers in Geography. Regional geography was not much attended to ; there were attempts of applying quantitative methods, more simpler ones ; computer applications were not known ; secondary data available with different departments of the government both at the Centre and the States, were extensively mined for research. By late 1990s, GIS and Remote Sensing became a popular tool for geographers, and University of Madras at Chennai established the first GIS lab in the country at its Geography department under a linkage programme with the University of Waterloo, Canada. University Grants Commission（ UGC）, the apex body for managing higher education in India, and the Indian Council for Social Science Research （ICSSR）, the policy―making and funding agency for social science research, including Geography, both located in New Delhi are the main institutions supporting research activities in Geography. Research proposals submitted to these agencies may be looked into for understanding the changing thrust areas of research in Geography. The UGC is the only major funding agency for social science research in India, and for instance, it received 52 research proposals from various geography departments in the country during 20089）. There were ten proposals from the state of Uttar Pradesh, followed by West in the east and Maharashtra in the west. The departments in the southern states, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, totally forwarded only ten proposals, and there was none from Kerala where development of geography at the University level was very recent one. Out of the 52 proposals, geomorphology and agricultural geography were the dominant fields, and most of these proposals had a component for making use of GIS and Remote Sensing. Urban geography and Environmental geography are the other areas of attraction. Interestingly

― 23 ― 504 人文地理第60巻 第 6 号（2008） there were two proposals on the geographic issues related to women, and it may reflect a change in the post―modern research in Indian geography. Surprisingly there were only two proposals for research on industrial geography, and were none on current economic and spatial changes due to globalization and IT revolution.

III Ph. D Th eses submitted and the Progress of Human Geography

University education in India started in 1857 with the establishment of the universities of Madras, Mumbai and Kolkata. There are different types of universities, public, private, technical, agricultural, and so on. Universities are normally run by central or state governments and of course, there are private universities too. Most of the universities do not conduct under―graduate programmes which are normally available in the affiliated colleges. They concentrate more on post―graduation and M. Phil and Ph. D programmes. A survey on the topics of Ph. D theses submitted in Geography to different university departments in the last 50 years may indicate the directions in which Indian Geography has been progressing. The first Ph. D thesis in Geography was submitted to an Indian university in 1940, and till 2000, there were about 2150 Ph. D theses written in Geography. With the UGC emphasizing on Ph. D for teaching at the universities since 1970s, there had been a spurt of Ph. D activities in India during 1980―2000 when about 1600 Ph. D theses were turned out. About 100 scholars get Ph. D awarded every year now from the Indian universities. Banares Hindu University department produced maximum number of Ph. D scholars, followed by Kolkata and Agra10）. During the last three decades many of the north Indian university departments promote the use of vernacular language, Hindi, to write Ph. D theses. Here, as case studies for assessing the progress of Geography from Ph. D theses, University of Madars, Delhi University, Bangalore University and Osmania University are looked into, as the author was able to gather necessary data for these institutions only in the given time. Madras, Bangalore and Osmania universities certainly represent south Indian situations in Geography. Delhi represents the north. All the four universities are public ones, and with affiliated colleges. Delhi University is run by the central government, and the rest, by the state governments. Delhi University, being located in the capital of the country, draws students from different parts of the country, and however, most of the students obviously come from Delhi and the neighbouring states only. Other three universities, though located in the metropolitan cities, draw most of their students from their respective states only. Geography is placed under social science faculty in Delhi University, and under science in other three universities. University of Madras, located in Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, was the oldest one in this four, and celebrated its 150 years of existence last year. Geography department here was instituted only in 1933 ; it has been remaining as a small department till today with a maximum of seven faculty members at any point of time ; and its teaching and research activities became significant only from 1976 onwards, with M. Sc, M. Phil and Ph. D programmes. Currently its focus is more on GIS and Remote Sensing teaching and applications. Delhi University, started in 1922 with three affiliated colleges, and located in the capital of the country, is one of the largest universities in the country. Here too, Geography as department of Human Geography, was instituted very late, only in 1959. Prof. George Kurien, trained in the United Kingdom and professor of Geography at the University of Madras, was the first chair of Geography in Delhi. He was one of the doyens of Indian Geography in 1950s and 1960s. Prof. V.

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L. S. P. Rao, who was known for ‘searching perfect environment for research’ and so shifting his job more frequently, took up the chair from Prof. Kurien in 1966, and he continued to lead the Delhi department till 1973. Delhi department concentrates its research activities more on physical and resource management. Bangalore University in Karnataka was started in 1964 and located in the IT capital of India, Bangalore. It got its Geography department in 1973, and the department is also one of the small departments in terms of faculty members. Urban geography seems to be the thrust area in this department. Osmania University started in 1918 in Hyderabad, the capital of the state, is one of the premier institutions of the state of Andhra Pradesh. Geography department came into existence here in 1942, and it was the first department that got special assistance programme in south India from the UGC. Its focus too has been on urban geography and environmental studies.

University of Madras Fifty eight Ph. D theses that are available at the department library of geography at the University of Madras, were consulted, and they belong to a period from 1976 to 2002. Twenty eight theses are the works on human geography. Urban geography appears to be the prime topic of research, and there are 19 theses on urban―related research. This may be because of rapid urbanization during post―Independence period, its increasing management problems in towns and cities, availability of data, and nearness for data collection. Urban growth, structure, environment and health facilities are the more common topics of research. In the early period, studies of urban growth, hierarchy, functions and morphology and urban fringe were taken up for investigation. In the later period, especially after 1990, different specific issues of the urban centres were addressed. For instance, urban fertility behaviour, urban crime, sprawl and environmental problems, disease ecology of the cities, social ecology and urban working women are some of the topics found favourable with researchers. Almost all the theses included primary data for investigation, besides appropriate secondary data, and factor analysis seems to be the most sought―after statistical tool for most of the researchers. Studies using GIS and Remote Sensing have become a little more frequent since 2000. Thus current research indicates an appreciation of primary data for investigation and a focus on addressing human issues of living, and this is certainly a welcome trend. However, most of the human geography research does not go beyond the local where the institution is located, and certainly it is not a good sign.

Delhi University Department of Human Geography at Delhi University was rechristened as department of Geography when Prof. V. L. S. P. Rao took over the chair in 1966, and since then research activities got accelerated. Between 1966 and 2005, it brought out 63 Ph. D theses, and Year 2000 saw the award of 11 theses, the maximum in the history of the Department ; and Human Geography accounted for 35 theses, more than 50 per cent11）. Urban Geography, followed by agricultural geography and land use studies have been the popular areas of research. There are 11 theses on urban studies, one sixth of the total theses. Delhi University department for Geography has been quite strong in the application of quantitative methods in geographic research, and of course, quantitative applications are more visible in their geomorphic and climatic research than in their studies on Human Geography. Earlier studies were more of agricultural and land use ones, and during 1990s and later, more emphasis was seen on urbanization and its implications. Another interesting point to be noted is that theses were

― 25 ― 506 人文地理第60巻 第 6 号（2008） written, representing different parts of north India, and not Delhi alone. The first thesis of the department carried out by Mr. Edison Dayal in 1965 was on the agricultural geography of Punjab Plains. There are representations of studies from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, , , , Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, , and Orissa12）.

Bangalore University There were 27 Ph. D theses awarded in Geography at the Bangalore University. Physical Geography was the topic of study only in two theses, and the rest looked into the aspects of Human Geography. Again, agricultural geography followed by urban and industrial geographies attracted most of the scholars. There were ten theses on the studies of agricultural geography, and six, on urban studies. Earlier studies were more on industrial development and resource management. Research on agricultural geography got accelerated since 1995, and agricultural land use was the focal theme of many of the studies. Urban studies concentrated more on urban structure. GIS was first used in 2003 in a study on spatial growth of Bangalore Metropolis.

Table 1. Select Universities and Number of Ph. D Th eses in Geography

Delhi University（ 1966―2005） University of Madras（ 1976―2002） Ph. D Th eses : 63 Ph. D Th eses : 58 Th eses on Human Geography : 35 Th eses on Human Geography : 28 Urban Geography : 11 Urban Geography : 18 Agriculture and Land use : 11 Medical Geography : 4 Population Studies : 4 Settlement Geography : 2 Settlement and House Types : 4 Marketing Geography : 2 Industries and Trade : 2 Social Geography : 2 Resource and Regional Analysis : 3

Bangalore University（ 1989―2004） Osmania University, Hyederabad（ Upto 2005） Ph. D Th eses : 26 Ph. D Th eses : 44 Th eses on Human Geography : 24 Th eses on Human Geography : 37 Agriculture and Land use : 10 Urban Geography : 12 Urban Geography : 6 Agriculture and Land use : 9 Industrial Geography : 4 Regional Development : 6 Resource and Planning : 2 Population Geography : 3 Population Geography : 2 Settlement Geography : 2 Marketing Geography : 2 Medical Geography : 1 Industrial Geography : 1 Historical Geography : 1

Source : Personal communication from Prof. B. Th akur（ Delhi University）, Dr. M. Sakhtivel（ University of Madras）, Prof. B. Eswarappa（ Bangalore University）, and Prof.（ Ms.）. Kalpana Markandey（ Osmania University）

