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Imagining Rivers

Author(s): Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt


Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 35, No. 27 (Jul. 1-7, 2000), pp. 2395-2397+2399-
2400
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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I Perspectives
viewed, was to be used in a certain way
Imagining Rivers for 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;
Humanbeings have oftenpersonified rivers. But the movefrom it was treated only as a figure in a land-
'mother'nature to 'obedientdaughter' river has been detrimental scape ratherthan an image related to time
and place. This is a kind of 'Newtonian
to humanwelfare. We need to see rivers as a content we live in and space' based on the predictable and or-
not as a resource we 'harness' and 'control'. derly movements of objects over an un-
differentiated space made visible for the
first time. In this space, the river is just
KUNTALA LAHIRI-DUTT with. He elaborated how heavy bulldozers like a 'thing' that can be modified, con-
were brought in to 'clean up land' since trolled and given a desired shape as per
5W That is a river? Is it only what thick jungles and ponds were hindering human wish through the use of 'superior'
we imagine it to be? Rivers do the survey of the area.Then 'heavy pumps scientific knowledge and techniques.
exist - they are 'embodied en- were used to 'dewater' the ponds, and the This view of rivers believes in durability,
tities' that can be seen, felt, touched and ridges between the ponds were 'derooted' stability and continuity, and believes
traced on a map. Their characteristics - to 'avoid damages to the tyres'. The soft, that modern science alone can give a
different and visible though they undoubt- deltaic, alluvial soil was hardened this consistent and systematic interpretation
edly are and have been - are lived out in way so that motor scrapers could be used. of all the phenomena that we see around
a physical body. Still we have a plethora Since the water table was very high, us.
of images and different discourses of 'the 'borrow pits were left for drying up for Ram Sarup's article also excellently tells
river' reflecting a confusion about what several days and machines had to fill the us, albeit in an indirect manner, something
the river is, what it should be, and what embankments in patches here and there about the ideological orientation of
needs to be done if, as a 'resource' we adjacent to their respective borrow area'. development in the post-colonial state as
want to get the best out of the water it Even then, the use of machines proved well as the political economy of water
carries. It is thus possible to see rivers in difficult as tractor scrapers got stuck and resource planning in India. It tells us how
different ways, and the fact attests to the 'had to be towed out with great difficulty'. rivers were represented in the 'official'
social and historical construction of Then a problem of soil shortage arose perspective 40 years ago when the DVC
rivers. As a student of geography which while constructingthe embankmentsalong built the dams and embankments in a bid
straddles the physical and social worlds, the Damodar, and 'some more land was to 'control' the river. If the environment
I have followed with much interest the acquired to meet the need for soil'. The is a social construction, then that society
rising emotions over the Narmada and the embankments, however, created another must be put in its time and place perspec-
issue of water resource planning in India problem in turn;they obstructed the tribu- tive. Through the representation of rivers
and have wondered if there is a right way taries to meet and the distributariesto take in a certain way, the state also generates
of imagining rivers. I am not attempting off from the Damodar. Thus, the Sali river a representationof itself as a controller of
to correct or supplement a false or incom- 'was closed by building embankments all the elements of the natural environ-
plete representation;there may not be an along the course of the main river'. Ram ment and endows itself with performative
ideal and right way of representing sarup's view must have been the 'right' power in terms of river control.
rivers. The focus of my discussion is on way to imagine rivers in an India aspiring Statements like 'floods cause tremen-
how rivers have been conceptualised, to capture the benefits of western science dous human suffering and economic loss'
and how the modernisation and develop- and technology. abound in government documents, then
ment agenda of the government has cre- Ram Sarup wrote his article 40 years and now. When a river floods, it is viewed
ated binary oppositions such as tradi- ago, at a time when environmental and as a 'menace'; and the state is supposed
tional vs developmentalist, anti-dam vs ecological effects of developmental ac- to have the responsibility of remedying it.
pro-dam, local vs global, biocentric vs tivities did not receive adequate attention The urban-based media too perceives
anthropocentric, and small vs large. in the world. But still, it reads as though floods as a 'disaster'. Floods in eastern
Let me begin with an example. In his all this was happening in a vacuum, a India and Bangladesh draw much atten-
article 'Problem of canal excavation in space created for the first time by modern tion in the nationaland internationalmedia.
