History and the Changing Horizon: Science, Environment and Social Systems

Contents: Introduction. I. Ecology and Technology: from the ancient to modern India: 1. From the Oxus to the Indus: Geographical landscape and migration of technological tradition, c.300 BCE-100 CE/Suchandra Ghosh. 2. Dust storms over citadels of North-West India and Afghanistan (A case study of environmental disturbances occurred during the early medieval period/G.S.L. Devra. 3. Land Use, Tenancy rights, and rent in the late eighteenth century western Bengal: an Introduction to the Caldecott manuscript/Ratan Dasgupta. II. Capitalism/imperialism and Indigenous culture: 4. Rice: culture and cultivation from pre-Green revolution to post-Green revolution/Anupam Paul. 5. Social systems science and the indigenous beliefs: a case study of the people of the Sundarbans in contemporary West Bengal/Mahua Sarkar. III. Man and Nature: 6. Kasimbazar: a theatre of war between man and nature/Gargi Chattopadhyay. 7. Podu: encountering a primitive mode of subsistence in tribal Odisha/Debasree De. 8. Crafting a green sphere: the Lodhas reconsidered/Sutapa Ghosh Dastidar. IV. People’s movements and social changes: 9. The maoist movement and socio-economic changes: a case study of Gadchiroli in Maharastra/Amit Bhattacharyya. 10. Globalized capitalism, environmental destruction and resistance: the story of the anti-POSCO movement in Odisha/Partho Sarothi Ray. V. Imperialism and other countries: 11. Rise of fascist and Nazi totalitarianism, migration of scientists and the creation of the atomic bomb/Jayanta Sthanapati. 12. Caught between traditions and modernity: the communities of Indonesia/Sumita Sen. VI. Environment and the experience of socialism: 13. Early soviet commitment to environment protection and its decline/Kunal Chattopadhyay. Whenever we discuss issues on environment, science etc. we do it in a particular historical context. The present volume comprising fourteen articles covers aspects of the history of science and environment as reflected within different social systems. It focuses on aspects of ecology and technology from the ancient to the modern period embracing aspects such as migration of technological tradition from the Oxus to the Indus, dust storms over citadels in the North-West, a study of Caldecott Manuscript in late 18th century Bengal, how imperialist domination over colonies or former colonies affected indigenous culture in the Sundarbans and rice cultivation due to Green Revolution. It includes articles on Kashimbazar, Podu cultivation in tribal Odisha and the Lodha tribe. It seeks to establish the link between the Maoist movement in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and anti-POSCO movement in Odisha with social changes as also rise of Fascism and the creation of the atom bomb and the communities of Indonesia. The last piece is on environmental protection in early Soviet Russia. This book is likely to be of interest to researchers, social scientists, historians and general readers. (jacket). …