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Perspectives
Imagining Rivers
Humanbeings have often personified rivers. But the movefrom'mother'natureto 'obedientdaughter'riverhas been detrimentalto humanwelfare. Weneed to see rivers as a content we live in andnotas a resourcewe 'harness' and 'control'.
KUNTALA LAHIRI-DUTT
5W That is a river? Is it only what
we imagine it to be? Rivers do
exist - they are 'embodied en-
tities' that can be seen, felt, touched and
traced on a map. Their characteristics -differentandvisible though they undoubt-
edly are and have been - are lived out in
a physical body. Still we have a plethoraof images anddifferent discourses of 'the
river' reflecting a confusion about what
the river is, what it should be, and what
needs to be done if, as a 'resource' we
want to get the best out of the water it
carries. It is thus possible to see rivers in
different ways, and the fact attests to the
social and historical construction of
rivers. As a student of geography which
straddles the physical and social worlds,I have followed with much interest the
rising emotions over the Narmadaandthe
issue of water resource planning in India
and have wondered if there is a right wayof imagining rivers. I am not attemptingto corrector supplement a false or incom-
plete representation;there may not be an
ideal and right way of representingrivers. The focus of my discussion is on
how rivers have been conceptualised,and how the modernisation and develop-ment agenda of the government has cre-
ated binary oppositions such as tradi-
tional vs developmentalist, anti-dam vspro-dam, local vs global, biocentric vs
anthropocentric, and small vs large.Let me begin with an example. In his
article 'Problem of canal excavation in
DamodarValley Corporation' publishedin 1959 in Indian Journal of Power and
RiverValleyDevelopment, RamSarup,an
engineer of the Damodar Valley Corpo-ration(DVC) described how the constru-
ction work on canals progressed through
mighty problems,and how they were dealt
with. He elaborated how heavy bulldozers
were brought in to 'clean up land' since
thick jungles and ponds were hinderingthe survey of the area. Then 'heavy pumpswere used to 'dewater' the ponds, and the
ridges between the ponds were 'derooted'
to 'avoid damages to the tyres'. The soft,deltaic, alluvial soil was hardened this
way so that motor scraperscould be used.
Since the water table was very high,'borrow pits were left for drying up for
several days and machines had to fill the
embankments in patches here and there
adjacent to their respective borrow area'.
Even then, the use of machines proveddifficult as tractorscrapers got stuck and
'had to be towed out withgreatdifficulty'.Then a problem of soil shortage arose
whileconstructingthe embankmentsalongthe Damodar, and 'some more land was
acquired to meet the need for soil'. The
embankments, however, created another
problem in turn;they obstructedthetribu-
taries to meet and the distributariesto take
off from theDamodar.Thus, theSali river
'was closed by building embankments
along the course of the main river'. Ram
sarup's view must have been the 'right'
way to imagine rivers in an Indiaaspiringto capture the benefits of western science
and technology.Ram Sarup wrote his article 40 years
ago, at a time when environmental and
ecological effects of developmental ac-tivities did not receive adequate attention
in the world. But still, it reads as thoughall this was happening in a vacuum, a
space created for the first time by modern
science and technology, and to be shaped
by these very forces. As if suddenly the
water flowing through the river turned
into a 'resource', and any excess (or lack
of it) became a constraint. When thewater
of a river flowed into a sea, it was seen
as a 'waste'. The 'resource' as it was
viewed, was to be used in a certain wayfor the first time as if no one had lived
in the land and used the water before. As
if the river did not have a conscious past;
it was treated only as a figure in a land-
scape ratherthan an image relatedto time
and place. This is a kind of 'Newtonian
space' based on the predictable and or-
derly movements of objects over an un-
differentiated space made visible for the
first time. In this space, the river is justlike a 'thing' that can be modified, con-
trolled and given a desired shape as perhuman wish throughthe use of 'superior'scientific knowledge and techniques.This view of rivers believes in durability,
stability and continuity, and believes
that modern science alone can give aconsistent and systematic interpretationof all the phenomena that we see around
us.