Damodar Valley Corporation' published science and technology, and to be shaped Since they make good stories of human
in 1959 in Indian Journal of Power and by these very forces. As if suddenly the misery, the media plays up the 'disaster'
River Valley Development, Ram Sarup, an water flowing through the river turned angle as it does not have readily available
engineer of the Damodar Valley Corpo- into a 'resource', and any excess (or lack information on the causes of floods. The
ration (DVC) described how the constru- of it) became a constraint. When the water chain of events that follow a 'flood' -
ction work on canals progressed through of a river flowed into a sea, it was seen representing it as an aberrant behaviour
mighty problems, and how they were dealt as a 'waste'. The 'resource' as it was of rivers - invariably leads to a high-level

Economic and Political Weekly July 1, 2000 2395


consensuson the need for some measure Power relationsenvelop our lives at a DVC with its awe-inspiring high con-
of rivercontrol.This is probablybecause multitude of levels. To dominate is a crete dams spilling out water into the
the notionof 'pervertedbehaviour'of the populargoal - has long been seen as a canals.
river makes one feel uncomfortable,re- primaryconcernof humans.The riveris Rivers and their floods, as they have
mindsof one's own morassof irrational- neitheroutsidesociety,noris itjusta thing been socially createdin post-colonial India,
ity, and thus invites attemptsto control out therein nature.Rather,riversinteract reveal how western concepts can be trans-
such behaviour.Terms like 'harnessing' constantlywith cultureso that how it is planted lock, stock and barrel into an
and 'taming'the riverarefrequentlyused dealt with is largely determinedby the altogether different context. In the context
in the now flourishingliteratureon water tangleof relationshipsandnarrativeswith of river 'development' this knowledge was
resource management.There is an in- which it is constantlynegotiating,being seen as autonomous and objective; 'val-
herentarrogancein using an equestrian affectedby, or even resisting.Definitions ues' such as reason and rationality had
metaphorfor a river,or in tryingto 'do- of 'rivers'are madeup of discoursesand been constructed as 'good' and co-termi-
mesticate'a wild riverby 'taming'it. As narratives,which in turn affect policies nus with 'development'. This worldview
if theimaginedriversareuncivilandneed and behaviour,andbecomeimplemented reveals an intoxicated arrogance of hu-
to be controlledthroughthe creationof in ways thatdirectlyaffect the body of a mans armed with 'scientific' knowledge
somethingof great beauty and magnifi- river. Much of the controversyover the and technology, borrowed from the impe-
cence. 'river'incontemporary timesarisesbecause rial rulers.What arethe fundamentalchara-
Theuseof suchtermsin describingriver symbols are confused with memory, cteristics of this knowledge? Its universal-
behaviourexplains why the newly inde- memory and symbol with actual rivers. ism, its image of nature as an adversary,
pendentstateof Indiatook uponitself the Consequently,ourideaof 'rivers'is based its assumption of replicability, and its
rightsof controllingthe rivers.This was on an oversimplifiednotion,a myth that agenda of 'march of progress'. In other
done in much the same fashion adopted can be seen as a result of converging words, the assumption is what is appli-
in thedevelopedcountriesof the west. By historical developments in ideas, dis- cable in the west would work perfectly in
imposinga structuralmodelof rivercon- courses,legislation,andourown psycho- India (or anywhere else for that matter)and
troldevelopedinAmericaoneasternIndian logical processesof memoryand projec- that would 'raise the standards of living
rivers,the state made a statementof its tion.Themythis aliveandbelieved;it tells of the people' - another frequently used
belief in the applicationof universalprin- us riversareobjectsthathave value to us term.
ciples and denied the uniquenessof our as a 'resource' and any discordant Water resource planners, as a result, did
rivers.Moreover,this modeldeprivedthe behaviouron theirpartmustbecurbed.We not appreciate the differences between
local communitiesliving in the riparian as citizens have a heavy investmentin European/American rivers and those of
areasof theirrightsof managingtheirown perpetuatingthe myth becauseif we did India, particularly the uniqueness of the
resourcesin time-testedways. Above all, not do so, our own precariousideas of natural-social contexts of the latter. These
the technicalsolutions adoptedto 'con- havingcontrolovernaturearethreatened, rivers have significant seasonal variations
trol'riverscurtailedthe rightsof riversto and thatcan shake the very roots of our in flow, they drain densely populated and
move over space, and this not only gave own sense of self andidentity.We, there- intensively cultivated areas, they do not
rise to a series of technicalproblemsbut fore, struggleto protectthe river'sdepen- have stable courses, and above all, they
immensepoliticalproblemsas well. What dency as well as projectwhat we see as bring down huge quantities of solids with
theriverandits changingmoodsmeantto its 'correct'and 'proper'behaviour.This their waters in monsoon. The fury of the
those who lived in its basin,and to those accords us a great degree of power and rivers during the rainy season and the
who made technologychoices for them, controlover rivers.Unknowingly,we are resultant fear has propagated a 'disaster
must, therefore,be understoodas a first using 'the river' as a symbol, confusing syndrome' in the science of rivers. This
step.Throughthis understanding, we can it once againwithrealriversandwhatthe fearconceived floods as a deviantbehaviour
lookintotheknowledgebaseof thetechno- river representsto different people in of the rivers - something that is not normal
logy adoptedby the state.We can under- differentcontexts. - interfering with the welfare of those
standthe political, social and economic Riversobviouslydonotexistina vacuum living in the floodplains. The urban ex-
processesthat led to the adoptionof the exceptin RamSarup'sview. Theyarenot perts formed 'enquiry committees' and
technology of large dams across and separatefrom the rest of the society and called in western scientists and techno-
embankmentsalong river courses. What culture,thoughthe myth is thatthey are crats who eventually handed over the
true'objectivenecessities'lay behindthe and should be. Such a myth was histori- responsibility of policing the rivers to the
selectionof this technology? Did it lead callyconstructedbytheurbanIndianmiddle state in ways chosen by them. 'Flood
to a furthering of human knowledge classes exposed to western scientific mitigation' thus became partof selling the
developed in the floodplainsover hun- thoughtand was, to a great extent, en- fantasticdreamof multipurposerivervalley
dredsof years.Orwas it a productof how forcedon ourriversthroughtheseparation projects in India - a simplified myth that
riversandtheirfloodshadmeaningsfixed of localcommunitiesfromtheirriverwater is now facing severe criticism after the
on them by the westerneducated,urban managementrights,andon othersthrough experience with these projects in the last
elite having access to decision-making measuressuchas universaleducation.We two decades. The various 'purposes'
power?Since riversare the most critical grew up believingwhatwas taughtto us outlined in large river valley projects re-
naturalelement in deltaic Bengal, were in our school and college textbooks,that veal systemic conflicts among each other:
pluralityand heterogeneity of options all riversdo, andcan,flow in a controlled 'augmenting lean season flow' does not
considered before dealing in a certain manner.Wegrewupreadingandwatching go with hydropowergeneration, and 'flood
way with them? in documentariesthe success stories of control' conflicts with storing up water in

2396 Economic and Political Weekly July 1, 2000


the reservoirs, which must be kept empty by the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna, and becauseof the sand deposition. It is true
to be able to store the excess water of the theirinnumerable tributariesanddistribu- that the floods have now become sig-
monsoons. taries.One of the primarycauses of the nificantly lesser in volume and fewer in
How did the state perform the duty of floods is that the riversdescendquickly frequency, but they occur more sud-
policing the rivers? It set up multiple from the uplandscarryinghuge amounts denly in unpredictableareas and are of
institutions and agencies for flood con- of silt on to theflatland.Theexcess waters longerduration.As drainagechannelsare
trol, irrigation, and the rehabilitation of reachtheplainduringtherainsonlyto find alteredor become silted up, the extentof
displaced persons in river valley projects. the lower reaches of the rivers already the areafloodedalso changesanderosive
These representa fragmentaryapproachin inflated,andinvariablycause widespread activityalongtheriverbankbecomesmore
dealing with a single entity like a river. floods in monsoonmonths.Moreover,the predominant.