Osmania University As on 2005, Osmania University had 44 Ph. D theses on Geography. Here also urban studies followed by agricultural and land use studies are widely―researched fields. Twelve theses were written on urban and nine on land use and agricultural studies. Hyderabad city provided a potential target for many of the researchers. Urban growth and structure and morphology were the earlier themes in urban studies, and later, implications of the city’s growth and spread were also addressed. For instance, role of high ―rise buildings in the city redevelopment, human

― 26 ― Progress of Human Geography in India : A Status Report（SUBBIAH） 507 response to urban environment, and urban fuel consumption were some of the topics of discussion. It seems that application areas in geographic research seem to have drawn more attention of the researchers here.

IV Research Papers published and the Progress of Human Geography

Geography departments at the universities formed their own professional societies to promote interactions among themselves, and there blossomed a number of regional societies with some national participation. A national―level association, National Association of Geographers, India was formed only in 1978. Located in Delhi, it is now the largest one with more than 1000 members, followed by Geographical Society of India, Kolkata, Indian Institute of Geographers, Pune, Regional Science Association of India, , and Indian Geographical Society, Chennai. National Association of Geographers, India meets once in a year in different locations in the country with a conference. Regional associations still continue to function and follow their usual activities of holding regional seminars and workshops, and of publishing monographs and professional journals in Geography. Publication of a journal is the main function of these societies, and invariably the journals are bi―annual. As early as in 1926, Madras Geographical Society started publishing the Journal of Madras Geographical Society, and later the name of the journal was changed to the Indian Geographical Journal. The Indian Geographical Journal was the first journal for Geography in India. Then the association at Aligarh Mulsim University brought out the Geographer, Banaras Hindu University, the National Geographical Journal of India, and Kolkata University, Geographical Review of India. In 1981, the National Association of Geographers, India started its official organ, Annals of the National Association of Geographers, India. By 1980, there were 13） 42 journals serving the cause of Geography, and some of the well―known journals among the Indian geographers are listed in Table 2. Almost all the journals because of financial constraints, internal conflicts, and poor receipt of quality papers, are not able to keep time schedules of their publication. Many of the journals ran out of steam in between, and a very few survives and sustains. It is sad that the publication of the Bombay Geographical Magazine was discontinued from 1971. Geographical Review of India, Transactions of the Institute of Indian Geographers, The Indian Geographical Journal, Annals of the National Association of Geographers, India, the National Geographical Journal of India, the Indian Journal of Regional Science, and the Deccan Geographer are the ones keeping the schedules of publication to a greater extent. B. N. Sinha14） in 1985 brought out a survey, Trends in Geographical Research in India, wherein he built up various statistical tables of geographic papers published in 17 journals（ Table 2）. It is a survey of papers published between 1928 and 1985. He listed another 35 journals which were either closed or of very irregular publication. He grouped the papers on Human Geography under 26 titles, thus indicating 26 directions of geographic research in India until 1985. About 75 per cent of the papers published took up human geographic issues for discussion. Agriculture and land use accounted for 12 per cent of papers, and urban studies, for 11 per cent. Settlement geography and Regional and Resource Geography had a share of 5 per cent each. Another focal field of research was the industrial geography, and about 2 per cent of the papers pertained to quantitative methods.

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Table 2. List of the Well―known Indian Societies and Journals in Geography

Journal University / Association Place Year of Institution

Th e Indian Journal of Marketing Geography Gorakpur University Gorakpur 1983 Annals of the Association of Geographers, India National Association of Geographers, India New Delhi 1981 Transactions of the Institute of Indian Geographers Pune University Pune 1979 Research Bulletin Utkal University Bhubaneshwar 1975 Indian Geography Ravishankar University Raipur 1973 Indian Geographical Studies Patna University Patna 1973 Journal of North East India Geographical Society Guwahati University Gauwhati 1969 Transactions of Indian Council of Geographers Utkal University Bhubaneshwar 1967

Uttar Bharat Bhoogol Patrika（ in Hindi） Gorakpur University Gorakpur 1965 Th e Deccan Geographer Th e Deccan Geogrpahical Society Pune 1962 National Geographer Allahabad University Allahabad 1958 Geographical Outlook Ranchi University Ranchi 1955 Th e National Geographical Journal of India Banaras Hindu University Varanasi 1955 Bombay Geographical Magazine University of Mumbai Mumbai 1953 Th e Geographer Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh 1948 Geographical Review of India University of Kolkata Kolkata 1936 Th e Indian Geographical Journal University of Madras Chennai 1926 Source : B. N. Sinha14）

