Empire and Ecology in the Bengal Delta: The Making of Calcutta

Studies in Environment and History

by Debjani Bhattacharyya

What happens when a distant colonial power tries to tame an unfamiliar terrain in the world's largest tidal delta? This history of dramatic ecological changes in the Bengal Delta from 1760 to 1920 involves land, water and humans, tracing the stories and struggles that link them together. Pushing beyond narratives of environmental decline, Bhattacharyya argues that 'property-thinking', a governing tool critical in making land and water discrete categories of bureaucratic and legal management, was at the heart of colonial urbanization and the technologies behind the draining of Calcutta. The story of ecological change is narrated alongside emergent practices of land speculation and transformation in colonial law. Bhattacharyya demonstrates how this history continues to shape our built environments with devastating consequences, as shown in the Bay of Bengal's receding coastline.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Geography, Environment, India

272 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2019

Reviews

[Rahul Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an ACADEMIC text that I loved reading. With her focus on Calcutta's history, the author has charted out the ecological life of the city that's changed from the 18th century. By uncovering literary archives, journals, legal battles, she has brought forth the aqueous history of Calcutta before her readers. Although history isn't my immediate focus, reading this text gave me a sense of the field I wish to venture in, as a part of my research, and realise the various changes it has witnessed since the British regime. Her lucid writing style and the fascinating ways in which she has stated historical facts like a story was something which I wish to learn and embody in my writing. I would recommend this book to you only if academic history, social ecology, water, Calcutta and urban ecology is something that interests you!

[Mick de Waart · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing to me was quite vague and the book as a whole seemed overinflated, repetitive and unnecessarily detailed. I feel like the author should’ve been able to make the same point in a few thousand words and would have created a much more enjoyable read.

Also, the point the book apparently tried to make seemed a bit obvious to me. Basically: legal structures underpinned by colonial capitalist notions superimposed on the local socio-ecological context in the Bengal delta laid the groundwork for extortionist land use practices up until this day at the expense of local socio-ecological conditions. That’s basically the whole book summarised. If this point seems quite obvious to you then you might not enjoy the book either.

I did have the feeling that I was constantly missing a deeper point the author was trying to make but rarely felt compelled to go back because the writing just felt unnecessarily complicated and unappealing. So yeah, I might just be too dumb for this book but I personally think this could’ve been better because the premise for the book seemed really interesting to me.

[Uttiyo Sarkar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative. Eye-opening.

[A. B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read 76/204 pages, but an interesting academic look at how Calcutta as a city was formed through a terraforming process which created the concept of land as an alienable commodity etc.