The Politics of Dams: Developmental Perspectives and Social Critique in Modern India.

Big dams implemented in India for irri- gation, power, water supply, etc. wereoften considered as effective symbols of economic development during the twen- tieth century. However, this endeavour is often associated with the scant regard for environmental and social consequences – especially for the populations that are displaced due to their homelands being flooded. Implementing large-scale river valley projects through the construction of dams is still high on the State’s agen- da and constitutes a symbol of certain kind of development that seems to have lost much of the appeal compared to the boom in large projects in the early days after independence.

Dams and other structures built recently are part of the policies that determine how water bodies are managed or mis- managed. The well-being and health of Indians depend upon the management of physical, chemical and biological integri- ty of aquatic ecosystems. Excellent ac- counts have been written on the history of dams as ‘symbols of modernity’; sev- eral others analyse the social and ecolog- ical impacts of specific projects that construct dams. In this context, the pub- lication ‘The Politics of Dams: Develop- ment Perspectives and Social Critique in Modern India’ attempts to bring both lines of the argument together and con- tribute to the theory of social critique, with three objectives. The first objective is to show continuities and discontinui- ties between the colonial and the post- colonial state with regard to its develop- mental aims and strategies, exemplified in the construction of large-scale projects. The second objective is based on the assumption that the continuity of the post-colonial developmental impera- tives have not experienced a major para- digm shift yet. The third objective is to analyse the ambivalent role critique of large dams has played historically. Resis- tance is determined by the limits of a normative discursive framework that de- rives its legitimacy from positivist deve- lopmental politics.

The publication under review is con- cerned with the construction of large dams in the context of post-independence developmental politics in India. It deals with the ‘ideological designs’ that have shaped the implementation of dams in India and juxtaposes with alternative visions and their political opposition. Efforts by global policymakers in recent times are towards the alternate sustaina- ble management approaches, including the removal of dams to the simulation of flows, restoration of habitat, watershed treatment, etc.

The publication is based on the doc-toral dissertation of the author. Ethno- graphic work for this study was mainly conducted during 2008–2010. This book is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 deals with a number of questions related to the contextualization of water man- agement and the construction of large dams within the framework of nation- building. The decay of traditional water infrastructure, excessive levying of land revenue with the advent of colonial rule led to the impoverishment of localities and the subsequent decay of traditional irrigation systems. The nature of resis- tance against dams faced setback due to lack of ability to establish (discursive) legitimacy through established environ- mental norms and quantified impact assessments. In addition to the ecological consequences, major social disparities were inherited from the British. The dis- parities such as regional, as well as class and caste disparities that reflected pri- marily in unequal land access were in- creased rather than balanced out through the agricultural reform programmes.

Chapter 2 deals with political changes and ensuing resistance in the field of water works in the second half of the twentieth century. The final part provides a condensed history of many recent events. The silent valley victory was a great motivating force for the struggle against large dams all over India. The underlying engineering vision of envi- ronmental domination that determined water management and its implication for the transformation of landscapes in the post-colonial period reflects an ethos of domination over nature that informed the politics of self-declared modern so- cieties. Dams were considered as temples of resurgent India by the rulers of post- independent India. However, one of the most important pillars in the process of accomplishing self-rule was self-reliance of local/village economy based on the self sufficiency of every individual through augmentation of local produc- tion and the utilization of indigenous re- sources.

Chapter 3 eloquently outlines a con- densed picture of two different visions of India’s future society through ‘Nehru- Gandhi’ divergent views. Building upon the historical and theoretical basis, Chap- ters 4 and 5 illustrate the case study, the north India Tehri dam, located in Utta- rakhand in the central Himalayas. Chap- ter 4 focuses on the history of the Tehri dam, the upcoming resistance, its antece- dents and current events in the region. Contemporary events and key arguments that shaped the complex and controver- sial discourse on hydropower are dis- cussed in Chapter 5. It sheds light on the controversial debate amongst activists and academicians beyond the region.

Uttarakhand is the catchment for many important rivers and aptly known as‘water tower’ of India. The occurrence of many rivers has led to a strong promo- tion of hydropower projects on nearly all rivers in the state. There were demands by the local stakeholder groups for an in- tegrated sustainable development path with afforestation to guarantee food, fodder, fuel wood, fertilizer and fibre (five f’s). Even after implementation of many large-scale interventionist projects, there is still no national rehabilitation policy – the responsibility to deal with the consequences of the displacement (or resettlement). Large reservoirs not only pose an incalculable risk in case of earthquakes, but they are supposed to cause seismic activity themselves. Landslides instigated by construction ac- tivities and/or unpaved reservoir walls add to the damage.