（1） ICSSR Journals of Abstracts and Reviews : Geography Indian Council of Social Science Research（ ICSSR）, New Delhi is involved in framing policies and in extending research funding for social science research in India. It brings out periodically surveys of research in Geography and abstracts and reviews of research papers published in Geography. Unfortunately these publications are not regular. They give an over view of progress of geographic research in this country. The First Survey was brought out in 1972, and it was the volume of review of papers on Human Geography. Economic Geography, Geography and Planning, Historical Geography, Human Geography, Political Geography, Regional Geography, and Methods were the major topics of discussion in this volume. Fourth Survey of the ICSSR, edited by Prof. Gosal in 1998, reviewed the papers published during 1976―82. It divided the papers under categories of population geography, urban geography, social geography, medical geography, economic geography, and geography of planning. Agricultural and land use studies and urban geography were the dominant fields of research for geographers. Table 3 gives the frequency of abstracts included in the ICSSR Journals for three points of time. The Journal for 1976 included the papers published in geography and related journals during the years of 1973 to 1975, and also it reviewed the papers on India from the journals published abroad too. So, the number of articles reviewed is large. The Volume for 1995 reviewed six journals, and the 1998―99 volume, 11 journals. On the whole, agricultural, urban, population, industrial, regions and planning and methodology seem to have maintained more interest to the researchers. Besides, geography of health and tourism geography seem to be other up―coming fields for research. In 1995, all―India studies were more in number, and further, most of the states of India had at least one paper to their credit. Using secondary data was more normal, and only in nine studies, field studies were undertaken. Census of India was consulted more

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Table 3. ICSSR Journal of Abstracts : Number of Ab- stracts Reviewed

Th emes of Geography 1976 1995 1998―99

Historical 7 ――― 4 Political 8 2 3 Social 20 15 7 Agricultural 60 9 20 Industrial 15 4 10

Trade / Transport 18 ――― 2 Population 28 5 8 Rural 31 3 6 Urban 6947

Region / Planning 59 6 9

Methods 44 ――― 14

Education 18 ――― Nature of Geography 2 1 3 Health 12 Tourism 5 Source : ICSSR Journal of Abstracts and Reviews15）

frequently for data requirement. In regional studies, Lorenz curve and Gini Coefficient and index methods were found adopted for analysis. Statistical tools of correlation and regression were used in some of the papers. In most of the papers, facts were described ; patterns were identified ; but no serious efforts were made to look into the process. In 1998―99 also, there were more papers dealing with all―India study, and the states of Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, , Gujarat and Hayana were studied more frequently. Studies based on primary data and field observations seemed to be gaining importance. Factor Analysis was more often used, and the current tools of Remote Sensing and GIS were also used in a significant proportion.

（2） Th e Indian Geographical Journal A quick survey is undertaken to indicate the trend of research on Human Geography from the papers published during 1980―2006 in the Indian Geographical Journal. About three―fourth of the papers published took up the issues of human geography（ Table 4）. Agricultural geography, social geography, urban geography and geography of health were the dominant fields for research. In agriculture, irrigation and crop―pattern are widely―researched. An interesting turn of event may be noticed during the current decade from the papers published in the Indian Geographical Journal. Papers looking into social and environmental issues, and adopting new technologies like Remote Sensing and GIS have started appearing more frequently. The first paper using GIS was published in 2001, and it analyzed the questions of empowering the marginalized groups, taking a case study from Chennai city16）. The impact of globalization in social reproduction of labour was the topic of discussion in the paper by Swapna Banerjee―Guha of Mumbai University17）. A land use estimation for an urban fringe to the north of Chennai city was 18） worked out in a paper in 2002, using Landsat TM data and adopting GIS. The behavioural

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Table 4. The Indian Geographical Journal : Number of Articles by Th eme（ 1980―2006）

