The Bengal Delta: Ecology, State and Social Change, 1840–1943 (Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies)

Annotation This book demonstrates how the dynamics of agrarian prosperity or decline, communal conflicts, poverty and famine could be understood more satisfactorily from an environmental perspective as well as discussions of states coercion and popular resistance, market forces and dependency, or contested cultures and consciousness With a focus on colonial Bengal, this book demonstrates how the dynamics of agrarian prosperity or decline, communal conflicts, poverty and famine can only be properly understood from an ecological perspective as well as discussions of state's coercion and popular resistance, market forces and dependency, or contested cultures and consciousness. The Bengal Delta is the first major environmental history of colonial Bengal, Bangladesh in particular. It suggests that this active deltaic plain was a prosperous and dynamic part of South Asia's economy until far later than most historians imagine. It was a frontier zone facing the Indian Ocean, drawing in capital, labour and intense imperial interest until the turn of the twentieth century. The book argues that rural impoverishment stemmed from environmental changes that developed from the complex relationship between the region's highly fluid ecology, the state, nationalist politics, technology and biological exchanges. In a sweeping reinterpretation of the history of Bengal, the book argues that the most widely debated issues around the region's modern history--agrarian stagnation, communal violence, poverty and famine-- can only be understood satisfactorily from an ecological perspective of the dominant discourses of state's coercion and popular resistance, market forces and dependency, or contested cultures and consciousness The Bengal Delta is the first major environmental history of colonial Bengal, Bangladesh in particular. It suggests that this active deltaic plain was a prosperous and dynamic part of South Asia's economy until far later than most historians imagine. It was a frontier zone facing the Indian Ocean, drawing in capital, labour and intense imperial interest until the turn of the twentieth century. The book argues that rural impoverishment stemmed from environmental changes that developed from the complex relationship between the region's highly fluid ecology, the state, nationalist politics, technology and biological exchanges. In a sweeping reinterpretation of the history of Bengal, the book argues that the most widely debated issues around the region's modern history agrarian stagnation, communal violence, poverty and famine can only be understood satisfactorily from an ecological perspective of the dominant discourses of state's coercion and popular resistance, market forces and dependency, or contested cultures and consciousness Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 List of Figures and Tables......Page 9 Preface and Acknowledgements......Page 12 List of Abbreviations......Page 15 Glossary......Page 17 1 Introduction......Page 22 2 Ecology and Agrarian Relations in the Nineteenth Century......Page 39 3 Economy and Society: the Myth and Reality of 'Sonar Bangla'......Page 60 4 The Political Ecology of the Peasant: the Faraizi Movement between Revolution and Passive Resistance......Page 88 5 Return of the Bhadralok: the Agrarian Environment and the Nation......Page 114 6 The Railways and the Water Regime......Page 138 7 Fighting with a Weed: the Water Hyacinth, the State and the Public Square......Page 161 8 Between Food Availability Decline and Entitlement Exchange: an Ecological Prehistory of the Great Bengal Famine of 1943......Page 181 9 Reflections......Page 205 Notes......Page 215 Appendixes......Page 258 Bibliography......Page 266 Index......Page 286 Introduction -- Ecology And Agrarian Relations In The Nineteenth Century -- Economy And Society : The Myth And Reality Of Sonar Bangla -- The Political Ecology Of The Peasant : The Faraizi Movement Between Revolution And Passive Resistance -- Return Of The Bhadralok : The Agrarian Environment And The Nation -- The Railways And The Water Regime -- Fighting With A Weed : The Water Hyacinth, The State And The Public Square -- Between Food Availability Decline And Entitlement Exchange : An Ecological Prehistory Of The Great Bengal Famine Of 1943 -- Reflections. By Iftekhar Iqbal. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 245-264) And Index.