Technology
Restrictions on Survey of India Maps: Logic and Rationale
S. M. Mathur
The fault does not lie only with the SOI top brass but also with the Government which has put all kinds of restrictions on sale and publication of maps.
Gridded maps are ordinarily available freely in shops all over the world, and are standard, for example, the British toposheets. I wonder whether the IRA is using them to bomb British installations!
Publication of maps of India in any form, even in text books of geography, needs the permission of the Surveyor General of India. Matters become complicated if the shore line or international boundary is to be depicted.
I would like to preface this article, lest I am misunderstood, by stating that the Survey of India maps are of very high quality and can compete in accuracy with any in the world. The competence and capabilities of its surveyors and cartographers are not in question. The problem discussed here is about the irrational policies followed by the government and the Survey which put all kinds of hurdles in making their products available to the general public and largely negate the purpose for which the maps are produced. The following is written with the honest intention of reaching the Government and the Survey to reconsider the restrictions that it has placed on the distribution and availability of its maps and publications which need to be accessible freely and widely as they are an important tool in scientific research and developmental work.
The Survey of India (SOI) was established 232 years back in 1767 by the East India Company for mapping the territories it had acquired for developing them for commercial exploitation. Over the time, activities of the Survey were extended to cover more territories as they were annexed to the British Indian Empire (present India. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma) but also same of the adjoining lands like parts of Afghanistan, Nepal, Tibet, etc. Since most senior officers of the company belonged to the military, the Survey too was headed by an army officer. In those times there was need to maintain secrecy about maps because other European powers were also trying to get a foot hold in India which was considered by them as the ‘Land of Gold’, and if fallen in their hands would have been of immense help to them. This arrangement has continued to this day, and may perhaps explain the excessive concern for secrecy by an administration, particularly the military, obsessed or paranoid about keeping secrets and still not be able to come to terms with modern realities.
The Surveyor General’s post is reserved for an officer of the rank of Brigadier or above. There was, however, an ‘aberration’ when Dr. Hari Narain, an eminent geophysist, headed the organisation for some time. The hold of the army is all-pervasive as most senior officers of the Survey belong to the armed forces. This could possibly be the reason for its penchant for secrecy. For most of its existence it has remained in its own cocoon, but lately it has tried to reach the general public by publishing a couple of free-sale booklets for school children and others to teach them about maps. This is a good development, but I sincerely wish that they could be better written.
The hold of the army is reflected on each map and publication of SOI by the pompous declaration printed on them: "Published by the Order of (rank, name and a string of degrees), Surveyor General of India" (emphasis mine). This is possibly a legacy of the centuries old tradition handed down from the times of the East India Company and no body has given a thought to its incongruity and need for change. And since it panders to the ego of the incumbent Surveyor General why change it? Any way, does this signify that the Survey of India is a government within government? It may be noted that publications of all other ministries and departments of the government bear the simple legend: "Printed by the Order of the Government of India"_ which is perfectly justified as it is only the government that can issue such an order according to international norms.
Now the SOI is under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, but things do not appear to have changed much. The fault does not lie only with the SOI top brass but also with the Government which has put all kinds of restrictions on sale and publication of maps. The DST is manned by highly capable and rational scientists who must be helpless in changing the set-up for I can not believe that they are unaware of the antediluvian laws and problems with which the Survey of India is saddled. It may be mentioned in passing that the government is fully cognizant of the fact that the Indian statue books are full of laws and rules that have no modern relevance and have become outdated and anachroic. There is talk in some quarters to review such laws and to repel them, but the law makers are much too busy in politics to bother much about the matter. It, therefore, devolves on thinking bureaucrats and scientists to take the initiative in having such laws examined thoroughly and getting them repealed or amended as required -the sooner the better. But I am afraid that nobody wants to take an initiative in the matter perhaps because of the adages "let the sleeping dogs lie" and "who is going to bell the cat".
All topographical and geographical maps of the Survey of India (and maps derived from them) on the scale of one-million or larger of areas roughly 80 km wide inland along the coast and along the international borders, the whole of the state of Jammu & Kashmir and all the islands in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea are put in "Restricted" category. This means that they are not available to the general public but only to certain categories of people and institutions, particularly government departments as the procedure to obtain them is long-drawn; one has to go through the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of External Affairs and/or the Ministry of Home. The loss or even disclosure of these maps to unauthorised persons attract penal action under Section 5 of the Official Secret Act, 1923.
Restriction of Survey Maps
The aerial photographs of the entire country too are highly restricted and not available to the general public when orbiting satellites of several countries record data and information more detailed than the aerial photographs.
The sheets of Geological Quadrangle Map Series on the scale of 1:250,000 and Geological and Mineral Atlas of India on one million scale published by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) based on the SOI restricted sheets are also ‘Restricted’. These sheets cover some of the most important geological areas and the restriction hampers research. In this connection I have a story to tell. A friend in Australia wanted one of the restricted geological sheets (not knowing anything about their restriction) and wrote to the Indian High Commission, who promptly obtained a copy and supplied to him. When he came to India in connection with his research he showed the map to me and I asked him how he could get the map when I could not. And he told me. So, It is evident that even Indian diplomatic missions abroad do not know about this rule.
The same restrictions are applicable to maps of the unrestricted category which have grid lines printed on them. I understand that SOI gridded maps are meant mostly for the armed forces. Its rationale is incomprehensible. Could it be that since grid lines are used for accurate locations, any unauthorised person should be prevented from knowing exactly where he is? And, prey, how the national security is going to be jeopardised if that chap knows the location? Surely he is not going to fire a Bofors gun! Gridded maps are ordinarily available freely in shops all over the world, and are standard, for example, the British toposheets. I wonder whether the IRA is using them to bomb British installations!
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