Incongruent Waterworlds: Situating the Everyday Practices and Power of Water in Delhi
In 2011, the “Swach Delhi Swasth Delhi” (Clean Delhi Healthy Delhi) campaign designated more than 20 settlements in the capital city to receive water and/or sanitation improvements. Tracing the water initiative in Delhi’s Rampur Camp, this paper employs a situated approach to the urban political eco...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud
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| Series: | South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/4164 |
| _version_ | 1797316328131919872 |
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| author | Yaffa Truelove |
| author_facet | Yaffa Truelove |
| author_sort | Yaffa Truelove |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2011, the “Swach Delhi Swasth Delhi” (Clean Delhi Healthy Delhi) campaign designated more than 20 settlements in the capital city to receive water and/or sanitation improvements. Tracing the water initiative in Delhi’s Rampur Camp, this paper employs a situated approach to the urban political ecology of water in order to tease apart the variegated governance and lived experiences of its flows. Rather than the conventional reading of the state as having “withdrawn” from water governance in illegal colonies, my analysis reveals shifting state and non-state political assemblages as playing key roles in the everyday regulation of water in Delhi. First, I demonstrate that everyday governance is shaped by (re)configurations of specific nodes and networks of the state and other actors, which enable particular powers of reach and authority to be exercised in relation to water. Second, my findings detail the situated impacts of new governance configurations within urban spaces, revealing how water is (re-)negotiated, embodied, and socially differentiated on the ground. These findings further reveal the pathways by which situated and distributed forms of social and political power shape incongruent urban environments for the city’s residents. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:16:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8169d915a2f34f099a4e847d07336b24 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1960-6060 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:16:42Z |
| publisher | Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-8169d915a2f34f099a4e847d07336b242024-02-12T15:38:49ZengCentre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du SudSouth Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal1960-60601410.4000/samaj.4164Incongruent Waterworlds: Situating the Everyday Practices and Power of Water in DelhiYaffa TrueloveIn 2011, the “Swach Delhi Swasth Delhi” (Clean Delhi Healthy Delhi) campaign designated more than 20 settlements in the capital city to receive water and/or sanitation improvements. Tracing the water initiative in Delhi’s Rampur Camp, this paper employs a situated approach to the urban political ecology of water in order to tease apart the variegated governance and lived experiences of its flows. Rather than the conventional reading of the state as having “withdrawn” from water governance in illegal colonies, my analysis reveals shifting state and non-state political assemblages as playing key roles in the everyday regulation of water in Delhi. First, I demonstrate that everyday governance is shaped by (re)configurations of specific nodes and networks of the state and other actors, which enable particular powers of reach and authority to be exercised in relation to water. Second, my findings detail the situated impacts of new governance configurations within urban spaces, revealing how water is (re-)negotiated, embodied, and socially differentiated on the ground. These findings further reveal the pathways by which situated and distributed forms of social and political power shape incongruent urban environments for the city’s residents.https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/4164Delhiwatersituated urban political ecologyenvironmental politicsinformalityinfrastructure |
| spellingShingle | Yaffa Truelove Incongruent Waterworlds: Situating the Everyday Practices and Power of Water in Delhi South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal Delhi water situated urban political ecology environmental politics informality infrastructure |
| title | Incongruent Waterworlds: Situating the Everyday Practices and Power of Water in Delhi |
| title_full | Incongruent Waterworlds: Situating the Everyday Practices and Power of Water in Delhi |
| title_fullStr | Incongruent Waterworlds: Situating the Everyday Practices and Power of Water in Delhi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Incongruent Waterworlds: Situating the Everyday Practices and Power of Water in Delhi |
| title_short | Incongruent Waterworlds: Situating the Everyday Practices and Power of Water in Delhi |
| title_sort | incongruent waterworlds situating the everyday practices and power of water in delhi |
| topic | Delhi water situated urban political ecology environmental politics informality infrastructure |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/4164 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yaffatruelove incongruentwaterworldssituatingtheeverydaypracticesandpowerofwaterindelhi |