RamSarup'sarticlealsoexcellently tells
us, albeit in an indirectmanner,somethingabout the ideological orientation of
development in the post-colonial state as
well as the political economy of water
resource planning in India. It tells us how
rivers were represented in the 'official'
perspective 40 years ago when the DVC
built the dams and embankments in a bid
to 'control' the river. If the environment
is a social construction, then that societymust be put in its time and place perspec-tive. Through the representationof rivers
in a certain way, the state also generatesa representationof itself as a controller of
all the elements of the natural environ-
ment and endows itself with performative
power in terms of river control.
Statements like 'floods cause tremen-
dous humansuffering and economic loss'
abound in government documents, then
and now. When a riverfloods, it is viewed
as a 'menace'; and the state is supposed
to have the responsibility of remedying it.The urban-based media too perceivesfloods as a 'disaster'. Floods in eastern
India and Bangladesh draw much atten-
tion in thenationalandinternationalmedia.
Since they make good stories of human
misery, the media plays up the 'disaster'
angle as it does not have readily available
information on the causes of floods. The
chain of events that follow a 'flood' -
representing it as an aberrant behaviour
of rivers- invariably leads to a high-level
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consensuson theneedfor some measureof rivercontrol.This is probablybecausethenotionof 'pervertedbehaviour'of therivermakesone feel uncomfortable,re-mindsof one's own morassof irrational-
ity, and thus invites attemptsto controlsuch behaviour.Terms like 'harnessing'and'taming'theriverarefrequentlyusedin thenow
flourishingliteratureon water
resourcemanagement.There is an in-herentarrogancein using anequestrianmetaphorfor a river,or in tryingto 'do-mesticate'a wildriverby 'taming'it. Asif theimaginedriversareuncivilandneedto be controlledthroughthe creationof
somethingof greatbeautyand magnifi-cence.
Theuseof suchtermsindescribingriverbehaviourexplains why the newly inde-
pendentstateof Indiatookuponitselfthe
rightsof controllingthe rivers.This wasdone in much the same fashionadopted
in thedevelopedcountriesof the west.Byimposinga structuralmodel of rivercon-troldevelopedinAmericaoneasternIndian
rivers,the statemadea statementof itsbeliefintheapplicationof universalprin-ciples anddenied the uniquenessof ourrivers.Moreover,this modeldeprivedthelocal communitiesliving in the riparianareasof theirrightsof managingtheirownresourcesin time-testedways.Aboveall,the technicalsolutionsadoptedto 'con-trol'riverscurtailedtherightsof riverstomove overspace,and this notonly gave
rise to a seriesof technicalproblemsbutimmensepoliticalproblemsas well. Whatthe riveranditschangingmoods meanttothosewholived in its basin,andto thosewho madetechnologychoices for them,must,therefore,be understoodas a first
step.Throughthisunderstanding,we canlookintotheknowledgebaseof thetechno-
logy adoptedby thestate.We can under-standthe political,social and economic
processesthat led to the adoptionof the
technology of large dams across andembankmentsalongrivercourses. Whattrue'objectivenecessities'laybehindthe
selectionof thistechnology? Did it leadto a furtheringof human knowledgedevelopedin the floodplainsover hun-dredsof years.Orwas ita productof howriversandtheirfloodshadmeaningsfixedon themby the westerneducated,urbanelite having access to decision-making
power?Sinceriversare the most criticalnaturalelementin deltaic Bengal, were
pluralityand heterogeneity of optionsconsidered before dealing in a certain
way with them?
Power relationsenvelopourlives at amultitudeof levels. To dominate is a
populargoal - has long been seen as a
primaryconcernof humans.The riverisneitheroutsidesociety,norisitjustathingout therein nature.Rather,riversinteract
constantlywithcultureso that how it isdealt with is largelydeterminedby the
tangleof
relationshipsandnarrativeswith
whichit is constantlynegotiating,beingaffectedby,orevenresisting.Definitionsof 'rivers'aremadeupof discoursesand
narratives,which in turn affect policiesandbehaviour,and becomeimplementedin ways thatdirectlyaffect thebodyof ariver. Much of the controversyover the'river'incontemporarytimesarisesbecause
symbols are confused with memory,memoryand symbol with actualrivers.
