The preparation of district, provincial and Imperial gazetteers was part of a tradition set up by the Raj. British civilians in India undertook the preparation of these enormously useful projects under their supervision. District Officers of Deputy Commissioners assisted in the collection of material and often wrote entire reports themselves. These Official records provide a wealth of material on all aspects of the regions covered by their districts or provinces. They also include detailed information about the inhabitants, their way of life, habits, customs, religious rites and rituals, festivals and indeed everything concerning them. The Darjeeling district gazetteer by L.S.S.O. Malley was first published in 1907. Named after the Buddhist monastery of Dorje Ling or the place of thunderbolt, this district forms an irregular triangle 1164 square miles in areas, its base resting on Sikkim in the north while its apex stretches into Bengal in the south. It is demarcated form Nepal in the west by the Singatita mountain chain and its northeastern mountain chain and its northeastern boundaries are with Bhutan and the districts of Jalpaiguri and Purnea respectively. Ranging in altitude form 3,000 to 12,000 feet above the sea level, this largely hilly region is drained by the Mechi, Balasan, Mahanadi , Tista and Jaldhaka rivers. Its vegetation ranges form pine, oak, maple and cheastnut forests and tea gardens at the higher altitudes to palm and plantain in the marshy terai. This timely reprint provides an excellent reference tool to researchers in all social science disciplines.
Lewis Sidney Steward O' Malley I.C.S. was educated at Edward School, Normich and graduated from Hertford College, Oxford. He was appointed in 1897. He arrived in India on 7th Dec 1898 and Served in Bengal as Assistant Magistrate and Collector. He later joined as Under Secretary to Govt. General and Revenue Department, in July 1903.
