Our Own Sagarmatha

It is a matter of pride for all of us that the 15th International Everest Day was celebrated for three days from May 28-30 this year. As usual, the event was organised in of honour Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzin Norgay Sherpa, who had set a new record on Sagarmatha on May 29, 1953. 

The importance of marking the day lies in the fact that it spreads a positive message globally that Nepal is a centre of adventure tourism. This also highlights the country’s unique cultural diversity and social and religious harmony. Thousands of climbers from around the world have reached the summit of Mt. Everest since the first human ascent of the world’s tallest mountain. 

My only concern is that the day should have celebrated as Sagarmatha Day as Sagarmatha is the original name of the peak.   

The 8,848.68-metre peak has been named after Sir George Everest, the first surveyor general of India. Regarding this, Sandip Roy, a media worker of India, has written a long article titled ‘There’s a case for renaming Mt Everest but is it ours to name?’

Going through the article, one can find humiliating tactics played on us by the then British India Company agent Andrew Wauch.  Roy has raised two issues - Surveyor General Everest’s ignorance of the tallest mountain, and second, the cunning steps taken by another surveyor General Waugh. 

The Great Trigonometric Survey of India had begun in 1830 under the leadership of George Everest. He had selected excellent mathematician Radhanath Sikdar as an assistant. When George got retired from the job in 1843, Andrew Waugh was appointed for the post. In 1856, mathematician Sikdar disclosed that the Peak XV (that is trigonometric recognition of Mt. Sagarmatha) was the tallest mountain in the world. Sikdar reported it to his boss Waugh, but Waugh kept it secret till 1865. 

In 1865, Wauch purposed to the British Government that the Peak XV should be named after George Everest. His logic for renaming the Peak XV was that the ‘peak has no name intelligible to civilised men’. 

Wauch ignored the age-old beautiful Nepali name ‘Sagarmatha’ and ‘Chomolungma’ in Tibet. Sagarmatha is the combination of two Sanskrit words: ‘Sagar’ that means sky/heaven, and ‘Matha’ means head. 

Neither George Everest visited the area nor had he longed for the name. But Waugh proposed it just to eulogise Everest and take benefit from it. For ignoring the name Sagarmatha, Waugh bagged two British awards. In 1857, the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain gave him ‘Patron’s Medal’. He was also honoured with the ‘Fellow of the Royal Society.’  

So, Roy describes the British attitude in a nutshell: ‘Radhanath Sikdar measured the mountain while George Everest walked away with the credit’. 

No high mountains of the world have ever been renamed for certain persons. Kilimanjaro, Machu Picchu, Mont Blanc and Alps are still in their original names. Even the second tallest mountain, Mt. K2 is in its original name. Then, why should our pride Sagarmatha be renamed after a British man? 

Two facts should be considered here. First, as we know, Barak Obama has nexus with Kenya. As Obama visited Kenya, some people purposed to name Mount Kenya, the tallest mountain in Kenya, after Obama, but he rejected saying no man has height to that of a mountain. 

Second, Britain also has many mountains, but none has yet been named after a certain person. Will Britain be ready to rename those mountains after some brave Gurkhas or legendary Nepali Sherpas?