Total Number of Papers published 392

Papers on Human Geography（ Per Cent to Total） 281（72）

Historical Geography（ Per Cent to Human Geography Papers） 11（ 4）

Population Geography 21（ 7） Trade / Marketing 3（ 1）

Urban Geography 38（13）

Methodology 18（ 6）

Settlement 12（ 4） Region / Planning 23（ 8）

Industrial Geography 21（ 7）

Social Geography 38（14）

Agricultural Geography 64（23）

Geography of Health 32（11） Source : Computed by the Author

approach was tested to explain the intra―urban residential mobility by Randhir Singh Sangwan for Rothak city in the state of Haryana19）. A rigourous exercise with Factor Analysis was conducted for Greater Mumbai to bring out the spatial associations of demographic variables, explaining the functional character of different areas of the city20）. National Sample Survey provides another greater source of data for geographers, and Pausumi Basu21）, using this source, built up a series of regression functions to locate the dominant determinants of workforce shifts, and further worked 22） out diversification indices to assess the non―farm employment. Hitoshi Araki, taking case studies of vegetable markets from Delhi, Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo, brought out an interesting study on the changing food supply system since 1980s. In an interesting paper by Prem Chhetri and Robert Inbakaran23） of Australia, a GIS methodology was developed for assessing the landscape attractiveness in natural areas, and the methodology seems to be a handy tool for tourism promoters. Regional development in the context of globalization and outsourcing was very much 24） a current topic of concern, and A. C. Mohapatra took up a meaningful analysis of time ―series data on industry groups and wages and salary costs of regions in the case of business back ― processing offices in India. Indian migrants are now found emerging as a community in Nishikasai, Tokyo, and the community formation of this Indian Diaspora was meaningfully traced and discussed in a recent paper by Munenori Sawa and Takeshi Minamino of Japan25）.

V Progress on Some Fronts of Geography in India

（1） Progress on Urban Geography The Journal of Madras Geographical Association published a series of articles on urban studies 26） during 1927―41 and that was the beginning of urban geography research in India. The book, Banaras― a Study of Urban Geography, authored by Prof. R. L. Singh of Banaras Hindu University in 1955 provided a standard for Indian scholars to carry out urban research. In 1957, the Indian Geographical Journal brought out a special number with seven papers on urban geography. As seen in the ICSSR Journal of Abstracts and Reviews27）, urban geography is studied

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under the headings of process of urbanization, evolution and growth, distribution, functions, morphology and land use, economic and population structure, city regions, planning and development, and quality of life（ poverty and slums）. Growth of urban places was traced in terms of morphology very often in the early stage of urban geography in India. During the early period, urbanization, urban economic dynamics and applied urban geography were the other areas of research28）. K. N. Singh29） listed 675 papers for urban research in his review of the papers published during 1976 and 1982, and observed that trends of urbanization, morphology, hierarchy, rural ―urban migration, urban crimes, urban and metropolitan planning, small towns and urban fringe were the topics widely researched. In the recent years, there has been spurt of research on the topics of socio―economic and demographic structures, and quality of life in urban centres.

（2） Progress on Agricultural Geography Agriculture has been the main stay of the country and a little over 60 per cent of population lives in rural areas engaged in farming and related activities. So there is no wonder that there has been a continuous interest among the Indian geographers on agricultural geography. Agricultural geography has been dominant field for research till today. General land use, cropping pattern and irrigation were the focal themes for long. An intensive study of 60 sample villages by A. T. A. Learmonth of Great Britain in early 1960s in Mysore state, preparing land 30） use maps, was the trend―setter of land use and village studies in India. Studies on agriculture was mostly confined to regional agriculture till 1950s31）, and the monograph, Agricultural Geography of West Bengal32）, brought out by the West Bengal government in 1956, and another monograph, Agriculture in South India33）, by Venkateswaran, are the good examples of studies on regional agriculture. During 1970s and 1980s, the major areas of research in agricultural geography were land use, crop combination, agricultural regionalization, crop productivity and 34） its determinants, and agricultural planning. In this period, micro―level studies were carried out more widely. Thanks to new initiatives brought out by the geographers at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi in 1980s, geographers took interest in discussing the institutional factors of agriculture, and social implications of changes in farm sector, and multivariate statistics was more frequently used especially in the studies on productivity and regionalization35）. In 1990s, there were a few attempts to understand the changing agriculture on the onslaught of globalization, and Frederic Landy of France had an interesting discussion on the internal constraints of Indian agriculture and the growing international market36）. In 2000s too, studies on land use, crop pattern, and productivity continued, and in addition, geographers started using the new technologies of Remote Sensing and GIS also, especially in land use studies（37）.

VI Conclusion

The overall focus of Indian Geography progressed from simple description to analytical assessment aided by modern technologies, both in content and methodology. Before 1950s, Indian geographers largely guided by colonial needs were more involved in documenting the locations and distributions. During 1950―1970, geography and development were emphasized and association analysis was promoted. During 1970―1980, specialization started taking shape in Geography. Quantitative revolution and model building happened, following the changes taken place in the western developed countries, though these statistical models were not much

