Geographical Record: The National Atlas of India

Summary

This paper reviews the eight-volume *National Atlas of India* (1982), a landmark postcolonial cartographic project initiated by S. P. Chatterjee and produced by the National Atlas Organization. Designed to support economic development, especially agriculture, the atlas offers nationwide and regional perspectives. The study examines the atlas’s format, cartographic design, thematic content, and production background. The massive work employs multiple scales (1:1,000,000 to 1:25,000,000) and projections, featuring 274 maps classified into seven categories, with economic topics accounting for 36 percent and agriculture the largest single subcategory at 16 percent. While recognized as a model national atlas and praised for its precision, several shortcomings are identified: population and economic data are largely outdated (pre-1981 census), industrialization is unevenly mapped, family planning patterns are absent, and post‑Green Revolution agricultural advances are not reflected. Moreover, maps of regional economic development levels are missing, limiting direct planning utility. Despite these gaps, the atlas embodies meticulous fieldwork and cartographic excellence, standing as a symbolic achievement for developing countries and an indispensable reference for the spatial analysis of India. The review concludes that the atlas, though in need of updates, remains a work of high merit and a critical resource for understanding the country’s multifaceted regional geography.