Question : Distinguish between radical and welfare approaches in geographic studies.
(2004)
Answer : In the recent past geographers have adopted a number of philosophical approaches and methodologies to interpret man-nature relationship with the objective of proper development of individuals and societies. Now, the main objective of geographical teaching and research is to train students in the analysis of phenomena so that they can take subsequently up the problems of society. Welfare and radical are two such philosophical approaches in geographic studies which emerged due to growing disillusionment with the positivistic-quantitative methdology in solving contemporary problems.
Emergence/development of welfare approach was one of the distinct consequences of critical revolution in the contemporary human geography in the 1970s. It is an approach to human geography that stresses questions of inequality. The welfare approach emerged from the radical reaction to the quantitative and model-building emphasis of the 60s which was thought to be insufficiently concerned with contemporary problems.
A movement towards the welfare approach was infact heralded by D.M. Smith and P.L. Knox. Smith book “The Geography of Social Well-being in the United States” was prepared in the light of growing belief that GNP and national income are not necessarily direct measure of the quality of life.
Welfare geograpy has been defined as that part of geography where we study the possible effects of various geographical policies on the welfare of society. Smith defined welfare geography as the study of “who gets what, where and how”.
A welfare society needs better allocation and distribution of commodities and means of production among classes and among places. The process can be expedited efficiently if geographers who have the knowledge about man-environment interation and spatio-temporal distribution of phenomena, are actively involved in the process of planning and formulation of public policies at all levels.
On the basis of description and analysis of phenomena-geographers evaluate the developmental plans and prescribe suitable strategies for balanced development. Such judgements must be made involving equity as well as efficiency criteria with which geographer is more familier.
The welfare theme helps to clarify four basic taks which have defined the scope of human geography:
1. Description: involves the empirical idenfication of territorial levels of human well-being.
2. Explanation: involves identifying the cause-and-effect links among the various activities undertaken in society.
3. Prescription: is the process of planning the spatial organisation of human activity.
4. Implementation: is the final process of replacing a state deemed undesirable by something superior.
The welfare approach is designed to focus attention on basic questions of distribution and inequality in geographical space. The essence of the approach is to look at areal differentiation and the spatial organization of human activity from the perspective of welfare of the people involved.
On the other hand, whereas welfare geography works in principle within the framework of existing economic and social system. Radical geography which has been established more recently, calls for both revolutionary theory and revolutionary practices.
The growing disillusionament in the American society party as a result of setbacks in Vietnam war, social inequalities, racial tension and the uresponsive attitude of the authority, on the the one hand, and the Marxist theory, on the other hand, formed a broad symbiosis for radical geography. However, according to Peet, radical geography developed largely as a negative reaction to the established disciplines.
Thus, radical geography was developed and supported by thos who criticised geography as a spatial science giving more emphasis on quantitative techniques. Unlike welfare approach, the radicalists believe in the need for a revolution in both theory and practice of geography.
As far as welfare geography is concerned, it believes in value judgements or views as to what really matter most to us, i.e. the relative value, the worth or goodness of different facets of life. But the intention of the radicalists was to displace supposed value-free approaches to scientific method by ones which explicity acknowledged a value system based upon, in cases, a theory of labour value.
As discussed earlier, welfare approach was not influenced by any dogmatic bias while as a hilistic revolutionary science, Marxism provides a firm theoretical base for the radical movement in geography. The man and environment relationship may be understood through history. At the root of the history lay what is called the economic factor, namely the mode of production. Are means of production changed, corresponding changes occured in the relationship among people and between man and environment, from which arose those vital elements in the composition of society such as religion, law, social institutions and government.
Marxist theory not only provides an understanding of the origin of the present system, with its many-faceted inequalities, but also propounds alternative practices which would avoid such inequalities. For Peet, the Marxist science begins with a material analysis of the society, proceeds through a critique of capitalist control of the material base of society and proposes solution in terms of social ownership of that material base.
The research tradition generated by Marxist/Radical approach in geography has four basic components:
(i) The first is the critique of positivist spatial science, and of humanistic geography.
(ii) The second is to provide general theoretical frameworks within which empirical work can be set.