― 31 ― 512 人文地理第60巻 第 6 号（2008） successful in understanding the Indian situations. Human geographers encountered post― modernism in 1980s, and here they took interest to work more frequently on regional and ecological studies, gender issues and feminism, social inequalities and subaltern groups, behavioural questions and the like. They try to focus on inter―connections between individuals 38） and societies, context and composition and time and space. During 1980―2000, geographers were engrossed with computer applications, and environmental studies and behavioural studies became topics of interest and concern39）. After 2000, GIS and Remote Sensing became the order of the day for geographers. A quick review of the publications by geographers in India from 1990 may indicate that social issues are more and more addressed ; for instance, geographers are found enquiring the issues related to land reforms, women, employment, marketing, out―migration, and levels of development in the field of agricultural geography ; and in political geography, electoral geography had been a dominant theme for long, and now there found a few studies on inter ― state disputes, law of sea, ethnic conflicts, and boundary disputes ; medical geography gets progressed to geography of health ; and in urban and regional planning, studies on slums, crimes, housing and commuting behaviour seem to be increasingly drawing the attention of the researchers in Geography. Trends in Human Geographic research in India may be summarized with the observations made by Robert H. Stoddard40） in one of his studies, consulting the papers published in the National Geographical Journal of India and Geographical Review of India during the years of 1967, 1977 and 1987 : 1. social and urban studies attract more scholars ; 2. most of the articles are descriptive and articles without maps are found increasing in number ; 3. more and more regional perspectives are addressed ; and 4. statistical application is increasing. It appears that Indian geography has to go a long way in achieving excellence in research. Most of the research papers published in Geography do not carry any rigourous exercise on review of literature and theoretical permutations for the issue investigated and presented. Most of the papers are appreciably supported with tables and figures ; tables are mostly univariate one, and bivariate tables do not draw the imagination of the Indian geographers. Line graphs and choropleth maps are also widely used by Indian geographers in their presentation, though they are rarely used for interpretations of the research results. Also, it may be pointed out that cartographic out―puts as presented in the published papers seem to require more scrutiny before publication for content, lay―out and printing. With the availability of large data sets and new technologies, there has been a greater tendency among the Indian Geographers in the last two to three decades to readily sacrifice the context and content for quick and superficial outputs. Prof. Aijazuddin Ahmad, one of the sensitive geographers trained at Aligarh Muslim University, known for his uncompromising commitment to social geography, and who was teaching in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, in one of his lectures, pointed out that ‘in India, geography seems to have submerged itself under an enormous quantity of specific data. The multitude of case studies just remain case studies and do not lend themselves to generalizations, so essential for the development of generic knowledge41）’. Prof. C. D. Deshpande, a sensible and sensitive geographer from western India, lamented that quantitative methods, the introduction of which was noted in late 1970s in India, accelerated the search for developing theories in Geography but they were more concerned with ‘spatial analysis and not for human groups42）’. I t appears that theoretical development in Indian Geography is still poor43）. A. B. Mukerji44） of Punjab University with more frustration, anguish and anxiety explains the failure of Indian geographers in claiming a position in society and in academia, in terms of gerontocracy, missing

― 32 ― Progress of Human Geography in India : A Status Report（SUBBIAH） 513 methodology, sterile stereotypes, blunders of funding agencies, feeble fieldwork, lack of indigenous methodologies, and the bogey of relevance. Anu Kapur, a young geographer from Delhi University who thinks differently and seriously, in one of her critical essays, concludes that Indian geographers lack innovative methodology, and never debates on public policy, and consequently they are absent in social science45）. Though these observations may be valid in a larger sense, it is to be viewed in the context that performance depends on the resources available and the environment in which knowledge production goes on46）.