Consequently,ourideaof 'rivers'is basedon an oversimplifiednotion,a myththatcan be seen as a result of converging
historical developments in ideas, dis-courses,legislation,andourownpsycho-logical processesof memoryandprojec-tion.Themythisaliveandbelieved;it tellsus riversareobjectsthathave valueto usas a 'resource' and any discordantbehaviouron theirpartmustbecurbed.Weas citizens have a heavy investmentin
perpetuatingthe mythbecauseif we didnot do so, our own precariousideas of
havingcontrolovernaturearethreatened,and that can shakethe veryrootsof ourown sense of self andidentity.We,there-
fore,struggleto protectthe river'sdepen-dencyas well as projectwhatwe see asits 'correct'and'proper'behaviour.Thisaccordsus a greatdegreeof powerand
controlover rivers.Unknowingly,we are
using 'the river'as a symbol,confusingitonceagainwithrealriversandwhattheriver representsto different people indifferentcontexts.
Riversobviouslydonotexistina vacuum
exceptinRamSarup'sview.Theyarenot
separatefrom the rest of the societyand
culture,thoughthe mythis thatthey areandshould be. Sucha mythwas histori-
callyconstructedbytheurbanIndianmiddleclasses exposed to western scientific
thoughtand was, to a greatextent, en-forcedonourriversthroughtheseparationof localcommunitiesfromtheirriverwater
managementrights,andon othersthroughmeasuressuchas universaleducation.We
grew up believingwhat was taughtto usin ourschoolandcollege textbooks,thatall riversdo,andcan,flow in a controlledmanner.Wegrewupreadingandwatchingin documentariesthe success storiesof
DVC with its awe-inspiring high con-
crete dams spilling out water into the
canals.
Rivers and their floods, as they have
been socially createdinpost-colonial India,
reveal how western concepts can be trans-
planted lock, stock and barrel into an
altogether different context. In the context
of river'development'
thisknowledge
was
seen as autonomous and objective; 'val-
ues' such as reason and rationality had
been constructed as 'good' and co-termi-
nus with 'development'. This worldview
reveals an intoxicated arrogance of hu-
mans armed with 'scientific' knowledgeandtechnology, borrowed from the impe-rial rulers.What are the fundamentalchara-
cteristics of this knowledge? Its universal-
ism, its image of nature as an adversary,its assumption of replicability, and its
agenda of 'march of progress'. In other
words, the assumption is what is appli-
cable in the west would work perfectly inIndia(oranywhereelse forthatmatter)and
that would 'raise the standards of livingof the people' - another frequently used
term.
Water resource planners,as aresult,did
not appreciate the differences between
European/American rivers and those of
India, particularly the uniqueness of the
natural-social contexts of the latter. These
rivers have significant seasonal variations
in flow, they drain densely populated and
intensively cultivated areas, they do not
have stable courses, and above all, theybring down huge quantities of solids with
their waters in monsoon. The fury of the
rivers during the rainy season and the
resultant fear has propagated a 'disaster
syndrome' in the science of rivers. This
fearconceived floods asadeviantbehaviour
of therivers- something that is notnormal
- interfering with the welfare of those
living in the floodplains. The urban ex-
perts formed 'enquiry committees' and
called in western scientists and techno-
crats who eventually handed over the
responsibility of policing the rivers to the
state in ways chosen by them. 'Flood
mitigation' thus became partof selling the
fantasticdreamof multipurposerivervalley
projects in India - a simplified myth that
is now facing severe criticism after the
experience with these projects in the last
two decades. The various 'purposes'outlined in large river valley projects re-
veal systemic conflicts among each other:
'augmenting lean season flow' does not
go withhydropower generation,and'flood
control' conflicts with storing up water in
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the reservoirs, which must be kept emptyto be able to store the excess water of the
monsoons.
How did the state perform the duty of
policing the rivers? It set up multipleinstitutions and agencies for flood con-
trol, irrigation, and the rehabilitation of
displaced persons in river valley projects.These
representa
fragmentaryapproachin
dealing with a single entity like a river.
When floods do happen in spite of all the
technological and institutional interven-
tions to prevent them, there is inevitablyan emergency response from the state.
It is not surprising that there is no singu-lar agency for dealing with the conse-
quences of floods. This critical part- that
directlyinfluencesthewell-being andsafetyof human communities - is supposedly no
one's responsibility. Therefore, conflicts
of interestswithin the government and the
ensuing sense of guilt work behind the
provision of flood relief. In most post-flood situations, institutional failure has
beenshocking. Yearafteryear,one witnes-
ses the spectacle of the politics of flood
relief and inevitably the furore dies down
within a couple of months. Floods have
a human security dimension, through
they havealmostalways been viewed from
a technical angle. The real victims of a
flood areusually chosen by class; in most
cases thepoorare most affected by aflood.
One major flood can turn the poor more
vulnerable, marginalisethem further,and
may even uproot them from their land.The unease of the state with the tech-
nology of flood prevention adopted byitself is adequately spoken of by the lack
of anywell-conceived, fool-proof, popu-lar and well-publicised flood insurance
programme for the poor people living in
marginal environments in flood-proneareas.
When there is a flood, as it happened
year before last, several guesses are
floated. Take that 1998 flood in Bengalfor example. Was it because of abnor-
mal climate, related to the occurrence of
El Nino, caused by deforestation in the
Himalayas,submarineearthquakeandplatemovement in the Bay of Bengal, poorflood reliefora combinationof suchfactors,or was itjust anotherflood in aflood-prone
region? Several seminars and meetingslater, we are yet to reach a definite con-
clusion that will put all the responsibilityon some factor or the other. Floods are,
however, not unusual in deltaic Bengal.The land itself has been built up over
thousands of year with silt brought down
by theGanga-Brahmaputra-Meghna,andtheirinnumerabletributariesanddistribu-taries. One of the primarycauses of thefloods is that the rivers descendquicklyfromthe uplandscarryinghugeamountsof silt on totheflatland.Theexcess watersreachtheplainduringtherainsonlytofindthe lower reachesof the riversalready
inflated,and
invariablycause
widespreadfloodsinmonsoonmonths.Moreover,the
regionactsasa funnelfordrainingout thewatersof theentireNepal,Gangeticplains,the SikkimandDarjeelingranges,andthenorth-easternhills of theHimalayas.Theestuariesof Bengaldeltalie in an activetidalregion,which hindersthe outletofriverwater at high tide. Finally,if peakdischarges from the Ganga and
Brahmaputrasystems occur simulta-
neously,floodsareboundto occur.Floodsarethusnotonlyunavoidable,theyareaninherentfeatureof theprocessof how the
land in this deltaiclowlandwas formedover thousandsof years.
'Rivertraining' practicesadoptedbythe state have also ignoredthatduringthemonsoonsriversnotonlycarrywater;
they relocate enormousamountsof siltfromthehighlyerodibleHimalayasontothe floodplains.Onanaverage,about50
percent of the waterdescendingfromthe
NepalHimalayasduringtherainyseasonis in factsolidsof varioussize.The struc-turalcontrol of dams in hilly areas de-
signed to preventthe uplandflow from
reachingtheswollen riversof the plains,orhighembankmentsalongtherivercauses,viewedas 'theonly practicalremedy'offlood inundation,never adequatelyad-dressed the questionof solids in riverwaters.Wherewill thesego?Will it accu-mulatein thereservoirs,on thechannels,on the cultivatedfields when thereis abreachin the embankment?What is thenatureof the solids?Aretheysand,siltor
clay? The systemsof humanadjustmentto floods thathaddevelopedover centu-
ries, however,acknowledgedand evenwelcomedthisfactof solids
beingmixed
with monsoonflows of rivers.WilliamWillcocks wrote in his seminal essay'AncientSystemsof Irrigationin Bengal'thatatone timethefarmersofBengaldeltawelcomed the rains and the floods theybrought.As the rivers used to overtopthe banks, the clay-humus rich siltcontainedin theupperlayerwasdepos-ited on the soil, increasingits fertilitymany times. When an embankmentisbreachednowadays,the fertilityof agri-culturalplotsisdestroyedforseveralyears
becauseof thesanddeposition.It is truethat the floods have now become sig-nificantlylesser in volume and fewer in
frequency, but they occur more sud-
denly in unpredictableareas and are of
longerduration.As drainagechannelsarealteredor become siltedup,the extentofthe areafloodedalsochangesanderosive
activityalongtheriverbankbecomesmore
predominant.Themeasurestakenbythestatefor'flood
control' haveanotherdarkarea- thatofriskanalysis.Anytechnologymeasurehasan element of risk, the 'what if factorwhich seems to have been underplayedwhilejustifyingthe choice. Theextentof
uncertaintyinadoptinatechnologychoice- the risk factor - remained unknown.