(iii) Thirdly, there is work that seeks to establish how individual act within the structural imperatives.
(iv) Finally, there is detailed empirical work that seeks to understand particular aspects of the subject matter of human geography within the structuralist framwork.
Thus the methodology of the radicals are dialectical materialism and its historical variants-historical materialism. On the other hand, the method in welfare geography essentially appears to be descriptive.
There are other distinctions also between radical and welfare approaches. The welfare approach logically requires a holistic social perspective while radicalists stress a holistic view of economics, society and polity. Welfare Geography, as discussed earlier, is concerned with the spatial social and economic inequality and the forces responsible for this whereas radical geography seeks to explain not only what is happening but also prescribes how to be changed.
Question : Present a critical analysis of human and welfare approaches in Human Geography.
(2003)
Answer : After quantitative revolution, Geography, in the 1970’s and afterward underwent another revolution, and this time the revolution was anti-positivism and critical. The intent was to re-orient human geography towards a more humanistic stance, to resurrect its synthetic character, and to re-emphasize the importance of studying unique events rather than the spuriously general. Both the human and welfare approaches in Human Geography reflect this trend.
Human approach is distinguished by the central and active role it gives to human awareness and human agency, human consciousness and human creativity. It is an attempt at understanding meaning, value and the human significance of life events.
The revival of human or humanistic approach in geography in the 1970s owed much to the deep dissatisfaction with the quantitative/spetial sceince revolution. The basic objection of humanists against quantification is that its tools and assumptions do not adequately explain human world and human issues especially those relating to social institutions, moral, custom, traditions and aesthetics.
One of the first geographers to attract a wide audience with his advocacy of a humanistic approach was Kirk (1951). But it was Yi-Fu-Tuan, who argued for it and introduced the term humanistic geography.
The humanistic approach has been criticized by some scholars on the following grounds:
Most of the criticisms of humanistic geography, are however, not well-founded. The geographical reality of a place or region may be appreciably understood through participant observation and social interaction.
Welfare Approach: One of the distinct consequence of the critical revolution in the contemporary human geography was the emergence of welfare approach in the 1970s. It is an approach to human geography that stresses questions of inequality.
A movement towards the welfare approach was in fact heralded by D.M. Smith and P.L. Knox. Smith’s book “The geography of the social well-being in the United States” was prepared in the light of American social indication movement and the growing belief that GNP and national income are not necessarily direct measures of the quality of life. S.K. Nath defined welfare geography as that part of geography, where we study the possible effects of various geographical policies on the welfare of society. Smith defined welfare geography as the study of “who gets what, where and how”.
Geographers have the ability to analyze the special dimension of environemental problems and more particularly to handle, analyze and interpret spatio temporal data. A welfare society needs better allocation and distribution of commodities and means of production among classes and among places. The process can be expedited efficiently if geographers who have the knowledge about man-environment interaction and spatio-temporal distribution of phenomena, are actively involved in the process of planning and formulation of public policies at all levels.
On the basis of description and analysis of phenomena, geographers evaluate the developmental plans and prescribe suitable strategies for balanced development. Such judgements must be made involving equity as well as efficency criteria with which geographer is more familiar.
There have been some leading works which have proved usefulness in the public policy making such as Geography of crimes, urban slums, Black-Ghetto, environmental degradation, etc. It is an encouraging fact that now geographers all over the world are envisaging research on social problems and in collaboration with other scientists help in designing public policies.
Geographers in India can also provide pragmatic proposals for solving the various socio-economic problems facing the rapidly increasing population. For this purpose, geographers have to assert themselves through thier applied and utilitarian researches.
The method in welfare geography essentially appears to be descriptive. However, the early pre-occupation with descriptive research has now given way to more process-oreinted work on the question of how inequality arises.
Implicit in welfare approach is a recognition that the issues in question extend beyong the limits of single discipline. The welfare approach logically requires a holistic social perspective. Welfare approach attempts to make human geography more relevant to contemporary social problems.
