Society, Culture, Religion and History

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Featured Articles
October 8, 2023
India's rivers: From conservation movements to legal personhood
While the current push for legal personhood for rivers is facing obstacles and is stalled, it holds potential as a viable long-term strategy for the preservation of India's rivers
River quality deteriorates as demand for hydropower to support economic growth continues to expand. (Image: Yogendra Singh Negi, Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED)
June 16, 2023
Majuli Island: A tapestry of resilience and environmental harmony
Majuli serves as a symbol of both the delicate balance between human activity and the environment and the tenacity of its residents
Addressing various aspects of women's lives to enhance their social, economic, and political status (Image: Rebuild India Fund)
January 13, 2022
Water management in the times of Gonds of Central India
The water structures constructed during the Gond period continue to survive the test of time and provide evidence of the water wisdom of our ancestors.
Kundeshwar lake, Kundam in Jabalpur (Image Source: K G Vyas)
January 2, 2021
The fast disappearing traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan
Lack of community ownership and local governance are spelling doom for the once royal and resilient traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan.
Toorji Ka Jhalara, Jodhpur (Image Source: Rituja Mitra)
December 7, 2020
Not in the interest of women farmers!
The new farm related bills will spell doom for women workers who form the bulk of small and marginal sections of Indian agriculture, warns Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (MAKAAM).
Farm women, overworked and underpaid (Image Source: India Water Portal)
December 11, 2019
Scientists intervene to save dry toilets
Dry toilets have long been hailed as a sustainable solution to the sanitation and waste management crisis facing India today, but have been overshadowed by more modern toilet designs.
A traditional dry toilet. Image: India Science Wire
Government to spend Rs 3.5 trillion to provide potable water
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 21 Aug, 2019 11:14 PM

Government to spend Rs 3.5 trillion under Jal Jeevan Mission: PM Modi
Women filling water from a tap (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
In photos: How temple tanks are helping Chennai conserve rain water
During the monsoon, temple tanks in Chennai fill to the brim with water, helping in groundwater recharge.
Laasya Shekhar
Citizen Matters
Posted on 21 Aug, 2019 03:05 PM

Besides showcasing the architectural expertise and aesthetics of their time, temple tanks also play an extremely important role as water storage systems in Chennai.
Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane has the biggest tank. Recently, volunteers belonging to the Central Industrial Security Force cleaned the tank. Pic: Laasya Shekhar
Beyond the death toll: The everyday violence of Assam’s floods
Mitul Baruah from Ashoka University narrates personal experiences of people affected by floods in Majuli, Assam.
Mitul Baruah
Posted on 19 Aug, 2019 12:53 PM

Floods are an annual phenomenon in Assam. They are as integral to the state as the Brahmaputra River is, and each monsoon, we are reminded that Assam exists (or is drowning). As I write this piece, Assam is slowly recovering from the first wave of flood this monsoon.
Floods in Majuli Assam (Image: Mitul Baruah)
P Sainath: The water crisis is not caused by drought
Magsaysay award winner & founder-editor of PARI, P Sainath analyses India's water scarcity, the agrarian crisis & farmer suicides, before asking: what can we do about it?
India Development Review
Posted on 13 Aug, 2019 11:47 AM

P Sainath has been documenting stories from rural India for over three decades now.
Picture: The semi-arid regions of the Moyar-Bhavani River basin in Tamil Nadu. Picture credit: Prathigna Poonacha, Tanvi Deshpande; Indian Institute for Human Settlements from India Water Portal on Flickr. Picture used for representational purposes only
Protecting the kidneys of Kolkata – the East Kolkata Wetlands
A real estate boom is tightening its grip on the East Kolkata Wetlands, a unique waste processing ecosystem. Cooperation and coproduction, not conflict are needed to save them.
Gorkhy Chakraborty
Dhruba Das Gupta
Posted on 08 Aug, 2019 05:12 PM

 The East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) are a truly unique ecosystem, presenting a very different sight from the normal urban landscape in India.
Fishermen use wastewater of Kolkata to rear fish (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Jal Shakti Abhiyan hits ground rolling as India ranks 13th most water-stressed country in the world
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 08 Aug, 2019 01:29 AM

 Over 3.5 lakh water conservation measures taken up in a single month as nationwide Jal Shakti Abhiyan hits ground
India ranked 13th in the list of most water-stressed country in the world (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Lok Sabha passes inter-state river disputes bill
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 06 Aug, 2019 02:45 PM

Lok Sabha passes Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019  
Cauvery river in Karnataka (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
All work and some play
Collective action games trigger conversations around the nature of the invisible and immeasurable common pool resource - groundwater.
Aditi Sajwan
Water Practitioners Network
Posted on 02 Aug, 2019 12:11 PM

India is, by far, the world’s largest groundwater economy. India’s annual withdrawal of fresh groundwater (253 Billion Cubic Metres in 2013) amounts to one fourth of the global total and is more than that of China and the US combined. Over 80% of water extracted is used in agriculture. The share of tubewells in net irrigated area rose from a mere 1% in 1960-61 to over 40% in 2013-14.
Villagers in Magradeh, Madhya Pradesh watching neighbouring farmers play a game. Image credit: Water Practitioners Network
Is the Jalayukt Shivar Abhiyan just a quick fix to manage droughts?
A research paper argues that quick fix solutions to drought management will not work unless they are backed up by proper planning, implementation, monitoring and regulation of water use.
Neha Bhadbhade
Sarita Bhagat
KJ Joy
Abraham Samuel
Kiran Lohakare
Raju Adagale
Posted on 02 Aug, 2019 10:29 AM

Maharashtra is reeling under drought this year too, with the situation in Marathwada particularly bad.
Quick fix solutions to droughts will not work (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Himalayan states call for green bonus and a separate ministry
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 31 Jul, 2019 05:35 PM

Himalayan states demand green bonus and separate ministry from Centre
The Himalayas (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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