When floods do happen in spite of all the regionactsas a funnelfordrainingoutthe Themeasurestakenbythestatefor'flood
technological and institutional interven- watersof theentireNepal,Gangeticplains, control'have anotherdarkarea- thatof
tions to prevent them, there is inevitably the SikkimandDarjeelingranges,andthe riskanalysis.Anytechnologymeasurehas
an emergency response from the state. north-eastern hills of the Himalayas.The an element of risk, the 'what if factor
It is not surprising that there is no singu- estuariesof Bengal delta lie in an active which seems to have been underplayed
lar agency for dealing with the conse- tidal region, which hindersthe outlet of whilejustifyingthe choice. The extentof
quences of floods. This critical part - that river waterat high tide. Finally, if peak uncertainty inadoptin atechnologychoice
directlyinfluencesthe well-being andsafety discharges from the Ganga and - the risk factor - remained unknown.
of human communities - is supposedly no Brahmaputrasystems occur simulta- Take,for example,the amountof rainfall
one's responsibility. Therefore, conflicts neously,floodsareboundto occur.Floods and its timing over the four months of
of interests within the government and the arethusnotonly unavoidable,theyarean monsoon. The British did install some
ensuing sense of guilt work behind the inherentfeatureof the processof how the raingaugesto measurerainfallin various
provision of flood relief. In most post- land in this deltaic lowland was formed partsof the countrybut theirnumberwas
flood situations, institutional failure has over thousandsof years. notadequateto eliminatethisuncertainty.
been shocking. Year afteryear, one witnes- 'River training' practices adopted by Beforea huge capitalinvestmentis made
ses the spectacle of the politics of flood the state have also ignored that during - such as that in a large dam - there is
relief and inevitably the furore dies down themonsoonsriversnotonly carrywater; a need for collecting and analysingfar
within a couple of months. Floods have they relocate enormous amountsof silt greater amounts of quantitative infor-
a human security dimension, through fromthe highly erodibleHimalayasonto mation from a much larger numberof
they have almost always been viewed from the floodplains.On an average,about50 raingaugestations.Insmallercatchments
a technical angle. The real victims of a percent of the waterdescendingfromthe of streams there are no rainguagesand
flood are usually chosen by class; in most Nepal Himalayasduringthe rainyseason hence no recordeddataexists on rainfall
cases the poor are most affected by a flood. is in fact solids of varioussize. The struc- behaviour.In muchof lower Bengal, the
One major flood can turn the poor more tural control of dams in hilly areas de- behaviourof Septemberrainfall- possibly
vulnerable, marginalise them further, and signed to preventthe uplandflow from the most unpredictableof all - is the
may even uproot them from their land. reachingthe swollen riversof the plains, critical factor in determining flood in-
The unease of the state with the tech- orhighembankments alongtherivercauses, tensity. Thus, the understanding on
nology of flood prevention adopted by viewed as 'the only practicalremedy'of which this large-scale technological
itself is adequately spoken of by the lack flood inundation,never adequatelyad- interventionis foundedis shaky.It is like
of any well-conceived, fool-proof, popu- dressed the question of solids in river a black box and hence much assuming
lar and well-publicised flood insurance waters.Wherewill thesego? Will it accu- and extrapolatingare an essential part
programme for the poor people living in mulatein the reservoirs,on the channels, of the so-called scientific process. Let
marginal environments in flood-prone on the cultivatedfields when there is a me elaboratethis further.We know that
areas. breachin the embankment?What is the over 50 percent of the raincomes in only
When there is a flood, as it happened natureof the solids?Are they sand,silt or four monthsof the year in Bengal; the
year before last, several guesses are clay? The systems of humanadjustment rain, however, is not continuous and
floated. Take that 1998 flood in Bengal to floods that had developedover centu- comes in bursts. There are phases of
for example. Was it because of abnor- ries, however, acknowledgedand even extremely intense rainfall activity and
mal climate, related to the occurrence of welcomedthis fact of solids being mixed hence as much as 80 per cent of the
El Nino, caused by deforestation in the with monsoon flows of rivers. William rainfallcomes in 20 per cent of the time.
