FOUR Stage of Struggle
- S.L.Vineeta Mudunuri, Neeta Sivakumar
- Dec 6, 2015
- 2 min read
“We never know the worth of water until the well is dry.”
They say water is the driving force of all nature. It is indeed true, as we go back to look at the role water plays in our society through the ages.If we take an instance from the Hindu mythology being specific to the river Ganga, it(she) is considered utterly pristine and personified as a goddess. People believed that the sacred river can purify those who take a dip in it or even the souls of the ashes of the beings it trickles upon. Sage Bhagiratha begged the lords to force river Ganga to descend onto the earth. The furious Ganga, who was about to destroy the earth with her force while descending from the heaven, was then held in the locks of Lord Shiva and released into seven streams. This dialogue where man begs god for Ganga emphasizes the role of water in our society and how it is being worshipped since ages.
As we come down the timeline, water is seen more as a reason for war. The thirst for survival throws man into conflict. One of the first recorded water wars occurred over 4,500 years ago in modern day Iraq when water was diverted causing loss of water to another region.
The water of the Kaveri river has seen the anger of the states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu where both fight over the use of water. The failing of monsoon during various periods over the last decade has led to serious riots. Water wars are seen to be the wrath of man against man. The spilling of blood shows how desperate man can become.
This flows further down in the timeline where we start to pay for our survival and those who cannot pay, steal. We pollute and destroy this natural resource and then continue to spend money for treatment of the same. It is indeed true when they say, “Filthy water cannot be washed”.
‘A drop of water is worth more than a sack of gold to a thirsty man’. Control over water is seen as power. In the ongoing Sudanese war in Darfur, the Sudanese military and Janjaweed militias have focused attack on water supplies to displace non-Arab inhabitants. As seen in the Middle East, in Africa and in India and China’s conflict over Brahmaputra, it is clear that many countries go to extremes to protect their water and not only that, but may use water as a weapon.
This ‘water crisis’ as it is called, can also be attributed to the control certain forces in the economy have over water. Coming down to a micro scale, we can see that lack of government planning, increased corporate privatization and corruption are a few causes tightening the hold over the fair distribution of water and accumulating thirst in this nation.
Author: S.L.Vineeta Mudunuri, Neeta Sivakumar; RV College of Architecture, Bangalore
All images courtesy the Author
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