Environmental History of India Vipul Singh

In this talk I explain how the eastward shift of the Ganga and consequential silt deposition in Bengal over the centuries have led to new land formation and settlements.

The episode tells you the story of Mao’s mobilisation of people to kill pests and birds in China in late 1950s and early 60s, and how it had negatively affected country’s economy and health.

Why should we call big dams as ‘creative destruction’? In the present talk we will see how the Twentieth century witnessed big Dam constructions all around the globe and why they were considered the symbols of economic development. How through such creation, humans tried to dominate nature. We will see that the problem lies in the philosophy of managing the resources such as water for society, and how dam construction has taken away the rights of people over water as the common property resource.

The episode discusses the introduction of eucalyptus in India and brings into the analysis Alfred Crosby’s hypothesis of Ecological Imperialism. In the later part of the episode the case of Andaman Island showcases the unique qualities of ecological imperialism.

The discussion brings into focus the works of Dirk Kolff and Jos Gommans.

Vipul Singh explains how the much celebrated Akbar’s Rajput Policy was already experimented by Shershah in the mid-Ganga basin. In that sense Shershah’s Relationship with the Purabia Rajputs was precursor to Mughal-Rajput relations.