Environment And Pollution In Colonial India: Sewerage Technologies Along The Sacred Ganges (routledge Studies In South Asian History)
by Janine Wilhelm /
2016 / English / PDF
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India is facing a river pollution crisis today. The origins of
this crisis are commonly traced back to post-Independence
economic development and urbanisation. This book, in contrast,
shows that some important early roots of India’s river pollution
problem, and in particular the pollution of the Ganges, lie with
British colonial policies on wastewater disposal during the late
19th and early 20th centuries.
India is facing a river pollution crisis today. The origins of
this crisis are commonly traced back to post-Independence
economic development and urbanisation. This book, in contrast,
shows that some important early roots of India’s river pollution
problem, and in particular the pollution of the Ganges, lie with
British colonial policies on wastewater disposal during the late
19th and early 20th centuries.
Analysing the two cornerstones of colonial river pollution
history during the late 19th and early 20th centuries – the
introduction of sewerage systems and the introduction of
biological sewage treatment technologies in cities along the
Ganges – the author examines different controversies around the
proposed and actual discharge of untreated/treated sewage into
the Ganges, which involved officials on different administrative
levels as well as the Indian public. The analysis shows that the
colonial state essentially ignored the problematic aspects of
sewage disposal into rivers, which were clearly evident from
European experience. Guided by colonial ideology and fiscal
policy, colonial officials supported the introduction of the
cheapest available sewerage technologies, which were technologies
causing extensive pollution. Thus, policies on sewage disposal
into the Ganges and other Indian rivers took on a definite shape
around the turn of the 20
Analysing the two cornerstones of colonial river pollution
history during the late 19th and early 20th centuries – the
introduction of sewerage systems and the introduction of
biological sewage treatment technologies in cities along the
Ganges – the author examines different controversies around the
proposed and actual discharge of untreated/treated sewage into
the Ganges, which involved officials on different administrative
levels as well as the Indian public. The analysis shows that the
colonial state essentially ignored the problematic aspects of
sewage disposal into rivers, which were clearly evident from
European experience. Guided by colonial ideology and fiscal
policy, colonial officials supported the introduction of the
cheapest available sewerage technologies, which were technologies
causing extensive pollution. Thus, policies on sewage disposal
into the Ganges and other Indian rivers took on a definite shape
around the turn of the 20th
th century, and acquired
certain enduring features that were to exert great negative
influence on the future development of river pollution in India.
century, and acquired
certain enduring features that were to exert great negative
influence on the future development of river pollution in India.
A well-researched study on colonial river pollution history, this
book presents an innovative contribution to South Asian
environmental history. It is of interest to scholars working on
colonial, South Asian and environmental history, and the colonial
history of public health, science and technology.
A well-researched study on colonial river pollution history, this
book presents an innovative contribution to South Asian
environmental history. It is of interest to scholars working on
colonial, South Asian and environmental history, and the colonial
history of public health, science and technology.