Himalayas,submarineearthquakeandplate Willcocks wrote in his seminal essay If thereis 400 mm rainfallin 24 hours-
movement in the Bay of Bengal, poor 'AncientSystemsof Irrigationin Bengal' as happenedin 1998 - is that an aberra-
flood reliefor a combinationof such factors, thatatonetimethefarmersof Bengaldelta tion?Ornormal?Oranextremeevent?We
or was itjust anotherflood in a flood-prone welcomed the rains and the floods they simplydon't know.With all our techno-
region? Several seminars and meetings brought. As the rivers used to overtop logical means, we cannot predict accu-
later, we are yet to reach a definite con- the banks, the clay-humus rich silt rately how much rain will fall over the
clusion that will put all the responsibility containedin the upperlayer was depos- Chotanagpurplateau or deltaic Bengal
on some factor or the other. Floods are, ited on the soil, increasingits fertility in September.
however, not unusual in deltaic Bengal. many times. When an embankmentis A flood is a 'non-point'phenomenon,
The land itself has been built up over breachednowadays,the fertilityof agri- occurringovera largearea,withits causes
thousands of year with silt brought down culturalplotsis destroyedforseveralyears too spreadoverextensiveareas.However,

Economic and Political Weekly July 1, 2000 2397


the imagined 'solution' to the problem was Previousto thattherewerecommitteesand resting' were closed by Vritraand Ahis.
point-oriented such as the construction of inquiriestoo, but they were neveras sig- Riversdescendtowardsthe sea like 'nest-
a dam at a single location. Thus, control nificantas necessitatingthe formationof returningbirds'. Indrawith the thunder-
over that particular. location gives the a wholenewsystemof rivercontrol.Mem- bolt,openeda wayforthem;let thewaters
power to determine the well-being of a bersof a peasantfamily,havingspentall run freely and meet the seas. By demol-
much larger number of people living theirlives besidea flood-proneriver,had ishing Vritra,Indraopenedup the flood-
upstreamor downstream. In several cases, knownthatflood watersrecedeandwhen gates and with his weapon 'vajra' 're-
if the rainfall was too heavy and the stor- they do, the land turnsmore productive, leased the flow of Sapta Sindhu'. The
age capacities failed to hold this addi- enriched with the clay-humusrich top worldof humansand the worldof rivers
tional water in the reservoirs, the project layers of flood water. More than floods were never separatein this worldview.
administrations are 'forced to' release as such, they fear unexpected erosion Eventhenot-so-oldfolktaleson Damodar
water into the already inflated rivers. This attacksof the rivers which rob them of see it as typically 'non-Aryan',the giver
action is usually justified by another tech- theirlands,or sanddepositionon the land and the taker,an entity with a will and
nical term - that of 'design flood' mean- whenflood watersrushthroughbreached indomitablespirit. Somewherealongthe
ing the degree of flood protection pro- embankmentsand renderthe lands per- way it all changed.
vided in the solution is only for a certain manentlyuncultivable. However,theurban To come backto thepresentonce again,
limit of flood. If the water goes above that elite makingthe technologydecisionsare we notethatover the yearstherehasbeen
specified level, there is no other way but not the same as those who bear the end a greateremphasisby thestateon building
to let out the water leading to floods results of these decisions, and the first physicalcapitalon riversratherthansocial
downstream. In the absence of complete group has since independence.viewed capital among the people living in their
data on rainfall and other parameters,what floods as the major'problem'createdby floodplains.The state has perceivedthe
goes on is actually a neglect of risks rivers.Manyof the miseriesof todayare controlof riversas its own responsibility,
involved in a technology choice. The results of this attitudeand relateto how and since it possessed all the naturalre-
control measures of modern river valley rivershavebeenproblematised in the first sourcesfalling withinits politicalbound-
development projects pursued keenly so place in India. aries,its ownershipof riverstoo was an-
far in India can be best described as 'fair- Ruralpeople in Bengalhad for genera- nouncedthrough'rivertraining'.Imagin-
weather technology' - a kind of ad hoc tions lived harmoniouslywith the moods ingriversascausingthe 'menaceof floods'
measure through which we can find how of nature through intricate systems of ignoresone vital dimensionof the rivers:
power, authority, and constructions of adjustmentwith the rhythmas the rivers they areessentiallychannelsof drainage.