Question : Radical Approach in Human Geography
(2001)
Answer : Radial geography appears to be an outcome of a new critical revolution in the contemporary human geography, which seemed to have occurred largely as a result of the critiques of spatial science tradition in human geography. As a holistic, revolutionary science, Marxism provides a firm theoretical base for the radical movement in geography. Marxism offers an opportunity to develop an integrated comprehension of reality as a whole. The Marxist theory renounced that the scientific laws of society are eternal. Society has inbuilt conflicts in it, which tend to resolve themselves by change both in practice and in theory.
The growing disillusionment in the American society, partly as a result of the Vietnam war, social inequalities and injustice, racial tension, and the unresponsive attitutde of the authority to the needs of the under privileged on the one hand and the Marxist theory on the other hand formed a broad symbiosis for radical geography. However, according to Peet (1977), radical geography developed largely as a negative reaction to the established disciplines, a reaction which was initially formulated within existing methods of positivism.
The first step in the development of a mature radical practice of geography was the emergence of a liberal viewpoint. This was an attempt to find more socially appropriate uses for the existing techniques and theories and yet to maintain the basic ideas and values of the social system. However, Peet (1977) has argued that the early ‘radical’ work by geographers in the late 1960s was liberal in its attitude.
The radical geographers, with their concern for social values and political action have rejected the traditional concept of geography. Although, the radicals generally remain interested in the human/environmental and spatial relationships, they spurn the system of theory and methodology that are viewed as providing only partial accounts of reality and as serving the interest of a select social group or class. Most radical geographers accept geography as a legitimate field of study and feel that it has much to offer in finding solution to the world problems. The radical geographer’s aim is the alteration of the operating societal processes by changing the relations of production.
Question : Describe the sequence of major paradigm shifts in geographic thought during the twentieth century.
(1999)
Answer : The term 'Paradigm' serves as a convenient description for the dominating pattern of thought prevailing in a discipline. S.T. Kuhn - an American, in his model of 'paradigm of science' defines paradigm as ''universally' recognised scientific achievements that for a time provide model problems and solutions to a community of practitioners'. Kuhn in his postulate, advocates that the development of science consists of various phases as shown in the figure given below:
The first phase of pre-paradigm period is marked by conflict among several distinct schools while later on Professionalization starts when one of the conflicting schools of thought begins to dominate. The next, paradigm phase is characterized by a dominating school of thought, which has, often in quite a short span of time, supplanted other. There after occurs stagnation leading to crisis phase with revolution which is again followed by the paradigm phase and so on. The discipline of Geography had to confront many evolutionary and methodological problems over the last one humdred and fifty years. It passed from the descriptive and teleological phase to the quantitative, radical and dialectical materialism stage. Different methodologies have been adopted, yet a consensus has not been reached about the nature of the discipline and its laws and paradigms.
In Kuhn's terminology, geography was in the pre-paradigm phase until the time of Darwin. Kant did not set forth a paradigm for geography but clarified the role of the subject and its position in relation to other contemporary sciences.
Carl Ritter (1779-1859), one of the founders of modern geographical thought, was probably the first geographer to have provided a clear description of his method. An advocate of empiricism in geography, he used inductive method and offered a teleological explanation of phenomena. Such a philosophy can not be tested empirically and therefore does not quantify as a scientific explanation. It does however have the qualities of a paradigm as defined.Ritter's teleological approach is generally taken to mean that a phenomena is explained in relation to the purpose it is supposed to serve. Because of this philosophy, it is difficult to identify the professionalism phase in geography.
Darwin dominated and revolutionized the entire philosophy of science in the post-Ritterian period and brought a cause and effect approach in explaining spatial distribution of phenomena. It was largely from the Darwinian tradition that Friedrich Ratzel led the subject into the first phase of professionalism and then the determinist school founded by him represented the first paradigm phase in geography.
It was especially after Darwin that scientists were looking for the governing laws of nature (and the materially conditioned social laws) and to a considerable extent adopted a monothetic or law making approach. At this stage, inductive explanations were increasingly replaced by hypothetic-deductive methods. These were used to postulate a set of hypotheses which could be confirmed, corroborated or rejected by testing empirical data. The theory of normal cycle of erosion of W.M. Davis and the Heartland theory of Mackinder fell under this category of geographical models. As a result of such paradigms, geography acquired recognition and respect in the community of sciences.