Notes 1） http : //www. censusindia. gov. in/Census_Data_2001/India_at_glance/glance. aspx 2） Kapoor, Anu., Indian Geography : A Future with Diff erence. New Delhi : Allied Publishers Ltd., 1998. 3）http : //www. educationinfoindia. com 4） Kapur, Anu., Indian Geography : Voice of Concern. New Delhi : Concept Publishing Company, 2002 5） op. cit., footnote 2）. 6） Dutt, Ashok., ‘Hundred Years of South Asian Geography : Paradigm Contrasts’, Th e Indian Geographical Journal, 77（1）, 2002, pp. 1―6. 7） op. cit., footnote 6）. 8） Gosal, G. S., Fourth Survey of Research in Geography. New Delhi : Manak Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1999. 9） http : //www. ugc. ac. in/fi nancial support/science08/geography08. pdf 10） op. cit., footnote 4）. 11） Th akur, Baleswar., Geography in Delhi. New Delhi : Manisha Publications, 2005. 12） （ 1） Th akur, Baleswar., Dimensions of Geographical Research, 1959―1988. New Delhi : Th e Association for Geo- graphical Research, 1989,（ 2） Mohammad, Noor., Dimensions of Geographical Research, 1989―1996. New Delhi : Th e Association for Geographical Studies, 1997. 13） op. cit., footnote 4）, p. 16 14） Sinha, B. N.（ ed.）., Trends in Geographical Research in India. Bhubaneswar : Indian Council of Geographers, 1986. 15） （ 1） Raza, Moonis（ ed.）., ICSSR Journal of Abstracts and Reviews : Geography, Vol. 2. New Delhi : ICSSR, 1976,（ 2） Ahmad, Aijazuddin（ ed.）., ICSSR Journal of Abstracts and Reviews : Geography, Vol. 21. New Delhi : ICSSR, 1995, （3） Daksha C. Barai（ ed.）., ICSSR Journal of Abstracts and Reviews : Geography, Vol. 22 & 23. New Delhi : ICSSR, 2001,（ 4） Daksha C. Barai（ ed.）., ICSSR Journal of Abstracts and Reviews : Geography, Vol. 24 & 25. New Delhi : ICSSR, 2001. 16） Bunch, M. J., ‘GIS for Marginalization or Empowerment in Environmental Management : A South Indian Example’, Th e Indian Geographical Journal, 76（ 2）, 2001, pp. 71―88. 17） Banerjee―Guha, S., ‘Changing Pattern of Social Reproduction of Labour in the Era of Gloablization : A Geogra- pher’s Perspective’, Th e Indian Geographical Journal, 76（ 1）, 2001, pp. 1―10. 18） Duan, F. & Nagata, J., ‘Landuse Estimation using Landsat TM Data : A Case Study of Ponneri, South India’, Th e In- dian Geographical Journal, 77（ 2）, 2002, pp. 99―108. 19） Randhir Singh, S., ‘Determinants of Intra―urban Residential Mobility in Rothak City, Haryana’, Th e Indian Geo- graphical Journal, 77（ 1）, 2002, pp. 21―30. 20） Phadke, V. S. and Mukherji, D., ‘Spatial Association of Demographic Variables in Brihanmumbai（ Greater Mum- bai）, 2001’, Th e Indian Geographical Journal, 78（ 1）, 2003, pp. 27―36. 21） Basu, Pausumi., ‘Rural Non ―farm Employment : Its Dominant Deteminants’, Th e Indian Geographical Journal, 79 （1）, 2004, pp. 11―22. 22） Araki, H., ‘Food Supply Systems of Asian Cities with Special Referenc to Fresh Vegetables’, Th e Indian Geographi- cal Journal, 79（ 2）, 2004, pp. 63―72. 23） Chhetri, P. and Inbakaran, R., ‘GIS―derived Indices for Mapping Landscape Attractiveness in Natural Areas’, Th e Indian Geographical Journal, 80（ 1）, 2005, pp. 23―38. 24） Mohapatra, A. C., ‘Globalization, Business Outsourcing and Regional Development in India’, Th e Indian Geograph- ical Journal, 81（ 2）, 2006, pp. 71―80. 25） Sawa, M. and Minamino, T., ‘Emerging of an Indian Community in Tokyo : A Case Study of Nishikasai’, Th e Indian Geographical Journal, 82（ 1）, 2007, pp. 7―26. 26） op. cit., footnote 4）. 27） op. cit., footnote 15）. 28） Gosal, G. S., ‘Urban Geography : A Trend Report’, in V. L. S. P. Rao. A Survey of Research in Geography. New Del- hi : ICSSR, 1972, pp. 203 ―225.

