Empire and ecology in the Bengal Deltathe making of Calcutta
954.1470903 BHA
Bhattacharyya, Debjani
3488
Empire and ecology in the Bengal Delta the making of Calcutta
/ Debjani Bhattacharyya
. — Restricted South Asia ed.
. — New Delhi : Cambridge Univ. Press, 2019.
xvi, 241 p. : ill., graphs, maps ; 23 cm.
— ( Studies in environment and history ).
- McNeill, J. R. Russell, Edmund P. .
incl. bibliographical references and index
List of Figures -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction: almanac of a tidal basin -- Part I. Environmental Consolidations: 1. Power and silt; -- 2. Drying a delta -- Part II. Legal Maneuvers: 3. Notarizing possessions; -- 4. Commerce in land -- Part III. Unreal Estate: 5. Speculative properties -- Conclusion: disappearing coastlines -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Index
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 publisher's description
978-1-108-70658-8 : ₹ 795.00 9781108425742 :
Climatic changes--India--Kolkata Human ecology--India Ganges River Delta (Bangladesh and India)--History Environmental history, Area studies South Asian history Asian Studies Regional History after 1500 Environmental sciences --History--India--Kolkata Human ecology --History--India--Kolkata
India--History--British occupation, 1765-1947 Bengal (India)--History Bay of Bengal British colonies India --HistoryHistory --British occupation--1765-1947 India --Politics and government--1765-1947
