by Sunil Amrith
and borders, 317–319, 329–330
carbon and CO2 in ocean, 241–242
and cyclones’ intensity, 308–309
impact in Asia, 4, 274, 303–304, 316
international cooperation, 319–320
land cover and forests, 307
and life cycles, 8
and loss, 325–330
and monsoons, 304–305, 307, 308–309
as risk, 268, 273–274, 303–304
and water crisis, 274, 316–317
Climatological Atlas of India (Eliot), 108–109
clouds, 93–95, 143, 251
coastal regions and cities
changes and losses, 326–330
climate change impact, 4
storm risks and preparation, 312–313, 315–316
colonialism, 11–12
See also British India
Colvin, John, 43, 45
Congress party (Indian National Congress), 114, 151, 166–167, 180, 243, 252
resource planning for water, 163–164
control of water
in agrarian history, 7
in Asia, 5–8, 12
and borders, 164–165
British India, 22, 34, 38–45, 46–47, 114, 164–165
and colonialism, 12
Godavari River, 38, 39–40
in India’s history, 26–27, 47
as quest, 5–6
See also irrigation
Cotton, Arthur Thomas, 19 (fig.)
control of water and irrigation, 39–41, 46, 47, 111, 116
Ganges canal, 41–42
Godavari River, 17–20, 39–40
legacy of, 116, 259, 297
and railway, 52
Credner, William, 164
Crutzen, Paul, 305
cultivators. See agriculture
culture, and climate, 155–158
Curzon, Lord, 117
cyclones and storms
1864 storm, 58–59, 60–63
1876 storm, 91–92
1891 and 1897 storms, 106–107
1942 storm, 168–169
Bangladesh, 309–310
and climate change, 308–309
“cyclone” as new word, 60
radar tracking, 314
science and forecasting, 60–63, 104–106, 239, 309, 314–315
See also monsoons
The Cyclones of the Far East (Algué), 105–106, 107 (fig.)
Dalai Lama, 226, 227
Dalhousie, Marquess, 51–52
Dalits, 154, 155, 287–288
Damodar River and Valley, and project, 172–173, 194, 205
dams
and borders, 179
building in Asia, 177–179
in China, 178, 219, 300–302
costs, 179–180
development in India, 177–178, 179, 193–196, 201–203, 207–208, 258, 273, 297–298, 301
displacement of people, 210–211, 212–213, 292, 295–296
environmental impact, 213, 296–297, 299, 302–303
financing, 301–302
in India, 178 (map)
problems from, 4, 294–297, 299, 302–303
protests and resistance, 292–294, 298
symbolism, 179
workers in India, 199–201, 202 (fig.), 203–205
See also hydroelectricity; specific dams and projects
Das, P. K., 242
Davis, Mike, 87
deforestation, 74–76, 139, 172–173, 307
dessicationists, 74–75, 139
Diana (steamboat), 49
Digby, William, 78–79, 80
displacement of people
dams, 210–211, 212–213, 292, 295–296
and land acquisition, 126–127, 210–211, 212
diversion of rivers, 4, 297–299
D’Monte, Darryl, 289
Doel, Ronald, 250, 251
Donaldson, Dave, 54
Douie, James, 122–123, 124
Dowleswaram dam, 18, 40
Drèze, Jean, 261
drought of 1876–1879 in India
description, 65–67
drought science, 69, 71, 72–73, 101, 102
and famine, 65–74
and human intervention, 73–76
rain and rainfall, 65, 67–69
sunspots theory, 82–83
droughts
1896, 84–86
1899–1900, 267
1950s to today, 308
mid-1960s, 230–231, 242–243, 247, 248
1970 to 1973, 260–262
agricultural vs. meteorological droughts, 287
and agriculture, 68–69, 136, 287
and El Niño events, 265
forecasts, 267
insurance in agriculture, 136
and monsoons, 68–69, 230–231
and politics, 252–253
science of, 69, 71, 72–73, 82, 95–96, 101, 102, 230–231
and water distribution, 286–287
Dutt, Romesh Chander, 115–116
earthquake of 1950, 189
East India Company, 33, 45–46, 48–49
Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), 213–215, 223–224
economy
agriculture and cultivators, 8, 133–136
in British India, 11–12, 38–39, 133–134, 160–161
conditions in post-WWII Asia, 213–214
food economy and control, 192, 243, 280
growth of 1980s in India, 272–273
and irrigation, 133–135
and land, 160–161
market collapse of 1930s, 159–161
and Partition, 183–184, 186–187
policy in 1950s and 60s, 243–244, 245