'truth' work together to produce a certain rose and fell. The floods used to be con- They are meantfor the drainageof water
kind of knowledge. This is a knowledge fined to the neighbouringareas of the froma largeareato sea- theyarenotmeant
that assumed superiority over other forms overflowing channels and, since they to be areasfor storingwater.Any channel
and systems of knowing things that matter occurred more or less regularly, were thatis cutto let excess waterpassthrough,
to us. In some parts of the country such negotiatedbylocalpeoplewithindigenous musthave an easy outletto the sea or into
as in Bihar, the Kosi embankments have precautionsdevelopedthroughthe expe- anotherwaterchannel.The DVC canals
created furtherpolitical tension as a spin- riencedevelopedover hundredsof years. ignorethisbasicfact anddrainintoa low-
off of the technology choice. When Such practicesdid not usurp either the lying areawhichremainsunderwaterfor
breaches occur somewhere along the em- rights of a river, or those of the com- over five monthsa year.LowerDamodar
bankment during heavy monsoons, those munitiesliving along it of theirresource valley is not an exception;drainagecon-
living outside insist that it has been ac- managementrights.Even indigenousar- gestionhasbecomeaseriousissueinseveral
tually cut off by those living within the chitecturerespectedthe rightsof rivers- partsof the country,an issue thatis rarely
embankment area. Did the river planners riversthatspreadbeyondtheirbanksduring taken up by the state.
ever visualise this kind of social and monsoons.Olderhousesin manyvillages We thus find thatlarge dams and high
political conflicts arising as offshoots of along the lower course of the Damodar embankmentswere the productof objec-
their intervention? have high plinth levels to protectthem tificationof rivers,deprivingthemof their
Inpopularpsychology, especially among from floods. rightto spreadoverspace,andestablishing
the city-breds, a 'fear-factor' operates in Let us indulge ourselves briefly and the dominanceof humanson them.This
terms of floods. The urban mind is afraid travelfurtherbackwardsto Vedic times. replacedthe views in which rivers were
of the rage of rivers. In a country like India River there is prettymuch like a human perceivedas living beings and each river
where wide gaps exist in almost all the being, each has its specific gender,mood had its own, unique characteristic.The
aspects of rural and urban sectors of the and character.It is praised,loved, adu- sense of oneness with rivers and attach-
economy, there is a distinct perception lated and its fury appreciated.The river mentto themwas replacedwith the sense
gap with regard to rivers and their floods did lower itself to make way for thata river,like a wild horse,needs to be
too. Cities are where much of the capital Vishwamitraalongwithhis armyandthe 'harnessed','tamed' and 'controlled'.
of a developing society is concentrated chariots.But it did so willingly, 'as the We needto ask ourselvescarefullywhy
and hence it becomes the primary task motherlowersherselfto feed the childon we want rivers to remain innocent and
of the state to protect them. For example, herbreastandtheyoungwomantoembrace docile, and what this 'innocence'means
it was only after the 1943 flood when her man'. In Rigvedait is said about'the to us. It can meanfreedomfromdestruc-
Calcutta was detached from the rest of the waterswho aregoddesses'that'theywho tion, but also.disempowerment for rivers
world that the Damodar floods first came havethe oceanas theireldestflowing out and local communities.We need to con-
under serious scrutiny by the city elite. of the sea, purifyingthemselves, never siderhow we benefitfrom these. Fearof

Economicand PoliticalWeekly July 1, 2000 2399


floods and safety may also relate to our to kill the river. However, the canal water vary as they are constantly produced and
own fears of losing control over what we is not a singular offering; it comes in a reworked over time. As we begin to note
see as 'resource' in rivers. Fear is a useful package and that package is ratherexpen- the ebb and flow of conflicting mean-
and fertile ground for tyrannical gover- sive. A poor peasant sells the last gold of ings in the fluidity generated by various
nance to flourish. Is this what we want for his wife to buy the capital-intensivetechno- discourses, we enable ourselves to
the future? logy package - the entire process maps a ponder over the contradictions, the use
A notable feature is that during the last terrain that is structuraland governed by of force, and the tragedies and ironies
40 years since the publication of Ram a globalisation tendency which offers them of modern river valley development in
Sarup's article mentioned earlier, the only a few highly constrainedoptions. The India. Under the distanced and decentred
perceptions of even the rural peasant of traditional mode of knowledge has col- gaze of modern science the rivers ap-
Bengal have changed significantly. There lapsed and human agency has become peared as objects - not a context within
has been a gradual erosion of indigenous reduced to a function of economic forces. which we live. The river lost its ad-
wisdom and replication of intellectual We therefore see that confusion exists equacy as a metaphor that cannot be
dependency perfected during the colonial at several levels - the psychological, the conceived in a static form. We are now
times. Inundation is no longer seen as an material and the symbolic - in terms of living in a time of rapid changes, un-
unavoidable, natural process; ferocious imagining rivers. The relationships among certainty and major upheavals. The
floods no longer occur with regularity at subjectivity, power, authority, construc- future seems more frightening than ever
least in the Gangetic plains of Bengal. tions of 'truth', and the associated prod- before and the world itself seems, like
However, when they do, they are greater uction of knowledge are exposed with re- rivers, both dangerous and threatened.