The ruling deterministic paradigm of Ratzel-Semple-Huntington was challenged by a new possibilist-regional paradigm, developed by the French school of geography led by Paul Vidal de la Blache. The possibilist paradigm presented a model of man perceiving the range of alternative uses to which he could put an environment and selecting that which best fitted his cultural dispositions. Geographers were trained to concentrate on the study of the unique single region.
After the Vidalian tradition, the major concern of geographers became to study regions. The regional paradigm flourished in France and got diffused to United Kingdom and United States. Richard Hartshorne's name is very much associated with the regional paradigm. This paradigm which was dominant before and just after the second world war, was not only an attempt at generalisations but at generalisations without structured explanations. Later on this approach also became inadequate and a period of crisis emerged.
It was Shaefer who brought about a paradigm shift when he criticised the exceptionalists, claim made for the regional paradigm. With his Spatial Organisation paradigm, he initiated what may be called the quantitative and theoretical revolutions in geography.
However the major advances for the quantitative school were made in the 1960's by Peter Hagget Richard Chorley and David Harvey. Now geographers began using more models especially in the field of human geography. Many of them have been strongly pleading for system analysis. Weber (1977) identified an entropy-maximizing paradigm which focuses on location models and interaction models.
Since early 1950's the discipline of geography has been subject to frequent paradigm shifts as geographers have attempted to explore a multiplicity of philosophical avenues and research strategies such as positivism, pragmatism, phenomenology, existentialism, idealism, realism and dialectical materialism.
Question : What is understood by quantification in Geography? Discuss the significance of quantification in modern geographical studies with examples.
(1998)
Answer : In the past few decades, especially in the 1950s and 1960s geography underwent a radical transformation of spirit and purpose best described as the quantitative revolution. It is this quantitative revolution, also termed as quantification which brought a sudden change in the existing structure of the discipline. Before 1960s there were only descriptive studies in geography but the quantification brought mathematisation of much of our discipline with an attendant emphasis on the construction and testing of theoretical models.
It was after the second world war that the geographers especially those of the developed countries realised the significance of mathematical language than the language of literature. Consequently empirical descriptive geography was discarded and greater stress was laid on the formulation of abstract models and use of statistical technique.
Quantitative methods help in organising and processing data and reaching at a sound conclusion, all interwoven in the framework of statistics. Statistical method includes the theory of frequency distribution, theory for hypothesis testing (for e.g.. chi2 and significance test) and aspects of general linear model. Quantification also introduced the use of computers for the analysis of data.
It is after the advent of quantification that geographers started concentrating more on field study, generating primary data, utilising secondary data and applying sampling technique. The concept of statistical significance can reveal to a geographer avenues which are not worth following as well as those which are worth while. Besides the basic restructuring of the discipline brought by the quantification by changing the methods and technique, the quantitative revolution also includes some innovative theories and approaches, the significance of quantification can be analysed through these theories and approaches which are as follows.
Question : Critically examine the concept of dualism with special reference to Physical versus Human Geography.
(1997)
Answer : In the delineation of the sphere of geography, and the methodology to be adopted for its study, there have existed and still exist significant dualism and dichotomies such as systematic versus regional geography, physical versus human geography, deterministic versus possibilities geography etc. Dualism is however, not the exclusive domain of geography, this is found in other disciplines too though in varying degrees.
During the period of prehistory of geography, an obscure and vague dualism can be found in the writings of the Greek, Roman and Arab geographers. Dualistic thinking became more conspicuous during the post - renaissance period in Europe. Since then geography seems to have been visible into a number of mutually exclusive branches. These dichotomies or branching of the subject look quite logical. Geography is an integrative science and hence there is a debate over which branch and which methodology should be given central focus in geography.
In the words of P.E James, acceptance of many dichotomies, is a semantic trap. The dualism of topical versus. regional, physical versus human, determinism versus possibilism, ideographic versus monothetic, formal sites versus functional locations are not mutually contradictory, such as good and evil. All these dichotomies and dualism have done particular damage to geographical thinking. These dualisms have projected the various approaches in geography as being contradictory to each other which, in reality, are complementary or a subordinate part of the other.
