63k or 50k Maps of South Asia

A set of over 6,600 historical maps of South Asia produced by the Survey of India or the Survey of Pakistan, at scales of one inch per mile (1:63,360) or the more modern metric scale of 1:50,000.  These maps cover the territory of present day Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh, and in general were produced during the 20th century.  Each map covers an area of 15 minutes latitude by 15 minutes longitude, and thus there are a total of 256 individual 63k maps to cover a 4 degree by 4 degree block.

The file naming convention is to give first the number of the 4 degree x 4 degree block followed by the letter (A to P) of the sixteen 1 degree x 1 degree blocks in each 4 degree block eg. 38 D, and this is followed by a "]" symbol to indicate a slash and then a number from 01 to 16 to indicate the number of the map in the 1 degree block.  This Number Letter Number designation is followed by the name of one of the administrative districts encompassed by the map, followed by the date of publication in parenthesis.  If a map is reprinted without changes sometime after its initial publication, it is the date of initial publication that is used.

Two Index Maps are provided at the top of the set of map files to assist the viewer in selecting a map of interest.  An index map with the title "0 Topographical Indexes of Survey of India" shows the sheet numbering system used by the Survey.  A second set of index maps with the title "0 Index to Survey of India 63k and 50k maps" shows greater detail with a complete page for each 4 degree block.  After selecting the number designation of the map of interest, the viewer can click the blue link to the block of interest below to se the Index map for that particular block, followed by the list of available maps in that block.  Clicking the "Preview" button of any map file will open a preview of the map, which will display at the very top of the list of maps.  A click on the "Download" button will download the full size map file to the viewers computer, where it will be found in the Download folder.  The viewer may find it convenient to use the Search Function (Windows: Ctrl-F or Mac: Cmd-F) to more quickly navigate to any particular map of interest.  

These map scans are collected from many sources, and the quality of the scans as well as the underlying paper maps is uneven.  Some scans are professionally done, while others are of poor quality.  On the assumption that 'some map is better than no map,' we include the poor quality scans until a better copy can be obtained.

Links to each block of maps: