Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt and Gopa Samanta
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300188301
- eISBN:
- 9780300189575
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300188301.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This book discusses chars as uniquely fluid environments where the demarcation between land and water is neither well defined nor permanent. Chars form a fluid and problematic category, as much of ...
More
This book discusses chars as uniquely fluid environments where the demarcation between land and water is neither well defined nor permanent. Chars form a fluid and problematic category, as much of politics and history as of the environment; both of these social and natural elements are products of control. Within the Gangetic plains, the focus in this book is on the Bengal delta, and specifically the bagri, or the western part of the delta. Lying outside or at the margins of the land revenue system, the complex and fluid environment of chars presents opportunities to some people. Understanding the transition to British rule is explained in this book. The livelihoods of people who neither benefited from rehabilitation programs nor were able to fully merge with the mainstream life are also explored. To study women-headed households, broadly ethnographic qualitative methods are employed. The livelihoods linked to the hybrid hydraulic regimes of tropical rivers are also intrinsically hybrid. On chars, water remains the most important source of wealth as well as the biggest threat to a secure life. No conventional ways of understanding security and vulnerability apply to the lives that are defined by water; people do the best they can on an everyday basis, either individually or collectively.Less
This book discusses chars as uniquely fluid environments where the demarcation between land and water is neither well defined nor permanent. Chars form a fluid and problematic category, as much of politics and history as of the environment; both of these social and natural elements are products of control. Within the Gangetic plains, the focus in this book is on the Bengal delta, and specifically the bagri, or the western part of the delta. Lying outside or at the margins of the land revenue system, the complex and fluid environment of chars presents opportunities to some people. Understanding the transition to British rule is explained in this book. The livelihoods of people who neither benefited from rehabilitation programs nor were able to fully merge with the mainstream life are also explored. To study women-headed households, broadly ethnographic qualitative methods are employed. The livelihoods linked to the hybrid hydraulic regimes of tropical rivers are also intrinsically hybrid. On chars, water remains the most important source of wealth as well as the biggest threat to a secure life. No conventional ways of understanding security and vulnerability apply to the lives that are defined by water; people do the best they can on an everyday basis, either individually or collectively.
James C. Scott
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300188301
- eISBN:
- 9780300189575
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300188301.003.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This chapter focuses on the chars as hybrid environments, uniquely fluid environments where the demarcation between land and water is neither well defined nor permanent. The hybrid environments of ...
More
This chapter focuses on the chars as hybrid environments, uniquely fluid environments where the demarcation between land and water is neither well defined nor permanent. The hybrid environments of chars offer real-life examples that challenge a number of naturalized concepts and categories. Chars are also quintessentially hybrid because the distinction between the boundaries of land and water is not clear. Within the Gangetic plains, the main focus is on the Bengal delta, and specifically the bagri, or the western part of the delta. Under the microscope of examination are the chars rising out of the bed of the Damodar River in its lower basin. Related closely to the history of river control is the story of how the Damodar chars came to be settled, a process that began in the late nineteenth century, when groups of Muslim fishermen migrated from Bihar to those riverine locations.Less
This chapter focuses on the chars as hybrid environments, uniquely fluid environments where the demarcation between land and water is neither well defined nor permanent. The hybrid environments of chars offer real-life examples that challenge a number of naturalized concepts and categories. Chars are also quintessentially hybrid because the distinction between the boundaries of land and water is not clear. Within the Gangetic plains, the main focus is on the Bengal delta, and specifically the bagri, or the western part of the delta. Under the microscope of examination are the chars rising out of the bed of the Damodar River in its lower basin. Related closely to the history of river control is the story of how the Damodar chars came to be settled, a process that began in the late nineteenth century, when groups of Muslim fishermen migrated from Bihar to those riverine locations.
