The Thirsty Village

Abstract

Water is the most precious resource of humanity, yet life sustaining water is becoming scarce especially for the marginal sections of society as corporate greed and unscrupulous powers pollute and commodify this gift of nature. This article is the case study of a multi-caste, plural religious and multiethnic village in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Here, Hindustan Zinc mines have played a critical role in this region’s environment and destroyed the ground water and natural water bodies making the once abundant supply of water a distant memory. I demonstrate how the distribution and control of water reflect existing and evolving power dynamics. This power field is rooted in historically derived inequalities based on caste, religion and primordial identities, as well as historical factors of shifting loci of power. The transition from a feudal to a capitalist democracy has created a power flux that is reflected in the lived reality of day-to-day life, in the people’s struggle for survival and for access to the now scarce resource of water.