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Demystifying Kashmir Often Kashmir is mistakenly perceived as a homogenous entity – ethnically as well as religiously. But the truth is otherwise. In order to resolve the Kashmir problem it is essential to understand its pluralistic nature with all the attendant complexities. Although Behera argues for understanding the ‘structural causes of the conflict’ by focusing on the region’s rich socio-cultural mosaic, she does enumerate the political, historic and military factors that have contributed to its present plight. The author points out that the lack of proactive strategy on the part of our security forces, the political subjugation of the Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir by Pakistan, the post- 9/11 international scenario etc have impacted the state’s fate in diverse and none too happy ways. She has also suggested certain ways out of the problem – but these are predicated upon certain presumptions that include the attitude of major players like USA, China and Russia. Overall, this is a well-researched and realistically argued tome that should prove useful to scholars and policy makers alike, especially when serious efforts are being made to resolve the problem through dialogue.
India is a land of extreme
climatic and topographical diversities; even in the same climate zone
the variations in temperature and rainfall from year to year can be
substantial enough to influence the availability of surface water, viz.,
rivers, lakes etc. Therefore groundwater resources are essential for the
purpose of irrigation, drinking and other usages. But thanks to the
technological progress and the rise of informal water-markets
mismanagement of this vital resource has become a stark reality; for
example haphazard sinking of wells has led to intensive exploitation of
groundwater in arid areas. This book attempts to give a realistic
analysis of the nature, characteristics and intensity of resource use.
The statistics and case studies make this tome invaluable. Pedestals of Clay One of his ancestors Munshi/ Mirza Hargopal Tufta was a contemporary of Mirza Ghalib – enough reason for Sharad Shankar’s father, a bureaucrat with mediocre poetic abilities, to assume impeccable pedigree and participate in mushairas as a shayar of substance. It is on one such occasion that Sharad escapes a sodomy attempt, gets infatuated with Suraya and watches his father get drunk and eat beef. His growing up involves a thwarted romance and getting arrested on suspicion of being a Naxalite. Then comes a happy turn in his life when he passes the Civil Services exam, only to get into problems of a different kind. The narrative, in prosaic prose, lurches from episode to episode. It might interest those who have a taste for the Hindi paperbacks of 1960s and 1970s.
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Groundwater management in
India
