DAM[N]ED: Mechanizing a Sacred River Landscape Redrawing Territorial Systems in the Narmada River Valley

This essay traces the story of the Narmada River and its transformation from a sacred landscape to one of the largest mechanized territorial systems in the world. The Narmadatravelssome 1,300 kilometers from Amarkantaktothe Arabian Sea; enabling the livelihood of millions, shaping distinct regional identities and embodying a rich cultural imaginary for those worshiping her holy waters. The infrastructural potential of the river was first formulated as a megaregional project in the 1940s to modernize and bring prosperity to the watershed. Under implementation since the 1980s, the “Narmada Valley Development Project” is incrementally transforming the river into an interstate infrastructural network of water conveyance and energy generation. Through a cartographic and photographic inventory, the project traces the transformation of the natural and cultural systems associated with the Narmada River over time. Pausing at Omkareshwar, a major pilgrimage destination, the essay unfolds the current state of uncertainty and civic unrest that the massive infrastructural works are placing in the fragile lives of the valley dwellers.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.Intl.2018.56

Volume Editors
Ángela García de Paredes, Iñaqui Carnicero & Julio Salcedo-Fernandez

ISBN
978-1-944214-18-0