Take,forexample,the amountof rainfalland its timingover the four months ofmonsoon. The Britishdid install some
raingaugesto measurerainfallin various
partsof thecountrybuttheirnumberwasnotadequatetoeliminatethisuncertainty.Beforea hugecapitalinvestmentis made- such as that in a large dam - there is
a need for collectingand analysingfar
greateramounts of quantitativeinfor-mation from a much largernumberof
raingaugestations.Insmallercatchmentsof streams thereare no rainguagesandhence no recordeddataexists on rainfallbehaviour.In muchof lowerBengal,thebehaviourofSeptemberrainfall- possiblythe most unpredictableof all - is the
critical factor in determiningflood in-tensity. Thus, the understanding onwhich this large-scale technologicalinterventionis foundedis shaky.It is likea blackbox and hence much assumingand extrapolatingare an essential partof the so-called scientific process. Letme elaboratethis further.We knowthatover50 percent of the raincomesinonlyfour monthsof the year in Bengal; the
rain, however, is not continuous andcomes in bursts. There are phases of
extremely intense rainfall activity andhence as much as 80
percent of the
rainfallcomesin 20 percentof the time.If thereis 400 mmrainfallin 24 hours-
as happenedin 1998- is that an aberra-tion?Ornormal?Oranextremeevent?We
simplydon't know.With all ourtechno-
logical means,we cannotpredictaccu-
ratelyhow much rain will fall over the
Chotanagpurplateauor deltaic Bengalin September.
A flood is a 'non-point'phenomenon,occurringoveralargearea,withitscausestoospreadoverextensiveareas.However,
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theimagined 'solution' to theproblem was
point-oriented such as the construction of
a dam at a single location. Thus, control
over that particular. location gives the
power to determine the well-being of a
much larger number of people living
upstreamor downstream. In several cases,if the rainfall was too heavy and the stor-
age capacitiesfailed to hold this addi-
tional water in the reservoirs, the projectadministrations are 'forced to' release
water into the already inflated rivers. This
action is usuallyjustified by another tech-
nical term - that of 'design flood' mean-
ing the degree of flood protection pro-vided in the solution is only for a certain
limit of flood. If the watergoes above that
specified level, there is no other way but
to let out the water leading to floods
downstream. In the absence of completedata on rainfalland otherparameters,what
goes on is actually a neglect of risks
involved in a technology choice. Thecontrol measures of modern river valley
development projects pursued keenly so
far in India can be best described as 'fair-
weather technology' - a kind of ad hoc
measure through which we can find how
power, authority, and constructions of
'truth'work together to produce a certain
kind of knowledge. This is a knowledgethat assumed superiority over other forms
andsystems of knowing things thatmatter
to us. In some parts of the country such
as in Bihar, the Kosi embankments have
created furtherpolitical tension as a spin-off of the technology choice. When
breaches occur somewhere along the em-
bankmentduring heavy monsoons, those
living outside insist that it has been ac-
tually cut off by those living within the
embankment area. Did the river plannersever visualise this kind of social and
political conflicts arising as offshoots of
their intervention?
Inpopularpsychology, especially amongthe city-breds, a 'fear-factor' operates in
terms of floods. The urbanmind is afraid
of therageof rivers. Inacountry like India
where wide gaps exist in almost all the
aspects of rural and urban sectors of the
economy, there is a distinct perception
gap with regardto rivers and their floods
too. Cities are where much of the capitalof a developing society is concentrated
and hence it becomes the primary task
of the state to protect them. For example,it was only after the 1943 flood when
Calcutta was detached from the rest of the
world that the Damodar floods first came
under serious scrutiny by the city elite.
