Abstract
It goes without saying that history is part and parcel of modern social science. As such, since the twentieth century, historians have studied history not only from political, economic and social perspectives, but from wider, environmental perspectives too: as L. Febvre once said, if the historian wishes to understand the societal issues within a certain region, they must first study the natural science and geography of that region. 1 Environmental river history – and the history of ever-evolving conflicts between nature and human activity – is therefore very important within riverine South Asian countries. Since ancient times, rivers have played a crucial role in defining the political boundaries, commercial activities and livelihoods of people living along their banks, and facilitate internal and cross-border human migration across their basins throughout South Asia. Many eminent scholars – including Drs Kapil Bhattacharya, Kalyan Rudra, Siddharth Kumar Lahiri and Kuntala Lahiri – have therefore written about numerous issues concerning the multitude of rivers and streams which flow through Bengal and Assam in depth. Professor Rup Kumar Barman's book makes a useful contribution to this existing body of river histories.
This book covers numerous topics simultaneously. Dividing the rivers of West Bengal into six categories depending on their flow, Barman analyses their characteristics and course. He discusses the many beels of Bengal which continue to play an important role in the Bengali fish supply, and highlights the socio-economic conditions of people living in Bengal's river basin region. In his first chapter, Barman emphasises the extent to which the livelihoods of the fishing communities of riverine Bengal depend on the river. From the time of the ancient Puranas, many have written about the lives of such peoples, including Adwaita Malla Barman, whose novel A River Called Titash depicts the daily struggles of these fishermen – ‘As long as there is water in the river, they float in the water, when the water dries up, they evaporate and disappear’. 2 The riverine Bengalis suffer from flooding, sediment accumulation in the river, and changes in its course: such environmental changes necessitate migration away from the rivers. Discussing authors from Chandra Chattopadhyay to Harisankar Jaladas, Barman emphasises that such displacement is endemic throughout South Asia. Using data provided by Buchanan, James and Risley, Barman likewise discusses the population history of the local Malo community, the various attitudes of the colonial government towards them, and their ongoing social and economic conditions. The community's dependence on river fishing – and the crises this dependence later caused due to changes in the river's course, and the accumulation of silt in the riverbed – are likewise discussed.
In the second chapter of the book, the author shows how the social, political and economic lives of people living in the river valleys of Assam and Bengal have changed over time. Exploring river-centred literature of this region, Barman traces the history of their struggle to continue their traditional lifestyles through two texts – Tistaparer Brittanta by Debesh Roy and Kalahi Nadi: Ikul Hikul by Jitendra Das. 3 Barman analyses Tistaparer Brittanta from a historian's point of view to discuss how rivers engage people amidst regional, national and international struggles, both providing – and making life difficult for – coastal peoples. The Tista River, for example, provided the Rajbanshi community's livelihood and became a shelter to post-partition evacuees from Bangladesh, but was also the site of many regional and ethnic conflicts, which became the primary concern of various regional parties and governments throughout the latter half of the twentieth century. As Barman discusses, it was likewise the source of both provision, and problems, for people living there: whilst the government tried to improve living standards by building technologically advanced dams along the river, as per the India-Bangladesh water sharing agreement, such developments caused deprivation for many riverside peoples. Barman therefore asks – has modern technology allowed people to control the Tista – or does the Tista still rule them? Barman likewise conducts a historical analysis of Kalahi Nadi: Ikul Hikul, highlighting similar struggles for people living along the Deepar Beel, referring to the Assamese student movement, the All-Assam Movement of 1979–1985, and conflicts between state police and middle class Assamese society. Referring also to the works of Abida Ahmed, he delves into wider communal and nationalistic movements amongst riverine peoples of North Bengal, and how struggles for educational, cultural, political and economic dominance between recent migrants and local people are reflected in these texts.
In his third chapter, Barman moves onto the Raidak river. He discusses how the Raidak – also known as the Wang Chhu or Dudhkumar – gradually became the lifeline of many Bhutanese. The river has several tributaries, most notably Raidak I and Raidak II and its various reservoirs have become extremely important for ecological and agricultural practice. Barman cites various Puranic, Buddhist and Persian texts to show how indigenous peoples including Koches, Meches and Rabhas have lived in Raidak basins since ancient times. Today, these river basins are inhabited by people of the Rajbanshi Community, though migration of Santal, Kol, Bhil and Munda peoples from the Chotanagpur region have made the river basins more diverse, as has immigration from Nepal, Bhutan and post-partition Bangladesh. Barman shows that the Raidak's basins have housed numerous religious and cultural groups through the ages. The Hindu Kamakshya Temple on its banks was patronized by the kings of Cooch Behar, who later established various Shiva temples. With the passage of time, Vaishnavism also arose in the region through the preachings of Sankaradeva (1449–1568): this later became the main religion of the Koch Empire. Numerous Vaishnava ‘satras’ were created throughout the Raidak basin, and these eventually came under state control (Chilaraya Satra). The influence of Vaishnavism on the Koch administration eventually increased to the extent that they attached the epithet ‘Narayana’ to their names and named the Koch coins as ‘Narayani Tanka’. The worship of regional gods like Bishahari, Bhandani, Satyapir and Pagla Pir was likewise common, whilst during the colonial period, various Evangelical Christian missionary schools were also established in this place. The histories of the Tista, Kalahi, Raidak, Wang Chhu, Titash and Dudhkumar river basins in India, Bhutan and Bangladesh are also analysed from an international perspective. Having contextualised the river's history, the author discusses how it became an important symbol in Bhutanese nationalism, to the extent that the National Council of 1980 pledged to protect national cultural heritage in the Wang Chhu River basin.
River, Society and Culture would, perhaps, have been enhanced if the author discussed more rivers and aboriginal peoples of the region. His writings are dominated by particular tribes, such as the Jhalo-Malo and Rajbanshi communities. Although he mentions the original inhabitants’ resistance to immigration, the struggles of the immigrant Bengali Udvastu are largely undiscussed. Greater discussion of conflicts between the Rajbanshi community and refugees (especially Bengali Hindus) would have provided greater context of the region's social and political history, and the role of government policy in wide-scale conflict. Likewise, though the author discusses social, political and religious issues within the Raidak Basin in depth, its economics are more neglected. It would also have been interesting if Barman discussed the river-centric development project (Tista Barrage Project), and its effects on regional demographics. However, Barman masterfully centres the struggles of Dalit people in his history, and effectively demonstrates how rivers can both play a part in regional political aspirations and be the economic backbone of human civilisations. In his text, the river becomes a symbol of the communal and nationalistic sentiments of the people, and of movements including the Kamtapuri Movement in North Bengal and the Bangal Khedao Andolon in Assam. Overall, Barman's book originally and masterfully reaffirms that the importance of riverine histories, environments and societies to life in North Bengal and Assam cannot be understated.