The Politics and Poetics of Water: Naturalising Scarcity in Western India

by Lyla Mehta

The book studies the relationship between large dams and water scarcity in Kutch. It argues that water scarcity is not merely natural, but is embedded in the social and power relations shaping water access, use and practices. Scarcity is portrayed as natural rather than human induced and this ‘naturalisation of scarcity’ is beneficial to those who are powerful. This is a significant book in the light of the growing water crisis in India, and the world.

Genres: India

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 12, 2004