Previoustothattherewerecommitteesand
inquiriestoo, buttheywere neveras sig-nificantas necessitatingthe formationofa wholenewsystemofrivercontrol.Mem-bers of a peasantfamily, havingspentalltheirlives besidea flood-proneriver,hadknownthatflood watersrecedeandwhen
theydo, the land turnsmoreproductive,enriched with the
clay-humusrich
toplayersof flood water.More than floodsas such, they fear unexpectederosionattacksof the riverswhichrob themoftheirlands,or sanddepositiononthelandwhenflood watersrushthroughbreachedembankmentsandrenderthe landsper-manentlyuncultivable.However,theurbanelitemakingthetechnologydecisionsarenot the same as those who bear the endresults of these decisions, and the first
group has since independence.viewedfloodsas themajor'problem'createdbyrivers.Manyof the miseriesof todayare
results of this attitudeand relateto howrivershavebeenproblematisedin the first
place in India.Ruralpeoplein Bengalhad forgenera-
tions livedharmoniouslywith the moodsof naturethroughintricatesystems of
adjustmentwith therhythmas the riversrose and fell. The floods used to be con-fined to the neighbouringareas of the
overflowing channels and, since theyoccurredmore or less regularly,were
negotiatedbylocalpeoplewithindigenousprecautionsdevelopedthroughthe expe-
riencedevelopedover hundredsof years.Such practicesdid not usurpeither the
rightsof a river,or those of the com-munitiesliving alongit of theirresource
managementrights.Evenindigenousar-chitecturerespectedtherightsof rivers-riversthatspreadbeyondtheirbanksduringmonsoons.Olderhousesinmanyvillagesalong the lower course of the Damodarhave high plinthlevels to protectthemfrom floods.
Let us indulge ourselves briefly andtravelfurtherbackwardsto Vedic times.River there is prettymuch like a human
being,each has its specific gender,moodand character.It is praised,loved, adu-latedand its fury appreciated.The riverdid lower itself to make way forVishwamitraalongwithhisarmyandthechariots.But it did so willingly, 'as themotherlowersherselfto feed the child onherbreastandtheyoungwomantoembraceherman'.InRigvedait is saidabout'thewaterswhoaregoddesses'that'theywhohave theoceanas theireldestflowingoutof the sea, purifyingthemselves,never
resting'wereclosed by Vritraand Ahis.Riversdescendtowardsthe sea like 'nest-
returningbirds'.Indrawith the thunder-
bolt,openedawayforthem;let the watersrunfreelyand meet the seas. By demol-
ishingVritra,Indraopened up the flood-
gates and with his weapon 'vajra' 're-leased the flow of Sapta Sindhu'. Theworld of humansand the world of riverswere never separatein this worldview.Eventhenot-so-oldfolktaleson Damodarsee it as typically'non-Aryan',thegiverand the taker,an entitywith a will andindomitablespirit. Somewherealongthe
way it all changed.To come backtothepresentonceagain,
we notethatover theyearstherehas beenagreateremphasisbythe stateonbuildingphysicalcapitalonriversratherthansocial
capital amongthe people living in their
floodplains.The state has perceivedthecontrolof riversas itsownresponsibility,
and since it possessedall the naturalre-sourcesfallingwithinits politicalbound-
aries,its ownershipof riverstoo was an-nouncedthrough'rivertraining'.Imagin-ingriversascausingthe'menaceof floods'
ignoresone vital dimensionof the rivers:
theyareessentiallychannelsof drainage.Theyare meantforthedrainageof waterfromalargeareatosea- theyarenotmeantto be areasforstoringwater.Anychannelthatis cutto letexcesswaterpassthrough,musthave aneasyoutletto the sea or intoanotherwater channel.The DVC canals
ignorethis basicfact anddraininto a low-lyingareawhichremainsunderwaterforoverfive monthsa year.LowerDamodar
valley is not an exception;drainagecon-
gestionhasbecomea seriousissueinseveral
partsof thecountry,anissue thatis rarelytakenup by the state.
We thusfindthatlargedams andhighembankmentswere theproductof objec-tificationofrivers,deprivingthemof their
righttospreadoverspace,andestablishingthe dominanceof humanson them.This
replacedthe views in which rivers were
perceivedas living beingsandeachriver
had its own, uniquecharacteristic.Thesense of oneness withrivers and attach-mentto themwasreplacedwith the sensethata river,like a wildhorse,needsto be
'harnessed','tamed' and 'controlled'.We needto askourselvescarefullywhy
we want rivers to remain innocentand
docile, andwhat this 'innocence'meansto us. It can meanfreedomfromdestruc-
tion,butalso.disempowermentfor riversand local communities.We need to con-siderhow we benefitfrom these. Fearof
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floods and safety may also relate to our
own fears of losing control over what we
see as 'resource' in rivers. Fear is a useful
and fertile ground for tyrannical gover-nance to flourish. Is this what we want for
the future?
