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
Coping with droughts: Gender matters
A study finds women are hit the hardest during droughts due to food and water scarcity, loss of income and a range of health problems resulting from it.
Basanta Sahu
Posted on 08 May, 2019 12:38 PM

Droughts are one of the most feared natural calamities impacting agriculture and food production as well as the morale of millions of farmers in India. Recent studies show that the frequency of droughts is increasing.
Women are burdened with household tasks such as collecting water. (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Breaking period taboo
A sanitary pad manufacturing unit in a Rajasthan village brings women together and breaks taboo around menstruation.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 06 May, 2019 11:18 AM

Leela Patel (19) explains how women at Wali, a tribal gram panchayat in Kurabad block, just 30 km away from Udaipur, manage menstruation by using old scraps of cloth. She’s aware of cases when women have had to use ash, dust and soil to soak up their periods. Buying a pack of sanitary pads is a luxury in this poverty-stricken belt.
Women at a manufacturing unit in Wali village that produces biodegradable sanitary pads at a low cost. (Image: India Water Portal)
Water management: Still a neglected electoral issue?
India is facing a major water crisis and a number of water sector challenges remain unaddressed even today.
Himanshu Thakkar
Posted on 25 Apr, 2019 12:04 PM

India is on the brink of a major water crisis. With drought looming over the southern and western parts of the country, the existing water resources are in peril. Rivers are getting more polluted, their catchments, water-holding and water-harvesting mechanisms are deteriorating and groundwater levels are depleting at an alarming rate.
India's water woes need urgent attention. (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Making water available for all
Civil society activists champion alternatives to conventional water management solutions implemented by the government.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 23 Apr, 2019 06:48 PM

India, the second largest population in the world, is facing a water crisis with over 600 million people facing acute water shortage, as per a report by Niti Aayog, the government think-tank. India’s water crisis is expected to worsen, threatening the country’s food security as over 80 percent of our water is used in agriculture.
The pollution rates of the river Hindon are alarming. Despite work by conservation groups, the efforts on the part of the government to fix the problem remain uncertain. (Image: Hindi Water Portal)
Water management solutions where users have a say
Private provision of water services is most successful where the operation and maintenance contracts are offered by the local water users.
Parth J. Shah
Posted on 17 Apr, 2019 10:10 PM

India has, over the last 50 years, spent approximately $50 billion on developing water resources and another estimated $7.5 billion on drinking water, with little to show for the money (Devraj 2002).
Canal irrigation has led to altered crop choice, organisation and techniques of production. (Image: India Water Portal)
In conversation with nature
This study from Bihar shows that official flood prediction systems are often inadequate to understand the true impact of the floods on the population. Local gendered knowledge can help fill this gap.
Amitangshu Acharya
Anjal Prakash
Posted on 15 Apr, 2019 05:42 PM

“There is a special type of black ant that is visible just before (and during) the onset of heavy rains.
Shape of clouds can be an important indicator of weather. Source: Robert Hensley/Wikimedia Commons
Flourishing water markets in Darjeeling
Better governance and equitable as well as sustainable use of water resources are essential to solving the deepening water crisis in Darjeeling.
Ashish Chhetri
Posted on 15 Apr, 2019 02:36 PM

"Darjeeling today has a thriving water business, with a fleet of 105 trucks plying three or four trips a day from April to June, carrying 5500 to 6500 litres of water on each run"
Private water tankers, a common sight in urban areas. (Source: India Water Portal)
Safai karmacharis release manifesto
Manual scavengers release manifesto to ensure right to a dignified life.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 08 Apr, 2019 10:36 AM

Hundreds gathered to release the Safai Karmachari Manifesto ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2019 at the Indian Social Institute, Delhi on April 4, 2019.
The toilet cleaners of Lucknow (Image source: CS Sharada Prasad)
River conservation efforts need to be prioritised
Healthy forests are necessary for healthy rivers and prosperous communities that depend on the river, say experts.
Water Initiatives Odisha
Posted on 05 Apr, 2019 02:06 PM

Odisha is home to 11 major rivers of which many are interstate rivers such as the Mahanadi. As climate change makes extreme rainfall events more frequent in the state, there is an urgent need to better manage the rivers and their basins.
Engagement with indigenous communities in protecting natural forests and rivers is vital (Image: Priya Ranjan Sahoo)
What’s forest governance without local hand
Multilayered governance and involvement of forest dwellers in the decision making processes can go a long way in managing our forests better.
Sharadchandra Lele
Posted on 02 Apr, 2019 11:42 AM

The recent news on the forced eviction of more than 1,000,000 tribal and other forest-dwelling households from 16 states by a Supreme Court order has again brought the long-debated issue of the role of the state and

Mangar Bani, a green patch between Faridabad and Gurgaon (Image: Pradip Krishen, Facebook)
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