Drowned and Dammed (Paperback)

Rohan D'Souza

ISBN 10: 019946913X / ISBN 13: 9780199469130

Edité par OUP India, New Delhi, 2016

Paperback. The water question in India has several contentious dimensions, be they inter-state river disputes, groundwater extraction by private corporations, farmer agitations for irrigation water, or urban anxieties over meeting water needs. Rohan D'Souza argues that the British project of flood control in the Orissa Delta was principally political in intent, aimed at anchoring their presence in the area. In Drowned and Dammed he comprehensively reconsiders thedebate on the colonial environmental watershed and its hydraulic legacy in India.Colonial capitalism sought to dominate the Orissa Delta's many rivers by bringing about an unprecedentedecological rupture. Through the rubric of flood control, British rule instituted capitalist private property in land and re- shaped the region's hydrology with physical infrastructures such as embankments, canal networks, and dams. The Orissa delta was thus dramatically transformed from a flood-dependent agrarian regime into a flood-vulnerable landscape. This book explores the idea and practice of flood control and argues that this is a part of a political agenda, deeply implicated in the social, economic, and political calculations of capitalism in general and colonialism in particular. It argues for a comprehensive reconsideration of the debate on the colonial environmental watershed, its hydraulic legacy, and questions contemporary enthusiasm for flood control in post-independent India. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. N° de réf. du vendeur 9780199469130

Synopsis :

The water question in India has several contentious dimensions, be they inter-state river disputes, groundwater extraction by private corporations, farmer agitations for irrigation water, or urban anxieties over meeting water needs. Rohan D'Souza argues that the British project of flood control in the Orissa Delta was principally political in intent, aimed at anchoring their presence in the area. In Drowned and Dammed he comprehensively reconsiders the debate on the colonial environmental watershed and its hydraulic legacy in India.

Colonial capitalism sought to dominate the Orissa Delta's many rivers by bringing about an unprecedented ecological rupture. Through the rubric of flood control, British rule instituted capitalist private property in land and re- shaped the region's hydrology with physical infrastructures such as embankments, canal networks, and dams. The Orissa delta was thus dramatically transformed from a flood-dependent agrarian regime into a flood-vulnerable landscape.

À propos de l?auteur: Rohan D'Souza is Associate Professor, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : Drowned and Dammed (Paperback)
Éditeur : OUP India, New Delhi
Date d'édition : 2016
Reliure : Paperback
Etat : new