Some of the most prominent of the dualisms are the following:
Physical versus Human Geography: As regards dichotomy of physical geography versus human geography, the Greeks were probably the first who started this branching of the discipline. Hecataeus gave more weight to physical geography, while Herodotus and Strabo emphasized the human aspect. Dualism of physical versus human geography is still a characteristic of the discipline. Some writers have regarded it as essential for the justification of the role of geography, while others have argued for it as also for a division of the subject into physical and human geography on the ground that the respective methodologies of physical and human geography must be different. In studies of natural phenomena including climatology, meteorology, oceanography, geology and geomorphology, it is possible to use the methods of natural sciences and to draw conclusions with a large number of scientific precision.
The methods of natural sciences are not so much suited to the study of social and cultural phenomena. Our generalization about human groups must be limited in time and space, and it must be in the nature of probabilities rather than certainties. In the initial stage of the development of the geography, major emphasis was placed on the physical geography because of the fact that this discipline was taught by teacher, who had geology background. Verenius was one of the first scholars to suggest essential differences between physical and human geography. Kant, Humboldt, Reclus, M. Somerville, A. Penck, Koppen, W.M. Davis, Mill, Jafferson and Dokuchaive were mainly interested in the physical geography. On the other hand, Carl Ritter was more inclined towards human geography. Ritter and Ratzel were among the first who considered man as an agent who brings change in the landscape. Febvre placed emphasis on the fact that human beings are an element of the landscape, a modifying agent of the environment which humanizes it.
It was Vidal de La Blache who founded the school of human geography. According to Vidal, it is unreasonable to draw boundaries between natural and cultural phenomena; they should be regarded as united and inseparable. He realized the futility of setting man's natural surroundings in opposition to his social milieu and of regarding one dominating the other. J. Brunches developed the principles of activity and interconnection while delineating conceptual framework of human geography.
The basic philosophy of the followers of human geography was to establish a man-nature mutual relationship in which each of the two is dependent on the other.
All geographical studies are aimed at developing an understanding of the earth surface and its physical and social phenomena both as spatially varying entities unique in their own way as well as components in a mutually interacting system. The methodology adopted may differ widely from field to field, so much as to make the very unity of the field rather doubtful.
Above discussion reveals that the dualism of physical versus human geography is artificial and illogical. This dualism has arisen in the course of historical development of the discipline. In fact, geography does not fall into two groups, i.e. physical and human, these two are just the two extremes of a continuum. In fact, it has been realized that we could not possibly explain human choices and actions solely in terms of relationship with the natural environment. For the development of geography as a discipline, the rift between physical and human geography must be closed.
Question : Examine critically the concepts of determinism and possibilism. Bring out the significance of regional concept.
(1997)
Answer : Determinism and Possibilism are two major schools of thought in geographical concepts which have evolved in the course of presentation of divergent viewpoints to interpret the main focus of geography - the dynamic relationship between humans and the natural environment. Deterministic philosophy states that the environment controls the course of human action while possibilitsts' viewpoint is that people are not just pawns in the hands of natural environment.
Determinism: Deterministic thinking believes that the history, culture, living style and stage of development of social groups or nations are entirely dependent on the physical factors (terrain , climate, flora & fauna) of environment. In other words, the variation in human behaviour around the world can be explained by differences in natural environment. The determinists generally consider man as a passive agent on which the physical factors are acting and determining his attitude and process of decision-making.
An interest in determinists, tradition can be traced back from classical antiquity. The Greeks and Romans including Hippocrates, Aristotle, Herodotus etc. made the first attempt to explain the physical and cultural features with reference to natural conditions. Deterministic trend continued to dominate the writtings of Arab geographers.
Later on, for the determinists Darwin's classic work "Origin of Species" appeared as the most significant work since it emphasizes a man- nature relationship and charts a developmental sequence. It gave a scientific basis to deterministic approach.
