Abstract
The sacred landscape of River Ganga and its eponymous journey from the Himalayas into the Bay of Bengal narrates a poignant tale of climate change. The Sunderbans archipelago is sinking at an alarming rate due to tidal activity and sea level rise as per multitude of scientific literature and field reports. This paper connects the fate of two river islands located in the estuary of Hooghly with sacred River Ganga in contemporary India, and discusses how macro-micro fluvial levels inter-connect and epitomize the derangement and devastation that India will experience not merely socio-ecologically, but also in the symbolic-cultural realm. The first section of the paper focuses on the sacred waterscape of River Ganga and its centrality to affirming identity of Indian Hindus and its strategic place in the Indian nationalist imagination in the contemporary. The second section takes us to Sunderbans delta and to the southern islands (relatively less studied) and to the drowning island-top of Ghoramar from where residents are being internally displaced. The third section of the paper interconnects the socio-cultural and symbolic association of these islands with each other and with sacred River Ganga. Case studies and relevant secondary literature were used to frame the argument. The socio-ecological impact of islands sinking with sea level rise for India’s sacred geography and for affected locals is discussed in the paper to understand criticality of checking global warming and countering sea-level rise.
Presenters
Vibha AroraProfessor of Sociology, Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Delhi, Delhi, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Assessing Impacts in Diverse Ecosystems
KEYWORDS
Risk and Disaster, Indian Sunderbans, Ecological Refugees, Water, Sinking Islands
