The history of standard weights and
measures in India begins in early Indus Valley civilization with the earliest surviving samples
dated to the 5th millennium BCE. The
centralized weight and measure system served the commercial interest of Indus
merchants as smaller weight measures were used to measure luxury goods while
larger weights were employed for buying bulkier items, such as food grains. The
Indus civilization excavated pan balances made of copper, bronze and ceramics from
Mohenjo-Daro, “Indian astronomers
calculated the duration of one ‘kalpa’ (a cycle of the universe during which
all the heavenly bodies return to their original positions) to be 432,00,00,000
years.” Evidence of a complex system of weights and measures existing in use
for multiple purposes under the central control of the Maurya administration (322–185 BCE) is found in the Arthasastra by Chanakyan. The Arthashastra offers a wealth of evidence
for the wide varieties of standardized weights and measures of the time.
Officers were appointed to control their use and standardization. Later, the
Mughal Empire (1526–1857) used
standard measures to determine land holdings and collected land tax as a part
of Mughal land reforms. As a
part of these reforms, Akbar the Great (1556–1605) enforced practical standardization
in the empire's weight and measure system. The
Mughal measurement system measured land in terms of “gaz” and “bigha.”
British
units of measurement, “Pound/Cwt/Ton”
system were adopted in India as first the East India Company and later colonial
rule gained foothold.
The
Chinese merchant Ma Huan (1413–51) outlines the standardized
weight and currency system in place at the port city of Cochin. Ma Huan noted that gold coins, known as fanam, or locally known as
"panam", were issued in
Cochin and weighed a total of one “fen” and one “li” according to the Chinese standards. They were of fine quality and could be
exchanged in China for 15 silver coins of four-“li” weight each. The measure of
agricultural output in Cochin was the “Thooni,” for fresh paddy, and “Para,” “Edangazhi” and “Nazhi” to measure the dried paddy and raw rice.
The solids were measured in a weighing pan with a weight called “Rathal” and “Ton.” The liquids like coconut oil were measured with “Thudam” and “Ounz.” I have kept some of
these measures for its antique value. Traditional carpenters used “Kole,” (having a length little less than
a meter,) measurements for construction of buildings. “Inch/Foot/Yards” were
used to measure length. “Furlong” and
“Mile” were common markers on the
roads in India. Area of land was measured as “acre” and “cents.”
Government of India passed the
Standards of Weights Act, 1939, which came into effect in 1942. This allowed “Tola/Seer/Maund” system to coexist with.
After the French Revolution, the
French government made an effort in producing an international standard of
weight and measures based on metric system by promoting legislation. It
consisted of a basic set of units of measurement. The driving force behind the
metric system was the need for a single, rational and universal system of
weights and measures that could be used world-wide. The prefix like “kilo” or “kg” was introduced by the
French. The “metre” or “m” was originally defined to be one ten
millionth of the distance between the North Pole and the Equator through Paris. One “litre” is equivalent to the volume of a cube with edges of 10 cm and the “kilogram” or “kg” was originally designed to be one “litre” of water at the melting point of ice. The French law of 18 Germinal,
Year III (April 7, 1795) defined five units of measure: The metre for
length; the are (100 m2)
for area [of land] and the stere (1 m3)
for volume of stacked firewood. Similarly
the “litre” (1 dm3) for volumes of
liquid; the “gramme” or “g” for
mass; the “second” or “s” and “hour” or “hr” for time; the “degree celsius” or “°C” for temperature; the “volt” or “V” for potential difference; the
“joule” or “J” for energy; the “watt” or “W” for power and the “paseal” or “Pa” for pressure. France officially adopted the metric system on
December 10, 1799. Areas annexed by France during
the Napoleonic era were the first to inherit the metric system.
By 1875 two thirds of the European
population and close to half the world's population had adopted the metric
system. In 1960, the International
Committee on Weight and Measures embraced a modern version of the metric system
called System of International Units. Its abbreviation is SI. This abbreviation
is used in all countries there are no other ways to abbreviate SI. It is also
important to know that SI is just another name for the metric system.
All the countries in the world have adopted the International System of Units (SI, or metric system) as their official system of weights and measures except the three countries, Burma, Liberia, and the US. Even these three countries do use elements of the metric system.
Government of India passed a Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1956, a system to introduce metric system based on Punjab Act, 1942. The metric began in October 1958, making metric weight mandatory by October 1960, and the metric measures were made mandatory by April 1962.
Excerpts from
MEMOIRS
An autobiography
by
Joseph J. Thayamkeril
Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.
josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com
josephjthayamkeril@google.com
josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com
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