Influenced by Darwin's work, Fredrich Ratzel stressed on the extent to which men live under nature's laws. He held the view that similar locations lead to similar mode of life. Miss Semple of U.S., a staunch determinist, offered a mechanical approach to explain the geographical influences. E. Huntington, an American protagonist of Climatic determinism, believed that civilizationscould only develop in regions of stimulating climate. He even produced a map, showing that temperate climates had the highest level of health and energy and civilization. The subsequent geographers like Halford Mackinder, Chisolm, Davis, R. Mill, Taylor etc. interpreted the progress of human societies with deterministic approach.
After the Second World War, many geographers started drawing attention to the one-sided approach adopted by determinist in their interpretation of historical reality and the fact that they only acknowledge man as capable of passive attempts at adaptation. Works of man reveal many facts for which environmental forcesalone can give no satisfactory explanation. For example, similar environment does not always invoke the same response. Pygmy hunters share the equatorial forests of Central Africa with agricultural Negroes in aremarkable symbiosis.
Determinism is regarded by many people as overtly simplistic because it neglects the cultural factors that affect human behaviour. Another criticism is that determinism is not a universal hypothesis which can be tested empirically. It is further argued that man is not the product of his environment but the creation of his social rules and customs.
Spate criticized the fanatic approach of determinist by stressing that "environment taken by itself is a meaningless phrase; without man environment does not exist". Similarly, Hartshorne rejected determinism purely on the ground that the latter separates nature and man and thus is disruptive of fundamental unity of the field.
Environment undoubtedly influences man,man in turn changes his environment and the interaction is so intricate that it is difficult to know when one influence ceases and other begins.
Possibilism: This philosophy attempts to explain man and environment relationship in a different way, taking man as an active agent. According to it, the natural environment presents options, the no. of which increases as the knowledge and technology develop.
After the First World War, a sociological trend was put forward by L. Febvre who was the first to term it as Possibilism. He wrote: "There are no necessities, but everywhere possibilities". Obviously this concept evolved in reaction to the over emphasis of deterministic trend.
It was French geographer Vidal de la Blache who advocated and preached the philosophy of possibilism. According to him, genres de vie are the products and reflection of a civilization, representing the integrated result of physical, historical and social influences. He stressed that differences in life-styles are not because of physical environment but due to the variation in attitudes, values and habits.
According to possibilists, nature is never more than an adviser. The work of man, not the earth and its influences are the starting point, the most important is the freedom of man to choose.
However, man's choice may be extremely limited in marginal environments and at low stages of culture. In the more favourable areas, the possibilities are more numerous. But notwith standing many skills the man acquires, he can never free himself entirely from nature'scontrol.
Though man has numerous possibilities in a given physical setting, he can attempt to go against the nature's directives only at his own peril. The prospect of many environmental problems threatening the world today (e.g. global warming, pollution etc.) indicates this point.
Moreover, possibilism does not encourage study of geographical environment, rather it promotes over anthropocentrism in geography. Possibilism has thus tended to exaggerate the role of culture and to neglect the importance of natural environment.
Significance of Regional Concept: Region is a dynamic concept. It can be broadly defined as an area having the homogeneity of the physical and cultural phenomena.
The basic objective of the discipline of geography is to provide accurate,orderly and rational description of the variable character of the earth surface. So, the geographer's main concern is how physical and cultural features of areas are alike or different from place to place and what all these differences and similarities mean for people. Thus, region is a device of area generalization. The generalization of the features of the earth's surface is to make the infinitely varying world around us understandable through spatial (regional) summaries.
Another significance of regional concept lies in regionalism or subnationalism. Regionalism is a movement which seeks to politicize the territorial predicaments of its region with the aim of protecting or furthering its regional interest. For geographers, regionalism may be a good area for research, especially to identify the basis of regional strong biases in a particular area and to predict the future pattern of behaviour of the people of that region.
Question : Discuss the contribution of Al-beruni towards the development of geographical knowledge.
(1995)
Answer : Al-beruni (full name Abu Rayhan Mohammad) was one of those prodigious minds at work in the medieval world whose creative, versatile, scientific and international outlook, coupled with universality of thought, amaze the modern world.