and railway, 52, 53–55
rice economies in WWII, 170
Ehrlich, Paul, 253
El Niño, 66, 69, 263 (fig.), 264–265
El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), 264–265
electricity. See hydroelectricity
Eliot, John
atlas of climatology of India, 108–109
cyclone and storm science, 92, 104, 106, 107
meteorology, 103–104
monsoons forecasts, 107–108, 138, 139
environment and nature
activism and environmental movement, 281–286, 288, 290–291, 321–322
climate and culture, 157–159
conference of 1972, 253–255
cooperation cross-border, 320–322
dams’ impact, 213, 296–297, 299, 302–303
impact of post-WWII changes, 177
impact on history of Asia, 6–7
migration and migrant workers, 329–330
and Partition, 181–182
problems in 1970s India, 253–254, 255
protests against dams, 292–294
traditional water management, 281–283
vulnerability of India, 5, 114, 134–135, 150, 207–208, 278
water legislation in India, 255–256
environmental crises, impact, 10
epidemics of 1890s in India, 84
erosion, 327–328
Europe, trade to India and Asia, 31–33
Famine Codes, 83, 86, 250
Famine Enquiry Commission (1880), 81–82, 102
famine of 1876–1878 in India
description, 65–66, 68–69
and drought, 65–74
enquiry commission, 81–83
and human intervention, 72–76
and inequality, 73–74
in Madras, 78–79
and meteorology, 69–70, 82–83, 102–103
and monsoon, 82, 83
relief and response, 78–81, 82–83
and state failure, 76–79, 81–82
famines
agriculture and cultivators, 73–74, 116
and capitalism, 73–74, 87–88
consequences, 89
and food imports, 267
and irrigation, 83, 117
and meteorology, 69–70, 82–83, 102–103
>
responsibility for, 74, 78, 85, 87–88, 115–116, 169–170, 267
solutions to, 136–137
and water schemes, 171
See also specific famines
famines of 1890s in India, 84–87
farmers and farming. See agriculture
Field, J. H., 144
Films Division of India, 198
First Citizen’s Report on the State of India’s Environment (Agarwal and Narain), 282–283
fisheries, 131–133, 165, 328–329
food
feeding challenge in India, 191–193
food aid, 244, 248, 249–250
imports in famines, 267
policy and strategy in India, 243–247
prices, 68–69, 246
production, 274–275, 279–280
riots of 1964, 274–275
security and control, 192, 243, 280
self-sufficiency, 192, 243–244, 322–323
Food Corporation of India, 261–262
Forest Act (1878, India), 76
forests and deforestation, 74–76, 139, 172–173, 307
Freeman, Orville, 248
Friends of Nature, 290, 291
frontiers. See borders
functionalism, 215
Furnivall, John, 161
Gandhi, Indira, 248–249, 249 (fig.), 253–255, 323
Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand “Mahatma,” 149–151, 155, 166, 281
Ganges, 35 (map)
and British power, 33, 34–35
canal, 41–42, 43–45
centrality and reverence in India, 25–26, 44–45, 228
changes in course, 30
custom duties and taxation, 48–49
cyclone of 1876, 92
monsoons’ power, 57–58
navigation and trade, 47–48, 50
pollution, 289–290
and spirituality, 26
steamboats, 49–50
Gangetic plain, and brown cloud, 305–306
Gastrell, James, 61–63
Geological Survey of India, 59
geology, 1–2, 59–60, 118
Ghosh, Amitav, 313
Ginsburg, Norton, 2
glaciers, and climate change, 303
Global Warming in an Unequal World (Agarwal and Narain), 285, 286
Global Weather Experiment, 266
Godavari River, irrigation and control of water, 18–20, 38, 39–41
Gondwana, 59
Gopalaswami, R. A., 188–189, 192
Government of India Act (1919), 143
groundwater, for irrigation and food production, 256–258, 260, 276–280
Gujarat, groundwater and water table, 278
Halley, Edmund, 23
Haridwar headworks, 43
Harper, Kristine, 250, 251
Hart, Henry, 202–203, 205
Hart, Robert, 105
Hart Schaaf, C., 214–215
haze (brown cloud), 2–3, 305–307
Hedin, Sven, 111
Hem Raj, R. B., 141
Hildebrandsson, Hugo, and colleagues, 93–94
Himalayan rivers, x–xi (map), xviii (fig.)