Large dams reduce the flow and hence reduce aeration that harms the quality of the river – ecologically and spiritually. The alterations in the natural flow also impair scientifically proven self-purifi- cation capability due to the activity of certain bacteriophage in the river. Ganga river was declared as a national river and also a world heritage site and the area of150 km from Gangotri to Uttarkashi is an eco-sensitive region. However, projects have still been implemented that annihi- late Ganga and destroy the fragile and pristine forests in the Himalayan valley

Chapter 6 explores the role of social movements as a corpus of critique through number of case studies and approaches that suggest the possibilities of a critique beyond cost-benefit consid- erations, transgress not only the statist developmental vision but also the hege- monic discourse that sustains its perva- siveness. The social movements are an extension of Gandhi’s legacy towards legitimizing point of reference through the social and environmental activism in India during the twentieth century.

The studies presented in this publica- tion are essentially linked to the story of hydropower projects and the ensuing struggles in India. The book elucidates the historical logic of building large dams within the framework of the post- independence nation building through the realization of a ‘big is beautiful’ imagination that dams would play as infrastructural and symbolic monuments in twentieth century India. Advocates of large dams argue of beneficial aspects, such as food security, drinking water and power generation. The critics of the dam projects raise concerns like forced dis- placement, reduced catchment integrity with water retention capability, insuffi- cient compensation and resettlement practice, severe environmental damage and incorrect cost-benefit statistics. The publication presents arguments against large dams by referring to the case study of Tehri dam with the illustration of an activist’s role in the anti-dam move- ments. The construction of large dams entails the displacement of millions of families as well as enormous ecological impacts with the economic miscalcula- tions.

The publication is a valuable contribu- tion to the literature on dams, which pro- vides useful insights into the current policies and management of major rivers, which are considered as the lifeline of a region. More importantly the publication presents the concerns associated with the construction of large dams in the context of post-independence development poli- tics in India. The publication constitutes an essential literature on dam building in India and adds to the growing discus- sions among environmentally literate stakeholders. The author’s attempt to in- tegrate historical debates with ethno- graphic insights of the stakeholder’s resistance against large dams is laudable major research activities that have gone into this area. The author proposes some biomarkers and tools for early diagnosis of the disease based on the Ayurveda explanations.

The ninth chapter happens to be one of the most insightful and well written chapters of the book, authored by a group of experts led by S. R. Narahari, a biomedical dermatologist. It is important to recognize the fact that his group has accumulated vast experiences of manag- ing certain skin conditions through inte- grative Ayurveda interventions over the past decade. The strategy that has been reported in this chapter is of using ‘full treatment protocols’. The experiences of a team of multisystem medical doctors, shared in this chapter by the authors, in developing a patient-centric module for integrative treatment protocol can cer- tainly guide future efforts in this area. Treatment protocol developed by this team for lymphedema has been explained in detail in this chapter. The tenth chap- ter looks at sleep medicine and explores the possibility of integrating Ayurveda interventions with contemporary clinical practice in the domain of sleep disorders.

The eleventh chapter authored by Christian Sumith Kessler happens to be an exciting narration of Ayurveda expe- riences from a western point of view and describes the emerging needs of translat- ing Ayurveda into western settings. He makes some very interesting observa- tions on two kinds of approaches that the practitioners have opted for, in India and in the West, towards the practice of Ayurveda. He says, Ayurveda therapy in the West is characterized by a multi- modality whole systems approach of practice which is in striking contrast to mainstream Ayurveda approaches in India, which predominantly focus on polyherbal treatments. This necessitates, he argues, to adopt ‘whole systems re- search’ approach along with ‘mixed methods’ approach to evaluate clinicalAyurveda practice in western countries.

Neat drawings, tables and flow charts coupled with a foreword written by Prof. M. S. Valiathan add value to the volume. It is quite natural to expect some minor incongruencies and repetitions in a book of this nature, where chapters are written by different groups of authors. This has also led to a difference in tones of differ- ent chapters. For instance, the bold and critical statements that appear in the pre- face, somehow are not seen in most of the other chapters.

To conclude, the biggest hurdle in proposing Ayurveda as a dependable health care providing system is a gap between the knowledge which is expoun- ded in its classical texts and an ability of its stakeholders to translate this into a real-time situation. This book looks at this gap seriously and tries to seek an- swers to fill it with newer approaches