Publication

Abstract : According to Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, 2023, 25 countries, including India, which has 1/4th of the world’s population, are exposed to extremely high water scarcity annually. Bundelkhand region, in Central India, is also facing an acute water crisis, which has led to water wars and other conflicts https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/water-crisis-in-bundelkhand-village-triggers-caste-conflict/articleshow/49715555.cms (Accessed on 15 January, 2024)]. According to Samra (2008, p. 143), during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the area suffered from a severe drought every sixteen years, which rose by three times between 1968 and 1992. However, things weren’t always the same; archives, native language sources, folklores, etc., provide a different context based on indigenous water management and irrigation techniques in pre-colonial Bundelkhand. Within this context, the research uses historical/archival methodology in conjunction with field narratives to identify water technologies and practices in pre-colonial times, aiming to theoretically contribute to the water history field to tackle contemporary water issues and challenges.