borders and countries, 2, 300
climate change impact, 4, 303–304
dams and dam building, 4, 299–303
data and information sharing, 302, 321
description and history, 2
earthquake of 1950, 189
environmental crises, 10
exploration and mapping, 111
in geopolitical view, 110–112
and pollution, 2–3, 289
as shared water resources, 189, 303–304
Himalayas, 24, 63–64, 109–112, 303–304
Hirakud Dam, 193–194, 204–205
history and history-writing
latent and manifest events, 231
views on water and its impact, 5–10
Hooker, Joseph, 63–64
Hornell, James, 132–133
Huang Wanli, 219
Humboldt, Alexander von, 74
“Hundred Flowers” campaign, 219
Hunter, William Wilson, 109–111
hydroelectricity, 128–129, 257–258, 277, 278, 296
Iltutmish, Sultan, 42
Imperial India. See British India
imperialism, impact on Asia, 11–12
India / Indian subcontinent
ambition post-independence, 193–195, 196, 197–198, 207–208
climatology and politics, 108–109
elections of 1967, 252
infrastructure neglect, 76
as inspiration for water schemes, 223–224
life expectancy, 189–190
political awakening, 114–115, 148–149
population history and growth, 190–191, 269, 272
representative politics, 67–68
state of emergency of 1975, 255
as “subcontinent,” 109–110
traditional water management, 281–283
as vantage point for water history, 10–16
vulnerability towards nature, 5, 114, 134–135, 150, 207–208, 278
water crisis, 278–283, 292
water debates post-independence, 13
water diversion project, 297–298
water legislation, 255–256
water schemes post-WWII, 171–173, 194–195, 218, 221–222, 292–293
water table, 278
wet and dry/arid line, 25
See also British India; specific topics, events, and waters
Indian Industrial Commission, 128, 136
Indian Irrigation Commission, 117–120, 128
Indian Meteorological Office/Department
changes at, 141–142, 143–144, 167
directors, 96, 103, 138, 167
Indian staff and Indianization, 97–99, 144
in International Meteorological Centre, 237
for military in WWII, 167
monsoon forecasts, 103
and Partition, 182–183
Indian National Congress. See Congress party
Indian Ocean
coastal megacities, 270–271 (map), 316
knowledge and study (see Indian Ocean Expedition)
tsunami of 2004, 327–328
Indian Ocean Expedition
carbon and CO2, 241–242
and climate science, 230–231, 234
forecasts of monsoons, 240–241
Indian ships in study, 235
international cooperation, 234–235
meteorology study, 236–237
monsoons and winds, 233–234, 236–237, 239–241, 242
technology in study, 239–241
Indian Rebellion of 1857, 45–46
Indian Supreme Court, 298
Indianization of officials, 143–144
Indonesia, end of imperial rule, 176
Indus Treaty, 206, 319–320
Indus waters
division, 206, 319–320
and Partition, 185–186, 187–188, 205–206, 320
source in China, 188
industrial capitalism. See capitalism
industrial development in British India, 128–129, 130
inequality
and agriculture, 260
and famine, 73–74
and railway, 53, 55–56
rural India, 280–281
and water, 260, 280, 287–288
International Conference on the Law of the Sea (1958), 232
International Meteorological Centre (at Colaba), 237, 238–239
International Meteorological Organisation (IMO), 93–94
Irrawaddy triangle, borders and control of water, 164–165
irrigation
and agriculture, 28, 122, 133–135, 192, 256, 258–259
and economy, 133–135
and famine, 83, 117
Godavari River, 18–20, 39–41
groundwater and wells, 119–121, 256–258, 260, 276–280
investment and intervention, 40, 11
8–119
overview as problem, 4
and Partition, 181
Punjab and Canal Colonies, 122–124, 125–126, 133, 181, 184–185, 186
rain and rainfall, 118
irrigation schemes
early India, 26–27, 28, 47
British India, 19–20, 38, 40, 116, 122–124, 126
independent India, 194–196, 256–257, 258–259
Iyer, Ramaswamy, 296–297, 298
Jakarta, 316
Jammu and Kashmir, and Partition, 185
Japan, 130, 132, 165–166, 168
Jinnah, Muhammad Ali, 167, 180
Johnson, Lyndon Baines “LBJ,” 248, 250–251
JOIDES Resolution (ship), 310
Julian, Paul, 265
Kashmir, 185, 247–248
Kaveri River, dispute, 162–163, 206–207
Khan, Mehboob, 207, 208–209
Khosla, A. N., 195–196
Kipling, Rudyard, 57
Kolkata. See Calcutta
Krishnamachari, T. T., 246
Krishnarajasagar dam, 162, 163, 206
La Niña, 264–265
Ladejinsky, Wolf, 260–261, 280
Lakshminarayana, V., 258
land
acquisition and displacement of people, 126–127, 210–211, 212
and economy, 160–161
redistribution and zamindari abolition, 191
Land Acquisition Act (1894, India) and officers, 126, 210, 211
Larkin, David, 209, 210
law of the sea, and territorial waters, 232–233
legislation in India, 255–256
Li Yizhi, 153
Liang Congjie, 290–291
Lilienthal, David, 187–188, 202, 206, 215
Lokanathan, P., 214, 223
Ma Jun, 291–292
MacGeorge, George W., 43, 52, 55
Mackinder, Halford, 111–112
Madden, Roland, 265
Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), 265–266
Madras (now Chennai)
famine, 78–79, 80–81
fisheries, 131, 132, 165
water mining, 120–121
Madras Presidency, 162–163, 206, 206–207
Mahad (India), struggle for freedom, 154
Mahalanobis, Prasanta Chandra, 193, 243
Maharashtra, drought, 260–262, 280
malaria, 295
Malaya (now Malaysia), migrant workers, 161
Manchuria, 124–125
Mani, Anna, 237–238
Manila Observatory, 104, 105–106
Manto, Saadat Hasan, 182
Mao Zedong, 177, 178, 188, 219–220
Maoist insurgency, 280–281
Marsh, George Perkins, 75
Marx, Karl, 52
megacities in Asia, 270–271 (map), 316
megaprojects in India, 193–194
Mehta, M. C., 289–290
Mekong River, 178–179, 223–225, 250
Melaka, textiles, 30–31
Merrall, Edwin, 52–53
meteorology
and agriculture, 36–38
Asia as integrated climatic system, 108–109
clouds study, 93–95
data collection and sharing, 96–97, 101–102, 104–105, 183, 317, 321