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29） Singh, K. N., ‘Urban Geography’, in G. S. Gosal（ ed.）. Fourth Survey of Research in Geography. New Delhi : ICSSR, 1998, pp. 170―248. 30） Chatterjee, S. P., Fifty Years of Science in India : Progress of Geography. Kolkata : Indian Science Congress Associa- tion, 1963. 31） Shafi , M., ‘Agricultural Geography : A Trend Report’, in V. L. S. P. Rao（ ed.）. A Survey of Research in Geography. Mumbai : Popular Prakashan, 1972. 32） Mukerji, S. N., A Brief Agricultural Geography of West Bengal. Kolkata : Department of Agriculture, West Bengal, 1956. 33） Venkatesaran, P. A., Agriculture in South India. New Delhi : Ministry of Food and Agriculture, 1961. 34） Bireswar Banerjee, ‘Economic Geogrpahy : A Trend Report’, in Gosal, G. S.,（ ed.）. Fourth Survey of Research in Geography. New Delhi : Manak Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1999. 35） Subbiah, S., ‘Regionalization : A New Taxonomical Procedure Tested’, Th e Indian Geographical Journal, 53（ 1）, 1978, pp. 6―13. 36） Landy, F., ‘Indian Agriculture between Globalization and Internal Constraints’, Th e Indian Geographical Journal, 73 （2）, 1998, pp. 75―95. 37） Suneetha, P. and Ch. Tata Babu, ‘Land Use Modelling through GIS and Remote Sensing’, Th e Indian Geographical Journal, 82（ 2）, 2007, pp. 101―116. 38） Mehta, S., ‘Geography as a Social Science with Post ―modernism’, Annals of the National Association of Geogra- phers, India, 15（ 1）, 1995, pp. 16―30. 39） Singh, R. L. and Singh, R. P. B., Th e Roots of Indian Geography : Search and Research. Varanasi : Th e National Geo- graphical Society of India, 1992. 40） Stoddard, R. H., ‘Trends in Published Research in India’, in R. L. Singh and Rana P. B. Singh（ ed.）. Th e Roots of In- dian Geography : Search and Research. Varanasi : Th e National Geographical Society of India, 1992, pp. 159―166. 41） Ahmad, Aijazuddin., ‘Nature of Dichotomy in Geography : General and the Particular’, Th e Indian Geographical Journal, 58（2）, 1983, pp. 97―106. 42） Deshpande, C. D., ‘Th e Recent Trends in Geographical Th ought and the Indian Context’, Th e Indian Geographical Jouranl, 53（1）, 1978, pp. 1―5. 43） Raza, Moonis., ‘Geography as a Social Science’, in Rao, V. L. S. P.（ ed.）., A Survey of Research in Geography. Bom- bay : Popular Prakashan, 1972, pp. xvii ―xxiv. 44） Mukerji, A. B., ‘What ails Indian Geography ? Some Statements’, in Singh, R. L. and Singh, R. P. B.（ ed.）., Th e Roots of Indian Geography : Search and Research. Varanasi : Th e National Geographical Society of India, 1992, pp. 205―218. 45） Kapur, Anu., ‘Geography in India : A Languishing Social Science’, Economic and Political Weekly, September 11, 2004, pp. 4184―4195. 46） Raju, Sarawathy., ‘Production of Knowledge : Looking for ‘Th eory’ in ‘Familiar’ Places ?’, Geoforum, 37, 2006, pp. 155―158.

Progress of Human Geography in India : A Status Report

Shanmugam Pillai SUBBIAH Professor of Geography（ Retired）, University of Madras, Chennai, India

Geography may be one of the better tools to help us in understanding Indian complexities and, of course, its potential is yet to be convincingly recognized by opinion leaders and policy makers. Geography in India has relatively a brief history, about 80 years only. Sixty-two university depart- ments pursue geography teaching and research in this country, and fi ve professional journals of geography have been relatively consistent in serving the research community in geography. Agri- cultural and land use studies, urban geography, population geography, and settlement geography were the topics of interest in human geography in the early period. Studies on agriculture, urban centers, population and social issues are the dominant fi elds now ; GIS and remote sensing are

― 34 ― Progress of Human Geography in India : A Status Report（SUBBIAH） 515 the current tools with greater popularity. During the 1970s and 1980s, quantitative methods were widely adopted, making use of secondary data available from diff erent government agencies. Th e application of statistical methods initiated some kind of search and urge for theory-building in geography in India. By the 1990s, computer applications and remote sensing became popular tools for geographers. Around this time, there were a few scholars who were advocating social responsibility in the subject, and so studies on gender issues, social conflicts, inequalities and disparities, and many other issues of human problems get some priority now.

Key Words : Human Geography, Progress of Geography, Land use, Agriculture, Urban Geogra- phy, Social Geography

インドにおける人文地理学の展開 ―現状と今後の課題―

シャンムガム・ピライ・スッバイア マドラス大学地理学科（退職）

地理学はインド世界の複雑性を理解するための適切な方法の一つで，こうした地理学の潜在的可能性 は政策立案者らによって広く認識されている。インド地理学の歴史は約80年と浅く，草創期では農業と 土地利用の研究，都市地理学，人口地理学，集落地理学が研究の中心であった。1970年代および1980年 代には，政府系各機関の二次データを活用した計量的手法による研究が普及し，統計的手法の応用はイ ンドの地理学における理論構築をめざした探求が着手される契機となった。そして，1990年代までには， コンピュータの応用とリモートセンシングが地理学者にとって一般的な手法となり，現在では農業，都 市空間，人口，社会問題に関する研究や GIS，リモートセンシングが主要な研究分野となっている。ま た，1990年頃から研究テーマに対する社会的責任を主張する研究者もみられるようになり，今日では性 差別の問題，社会葛藤，不平等と格差など，人間が抱える数多くの問題は優先度の高い課題となってき ている。

キーワード：人文地理学，地理学の発展，土地利用，農業，都市地理学，社会地理学

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