Indian Water Organisation

Water security is not determined by nature alone. Culture, social structures and tradition play an equal part in ensuring water security in low rainfall regions such as Rajasthan. Anupam Mishra's landmark book on traditional water harvesting and storage systems in Rajasthan is now available in English translation

By general consensus, the one resource that is most likely to engender social conflict in the 21st century is water. Every resource is under pressure as the world becomes increasingly 'developed', globalised and overpopulated, with drastic consequences on the environmental balance of the planet. But it is water resources in particular, that have been coming under increasingly severe pressure in recent years. As it is, we have a very limited supply of fresh water, with less than 1% of the water on the planet fit for human use; and our short-sightedness has ensured that we have polluted and mismanaged the little that we do have. It is not for nothing that dire predictions of future 'water wars' are becoming common, not only in development discourse but in mainstream circles as well. Disputes over water resources, at the local level, at the inter-state level (eg over sharing of riparian waters), and at the national and international levels are only growing.

But is the availability of water the only issue, or is the way water is managed at the community and individual levels equally crucial? What role does traditional knowledge and wisdom have to play when it comes to harvesting and sharing of water? Is there any way out of the dead-end that expensive, large-scale projects like dams have led us into? Why is it that many sustainable traditional methods of water conservation are suffering the ravages of neglect? Is there any way this trend can be reversed? The Radiant Raindrops of Rajasthan draws our attention to these vital issues. This book was originally published in Hindi as Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein and went on to become a modern development classic. With its lyrical language, and deep commitment to traditional values and methods, it had a deep impact on current thinking on issues of water conservation and harvesting. The Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology and its Director, Maya Jani, who has translated the book into English, have rendered an important service to those who cannot read the book in the original.

Anupam Mishra's landmark book on traditional water harvesting and storage systems in the 'desert state' of Rajasthan convincingly demonstrates that water security is not a given of nature; rather, it is a combination of nature with culture, social structure and tradition. Thus we see that many regions receiving high rainfall are actually water scarcity regions, while regions receiving low rainfall may have adequate water security.

Rajasthan is a classic example of the latter situation. Receiving very low amounts of rainfall (putting it at the borderline of the definition of desert), even the little rain that does fall is concentrated in just 3-4 months every year. Yet Rajasthan belies the image of a desert region, and this is because society here has developed and nurtured a very strong tradition of water conservation, which, though weakened, has not been entirely swept away by the waves of modernisation and the dubious technologies it has brought in its wake. The tradition of conserving every drop of water has stood Rajasthan in good stead, and agriculture flourishes in many parts of the state. Households, even in the most arid parts of the state, have access to sufficient water for their needs round the year. Little wonder then that the value ascribed to each drop of water leads Mishra to describe them as 'rajat', which means silver and also ivory in Hindi.

The structure of the book is such that it introduces us step-by-step to the variety of traditional water conservation structures and traditions. After an initial chapter which introduces the state of Rajasthan and its chief characteristics, and another which introduces us to the religious, cultural and spiritual connotations of water conservation and its traditions, each chapter in the book describes a homogeneous set of structures for water conservation and harvesting. These include kuins (deep, narrow wells which access the capillary water trapped between the brackish water table and the surface), kunds (ponds) and tankas (tanks) - ranging from small household-level structures to gigantic structures which supply the needs of entire towns - and ponds and retention pools, from the smallest structures to the enormous talabs like those of Gharsisar.

The agriculture of the khadeens is described; khadeens are oases which are created through the retention of water in the beds of seasonal rivers, and enable two crops, kharif and rabi, to be taken. Another chapter discusses the techniques of boring and coating, and describes in detail the tools used to draw water - water skins, pulleys and the like. The brief final chapter compares Rajasthan with other water-scarce regions in other developing countries. This chapter gives an indication of how the Rajasthan model can show the way out of water-scarcity by self-managed traditional techniques, developed and designed keeping in mind local conditions and resources.

The book underscores the fact that we have much to learn from our traditions as we confront a whole range of ecological and social problems. In the area of water conservation, much work has already been done. One of the lasting legacies left by environmentalist Anil Agarwal has been the work done by the Centre for Science and Environment in uncovering and highlighting our water conservation traditions, as well as in promoting environment-friendly technologies for water conservation and use.

As the evils of many of our technological solutions become increasingly evident, a movement for the use of traditional environment-friendly technologies is building up. The modern Indian state has largely been geared towards expensive, technology-intensive, large-scale solutions to problems of water availability. The thinking that led Jawaharlal Nehru to describe large dams as 'temples of modern India' still rules the roost, and has created disaster after disaster, all in the name of development. The Narmada project is but one example, but unfortunately it may not be the last or the least; the current inter-linking of rivers project is the prime contender for the accolade of the most hare-brained scheme of them all. This scheme will seek to reverse geography and the entire logic of catchment areas and river basins; it is a foregone conclusion that it will create displacement, misery and environmental disaster on a scale that far outweighs its purported benefits. In Rajasthan itself, the Indira Gandhi Canal has failed to deliver most of the benefits which it was designed to bring, and has in fact created an entirely new range of environmental problems.

Of course, any argument against these large-scale, technological solutions cannot rely on logic alone. It is more than likely that the proponents of such schemes are entirely aware of the flaws in their proposals. But there is a consensus among India's elites in favour of these projects, not because of their appropriateness or soundness, but because these expensive, resource-intensive projects are the basis of the 'loot-economy' on which our elites thrive. The proliferation of such projects can only be halted once strong grassroots movements, which bring control of development into the hands of the people, come up and strengthen themselves to present an alternative vision.

Work which highlights indigenous traditions can help in this process - Anupam Mishra's work on water conservation in Rajasthan has not remained confined to the libraries; it has inspired a range of efforts in Rajasthan to research and revive traditional methods of water harvesting. The Tarun Bharat Sangh in Rajasthan has initiated a grassroots movement to revive these traditional structures. The work has received much acclaim and inspired many similar efforts in other parts of India.

One weakness of the book, though, is one that bedevils much of the literature that seeks to celebrate 'tradition', which is that it takes a rather uncritical and rosy-eyed view of the past. The social structure of Rajasthan receives uncritical approval, on the somewhat dubious grounds that a society which gave rise to and nurtured such a fantastic water conservation system must have been good and just. This is somewhat like saying that slave societies were a good idea, because they produced marvels like the Egyptian pyramids.

More discernment is called for. There is good and bad in all societies, and we would be doing ourselves a disservice if we seek to lay the blame for all our problems on our colonial past, and hark back to a bygone golden age for the solution to all our problems. This concern becomes all the more urgent, given the rise of fundamentalist and obscurantist forces in the political firmament of India. It is only with a judicious combination of tradition and modernism that we can hope to successfully tackle our problems, be they environmental, social or political.

The book also succeeds to a certain extent in conveying the lyrical, poetic quality of the original, no mean feat. One wishes, though, that this were not at the expense of grammar and punctuation, which very often jars quite badly. Also, place names are inconsistently spelt, and districts mentioned in the text do not make an appearance in the tables, leading to some confusion.

These flaws do not detract from the urgent, passionate message that Mishra has for us. The only means for sustainable resource management is when people and communities take control of their resources, and use them equitably with due concern for environmental issues. Anybody who wants to know how traditional knowledge and wisdom can contribute to this process in the area of water harvesting and conservation needs to read The Radiant Raindrops of Rajasthan.


By Vidyadhar Gadgil
(Vidyadhar Gadgil is an independent writer and editor based in Goa.)

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