It is my great pleasure to be with you
this evening and deliver the Todar Mal Memorial
Lecture. I regard myself as part of you. Surveying, mapping technology
and the like are equally my concerns. Those of you who come from Kerala, the state to which I belong, would know that
my last name Menon stands for the persons
concerned with property ownership, surveying and boundary demarcation. So
I have an association with all those activities which concern you as
cartographers.
Apart from that, the Survey of India, as a part of the
Department of Science and Technology, was under my charge for some time.
In that capacity, I tried to integrate a variety of activities in the
fields of micro-electronics, computers, remote sensing, national natural
resource management system and planning. Maps are required practically
for all purposes. Map making is emerging as an important field of modern
day life. This skill formation is a direct part of geographic learning.
Geography, with cartography as one its methodologies, is an extremely
important discipline.
Cartography is much more than simple preparations of
maps. It has a human aspect as well. Every map has always a message to
convey, especially for those involved in the process of planning. Thus,
cartography is the most vital input for planning.
Landscape is dynamic. Maps of Chandigarh
prepared ten years ago may look obsolete today. These require constant
revision. Maps, prepared in time series, reveal the dynamism of
landscape. Here I may emphasise the importance
of geography for humankind at large. This discipline has a direct
relevance for planning, which is a space bound enterprise. It has not
been accorded its due place in spatial planning. A time has come when
this distortion must be corrected. Geographers play an important role in
highlighting changing space-time relationship through the medium of
cartography.
Change is visible in all spheres. Population is growing
fast. Human needs are increasing. Pressure on energy and food resources
is intensifying. Coal, a fossil fuel, and hydel
power continue to be the chief sources of energy. Nuclear power is
equally important. When fossil fuel is used as energy, it releases
carbon. Carbon dioxide is known as green-house gas. It is leading to
global warming. The entire scenario is changing. In this world you are
not dealing with a static situation. It is not a simple situation but
most complex one. All this increases the responsibility of geographers.
They have to represent graphically this highly complex web of phenomena.
For this, they have to interact with inter-related disciplines of
physics, geology, chemistry and others. The coordinating role of
geography remains indispensable, however.
We are not dealing with natural phenomena alone but also
with their implications for human phenomena. For example, a lot of
migration is taking place from rural areas to urban places. In 1950,
there were only two cities in the world, with a population of about 35
million. The ten largest cities of the world would include Calcutta and Bombay
in India.
All this can be better understood and analysed
with the help of maps.
What is the output of a city? A lot of garbage. How do we
dispose it off? Keeping in view the amount of garbage being generated by
increasing population of growing cities, it seems that soon there would
be no space left for normal garbage disposal.
By 2025, two-thirds of the world's population would be
having an urban residence in coastal cities such as Tokyo, New York
and Sau Paulo. Planning of physical services,
such as electricity, roads, hospital and educational institutions will be
a tremendous job. The task can be done better with the help of
cartography. It can indicate what should be done where.
We need to provide all inputs to policy makers, planners
and administrators. Cartography becomes handy in this respect. For maps,
adequate database is required to be built up. Here information collected
from satellites is of special significance. At the same time, computers
are essential for digitising the satellite
imageries.
This congress must deliberate as to what are the
cartographic needs of India.
I would go to the extent of emphasising that we
require a 'Cartographic Mission'. The requirements of an effective and
efficient administration are to be kept in view. There is need to map the
country extensively. We need doing land use mapping, waste land mapping,
drought prone area mapping and so on. We need maps as a base for our
plans and as solution to complex problems. Cartographers should no longer
remain on periphery. They must be the most vital part of any inter-disciplinary
team of specialists dealing with the complex situations emerging on the
world map. Geography must be at the centre stage of any
multi-disciplinary team involved in the process of policy formulation and
decision making. Geography must get its rightful place, and in its own
turn, it must promote cartography.
Thank you
