The Geological Imagination in English Writings on India, 1625-1940

This book explores British writings on the geology of the Indian subcontinent to uncover the forms of geological imagination that shaped imperial perspectives on mining, antiquity, and the aesthetic appeal of the land. S.G.T. Healy’s 1843 essay in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal highlights the interplay between geology and business management in iron ore mining, while T.H. Holland’s 1905 Records of the Geological Survey of India provide mineralogical maps, reviews of mineral production, and essays on fossil records, mineral wealth, and commercial outputs. Holland and others emphasize the classification of minerals by their economic reliability, underscoring a strong profit-driven motif in geological discourse.Drawing on texts from the Records of the Geological Survey of India, Geological Magazine, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and others, this book situates geology as a science that facilitated imperial designs on India’s surface and subsurface. Informed by contemporary works, it breaks new ground in examining colonial texts on India’s geology. By mapping the intersections of science, commerce, and imperialism, this study contributes significantly to understanding British colonialism and its engagement with India’s natural resources.