A notable feature is that during the last
40 years since the publication of Ram
Sarup's article mentioned earlier, the
perceptions of even the rural peasant of
Bengal have changed significantly. There
has been a gradual erosion of indigenouswisdom and replication of intellectual
dependency perfected during the colonial
times. Inundation is no longer seen as an
unavoidable, natural process; ferocious
floods no longer occur with regularity at
least in the Gangetic plains of Bengal.However, when they do, they are greaterinmagnitude,longerin duration,andspreadover much larger areas than they used to
before. Revitalising the culture of 'living
with floods' is extremely difficult and im-practical in areas like the lower Damodar
valley where instead of one, farmers now
have become used to harvesting two or
threecrops in a year. Consequently, there
has been an attitudinalchange to rivers at
the village level too; local communities
now 'demand' spurs, weirs, barrages(andincase of theDamodar,theremaining four
damsplanned originally by W L Voorduin
of Tennessee Valley Authority, the tech-
nical expert of Damodar Valley plan). A
dominanteconomic form has become well
established,and
manyfarmers of
DVCcommand area now refuse to see them-
selves as peripheralto the formaldevelop-ment process of the country. If dams-
embankment-HYVseed-fertilisertechnol-
ogy is synonymous to mainstream
development, then the aspiration of the
farmer is quite understandably to get a
share of the cake too. Over the decades,theagrarianpopulations have been 'given'a particular notion of development, and
now they want more of it. It is the wayrivers have been thought that has made it
so difficult for people to now imagine its
supersession.Take boro rice for example. This crop
now provides the main source of cash
income to farmersof lower Damodar.Boro
ricecropisentirely dependentonthesupplyof irrigation water through the DVC
canals, which often are not enough or
reliable. Why do the farmersopt for canal
water?Simplybecause they paynegligibleamounts or none for it. Even groundwater
c.gsts more than water from rivers. To
preserve their self-interests, people have
to kill the river. However, the canal water
is not a singular offering; it comes in a
package andthatpackage is ratherexpen-sive. A poor peasant sells the last gold of
hiswife tobuythecapital-intensivetechno-
logy package - the entire process maps a
terrain that is structuraland governed byaglobalisation tendencywhichoffers them
only a few highly constrainedoptions. The
traditional mode of knowledge has col-
lapsed and human agency has become
reduced to a function of economic forces.
We therefore see that confusion exists
at several levels - the psychological, the
material and the symbolic - in terms of
imagining rivers. The relationshipsamong
subjectivity, power, authority, construc-
tions of 'truth', and the associated prod-uction of knowledge areexposed with re-
spect to rivers. The rivers are also some-
thing that we construct and to which we
give meaning;thisperspectival conception
of rivers can never be overlooked. Whilsta river is a naturalphenomenon, it is also
a constructedcategoryandhence theimages
vary as they are constantly produced and
reworked over time. As we begin to note
the ebb and flow of conflicting mean-
ings in the fluidity generated by various
discourses, we enable ourselves to
ponder over the contradictions, the use
of force, and the tragedies and ironies
of modern river valley development in
India. Under the distanced anddecentred
gaze of modern science the rivers ap-peared as objects - not a context within
which we live. The river lost its ad-
equacy as a metaphor that cannot be
conceived in a static form. We are now
living in a time of rapid changes, un-
certainty and major upheavals. The
future seems more frightening than ever
before and the world itself seems, like
rivers, both dangerous and threatened.
The river, in all senses, is at the centre
of this confusion. lM1
[I acknowledgethe immense debt of discussions
with Ramaswamy Iyer, Gail Omvedt, DeepakGiwali, Ajaya Dikshit, JayantaBandyopadhyayand KatherineGibson in writing this article.]
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2400 Economicand PoliticalWeekly July 1, 2000