
Drowned and Dammed
Colonial Capitalism and Flood Control in Eastern India
Rohan D'Souza(Author)
OUP India (Publisher)
Published in December 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
290 pages
978-0-19-946913-0 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
D'Souza clearly positions his work within the scope of a historically informed political ecology, as he establishes from the outset. * Soeren Koepke, International Institute for Asian Studies *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Delhi
India
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 213 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
249 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-946913-0 (9780199469130)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Rohan D'Souza is Associate Professor, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.
Content
List of Maps, Figures, and Tables ; Preface and Acknowledgements ; List of Abbreviations ; Introduction; 1. Delta's Integrity and Agrarian Rhythm; 2. Capitalist Property and the 'Calamity of Season'; 3. Embankments and Its Discontents; 4. Delta in the Commodity-form; 5. The Great Denouement and After; 6. Production of the River; Conclusion; Appendix I ; Appendix II; Bibliography ; Index ; About
the Author
the Author