in magnitude,longerin duration,andspread spect to rivers. The rivers are also some- The river, in all senses, is at the centre
over much larger areas than they used to thing that we construct and to which we of this confusion. lM1
before. Revitalising the culture of 'living give meaning; this perspectival conception [I acknowledge the immense debt of discussions
with floods' is extremely difficult and im- of rivers can never be overlooked. Whilst with Ramaswamy Iyer, Gail Omvedt, Deepak
practical in areas like the lower Damodar a river is a natural phenomenon, it is also Giwali, Ajaya Dikshit, Jayanta Bandyopadhyay
valley where instead of one, farmers now a constructedcategoryandhence the images and KatherineGibson in writing this article.]
have become used to harvesting two or
three crops in a year. Consequently, there
has been an attitudinal change to rivers at
the village level too; local communities BIRD
now 'demand' spurs, weirs, barrages (and
in case of the Damodar, the remaining four
dams planned originally by W L Voorduin
of Tennessee Valley Authority, the tech- REQUIRES
nical expert of Damodar Valley plan). A
dominanteconomic form has become well
established, and many farmers of DVC
command area now refuse to see them-
l DIRECTOR
selves as peripheralto the formal develop- BankersInstituteof RuralDevelopment(BIRD),Lucknow,an apex levelinstitute
ment process of the country. If dams-
promotedby NABARD,providingnationaland internationaltraining,research
embankment-HYVseed-fertilisertechnol- and consultancyservices in ruraldevelopmentbanking,is lookingfora suitable
ogy is synonymous to mainstream candidatefor the post of Directorto head the institute.BIRDhas a sprawling
development, then the aspiration of the
farmer is quite understandably to get a Campus with state-of-the-artinfrastructurefacilities. Candidates with good
share of the cake too. Over the decades, academic backgroundand substantialexperience in banking,research and
the agrarianpopulations have been 'given' managementdisciplinesbesides teachingandadministrative experiencewould
a particular notion of development, and be preferred.Selected candidatewillbe offeredgross emolumentsof approxi-
now they want more of it. It is the way mately Rs. 27000/- per monthbesides usual perks such as accommodation,
rivers have been thought that has made it conveyance, etc. available in comparableinstitutions.
so difficult for people to now imagine its
supersession. The applicationtogether with curriculumvitae may be addressed to
Take boro rice for example. This crop
now provides the main source of cash The Joint Director,
income to farmersof lower Damodar. Boro
ricecropis entirelydependenton the supply
Bankers Institute of Rural Development,
of irrigation water through the DVC Sector-H, LDA Colony, Kanpur Road,
canals, which often are not enough or Lucknow-226 012.
reliable. Why do the farmers opt for canal
water?Simply because they pay negligible LATESTBY 31 JULY 2000.
amounts or none for it. Even groundwater
c.gsts more than water from rivers. To For further details please visit us at http://www.birdindia.com
preserve their self-interests, people have

2400 Economicand Political Weekly July 1, 2000

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