Slow Disaster : Political Ecology of Hazards and Everyday Life in the Brahmaputra Valley, Assam

This book presents a fascinating, ethnographic account of the challenges faced by communities living in Majuli, India, one of the largest river islands in the world, which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformations over the years, processes that are emblematic of the Brahmaputra Valley as a whole. Written in an engaging style, full of the author's insider perspectives, this insightful volume explores the processes of flooding and riverbank erosion in Majuli, including re-configuration of the island’s geographies, loss of local livelihoods, and large-scale displacement of the population. The book begins with an examination of the physical geography of Majuli and its ecological complexities, leading to discussion on the role of the state in water governance and hazard management, as well as popular resistance by the rural communities on the island. The book focuses on livelihoods as a way of offering economic context to living in challenging environmental conditions and examines the interactions between the state and a whole host of non-state actors, and the everyday, arbitrary functioning of the bureaucracy in a hazardscape. This volume is an invaluable resource for scholars interested in political ecology of hazards and vulnerability, water and hydraulic infrastructure, rural livelihoods and agrarian questions, state theorizations, island studies, and resistance and social movements, as well as those with an interest in northeast India more generally across various disciplines. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of figures List of tables Acknowledgments List of abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Slow disaster 1.2 Popular resistance 1.3 The research processes 1.4 Navigating the field: The insider/outsider dilemma 1.5 The election season and fieldwork 1.5.1 Field notes: September 23, 2013 1.6 Outline Notes Bibliography Chapter 2: The making and unmaking of Majuli Becoming an island The slow disaster of flood and riverbank erosion The vanishing geographies of Majuli’s wetlands Of displacement, outmigration, and rehabilitation Notes Bibliography Chapter 3: The disastrous state A brief history of flood control and riverbank protection in Assam Flood control and the protection of riverbanks in Majuli Infrastructure-induced vulnerability in Majuli Decoding the disastrous state Beyond accumulation of capital Notes Bibliography Chapter 4: Livelihoods, ruined The agrarian crisis Beyond landholding The crises in the fishery sector The decline of the pottery industry Constructing a new landscape of livelihoods Livelihood diversification Notes Bibliography Chapter 5: The unquiet island Rethinking petitions as a form of protest Of popular struggles: Cases from two riverside villages Everyday resistance Rituals as resistance The hidden transcripts On the absence of a mass movement in Majuli: Some preliminary thoughts Notes Bibliography Chapter 6: Afterword: Between despair and hope The 2016 election and after Thinking like a chapori Notes Index "This book presents a fascinating, ethnographic account of the challenges faced by communities living in Majuli, India, one of the largest river islands in the world, which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformations over the years, processes that are emblematic of the Brahmaputra Valley as a whole. This volume is an invaluable resource for scholars interested in political ecology of hazards and vulnerability, water and hydraulic infrastructure, rural livelihoods and agrarian questions, state theorizations, island studies, and resistance and social movements, as well as those with an interest in northeast India more generally across various disciplines"-- Provided by publisher