Through his dedication and vast knowledge he achieved great scholarship in philosophy, religion, mathematics, chronology, medicine and various languages and literatures. He was more of a synthesizer than a dogmatic scholar, a keen observer of comparative studies par excellence. Al-beruni's position as a scientist and scholar may be appreciated from the fact that the eleventh century has been regarded as the 'Age of Al-beruni'.
Although a Tajic by race, Al-beruni was Persian by culture. He was a prolific writer and had written a number of books. His major works include:
Al-beruni translated from Sanskrit into Arabic the original title of Patanjali which contains valuable information on India and China. He wrote 27 books on geography, four each on cartography, geology and climatology and remaining seven books on comets, meteors and surveying. His main field of study, however, was astronomy.
As astronomy is inter-related with a number of other sciences such as cosmology, mathematics and geography, Al-beruni magnum opus, the Qanun - al - Masudi is modelled on the pattern of the Almagast of Ptolemy. Al-beruni considered the universe to be situated on the outermost surface of a limited sphere. After discussing the basic problems relating to the sphericity of the skies and the earth, the geocentric theory, the nature of the eastern and western notions of the heavens, he goes on to define the imaginary circles and signs so often referred to in astronomy and geography, i.e. the poles, the equator, longitudes and latitudes, obliquity and the signs of zodiac.
Al-beruni devoted special attention to the study of time and dates. He studied the calendars of different nations. He wrote a book-Risalah- about the day and night which also proved the duration of a six month day at the poles. He also compiled a small treatise on the Indian determining division of time.
In his monumental work, Qanum-al-masudi, he presented a masterly exposition of both the solar and lunar eclipses. He also discussed the reasons and timings of dawn and twilight. He found that twilight occurs when the sun is 180 below the horizon. Modern researches have confirmed Beruni's findings.
About the moon, he asserted that it does not move in a perfect circle. He measured the longest and shortest distance of the moon and the earth.
About the tides, he opined that the increase and decrease in the height of the ebbs and tides occurred on the basis of the changes in the phases of the moon. He gave a very vivid description of the tides at Somnath and traced the latter's etymology to the moon.
He rejected the Aristotle's contention that the 'Milky Way' was under the sphere of planets and correctly estimated it to belong to the highest sphere of the stars. He also attacked Aristotle for believing that stars cause injury to eyesight and are responsible for sorrow.
Al-beruni had special interest in geomorphology and paleontology. His studies of fossils in the plains of Arabia, Jurjan and Khwarizm pointed to the existence of sea at these places in some by gone age. According to him, the Indo-Gangetic plain was formed by the silt brought by the rivers. He also discussed the occurrence of floods and springs.
He correctly estimated the known habitable world as greater in length, i.e. from China in the east to Morocco and Spain in the west. He also had an accurate idea of the different bays, gulfs and smaller seas. He referred to the Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, Red Sea and even the China Sea.
Al-beruni wrote extensively and accurately about the geography of India. His estimate of India's extent from the forests of lower Kashmir to the Deccan Peninsula is amazingly close to the real dimensions of the sub-continent. He had a definite idea of its peninsular form. The mountains of Himavant and Meru (Pamir) surrounded it in the north. He said that the Eastern and Western Ghats controlled the distribution of rainfall in peninsular India.
He provided detailed accounts of the sources of rivers. However, excepting the Indus his information about, other rivers is limited. He was the first person to provide correct information about the Indus, its origin, course and floods.
Al-beruni provided valuable information about north - western India, particularly Kashmir. He also described the city of Kannavj the city traditionally associated with the Pandavas. He gave an accurate account of the seasons of India. He described the nature of the monsoon. He explains how Kashmir and the Punjab receive rainfall during the winter season.
Al-beruni also discussed the origin of castes in Hindu society, idolatry and Hindu scriptures. His study of Samkhya, the Gita, Patanjali, Vishnu Dharma and of some of the Puranas, coupled with his acquired knowledge of the Vedas, provided Al-beruni with a unique opportunity to give the first objective description of Hindu beliefs. In brief, the gigantic labour, scientific reasoning and untiring efforts made Al-beruni one of the most outstanding contributors to geography in the medieval period.