Geography of South India

Part of ’Population and Space in South India’ project

Objectives

Regional geography in India has not seen any major transformations since the studies carried out by Spate in the 1960s. Geographical landcape analysis in India inclusive of their socio economic and cultural aspects, has contented itself with a global approach confined for the most part to districts or States.

The project aims to compensate for geographic shortcomings by presenting detailed information at a local level (village cluster) based on cartography and explanatory remarks.

Due to constraints of data and volume, this study is confined to a sub-region of the Indian subcontinent i.e the South of India whose socio-cultural cohesion is a well established fact. Several researchers of EMIS (Espace et Mesure en Inde du Sud) are associated with the project.

Materials and Methods

This project is based on cartographic exploitation of the resources in implementation of the IFP South India Fertility Project. It is a cartographic representation of the socio-cultural phenomenons of South India at a micro level. The techniques utilised (interpolation by Kriging) have been taken from the field of Earth Sciences for a more innovative application in the Social Sciences.

Every map is accompanied by remarks from specialists in the field (an important value-addition for the project) The end product is a detailed atlas comprising of about 80 maps with a fresh perspective on spatial organisation in South-India.

The atlas has been published by Cybergeo , the European Journal of Geography, and this will ensure wider audience receptivity in India and abroad.

Partners

• IRD (Laboratoire Population-Environnement-Développement)
• CNRS (UMR Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud & UMR Milieux, Sociétés et Culture en Himalaya)
• CIRAD
• University Paris 1 (UMR Géographie-cités), France
• University Bordeaux III, France
• University of Madras, Team "Space and measure in south India"

Funding

• French Institute of Pondicherry
• Welcome Trust
• Institut de Recherche pour le développement

Team

IFP

• S Oliveau, Phd student (Paris I/IFP)
• Dr. Christophe Z. Guilmoto, researcher (IRD/IFP)
• Thanuja, Phd student (IFP/ University of Madras)
• Joe Vimal Raj, research assistant (IFP)
• Sattia Vingadassamy, research assistant (IFP)
• R. Amuda, research assistant (IFP)

Other

• Dr. Frédéric Landy, researcher (Université Paris X - CEIAS)
• Dr. Olivia Aubriot, researcher (CNRS - UMR Milieux, Sociétés et Culture en Himalaya)
• Dr. Stéphanie Vella, researcher (Université Bordeaux III)
• Dr. Claude Garcia, researcher (CIRAD)

Main Outputs

A copy an on-line atlas in Cybergeo may be viewed at the following adress : http://www.cybergeo.presse.fr/AtlasSIndia/html/