SECTION - A 1 Discuss the factors that determined the agrarian environment of the Indian subcontinent. 20
Agrarian Environments, an anthology of historical and anthropological studies of environmental change in India, offers readers not only cutting-edge environmental scholarship about the subcontinent, but a coherent and thoughtful critique of standard conceptual frameworks in environmental studies. While this fine collection should appeal to those who study the developing world, its challenges to common analytical distinctions such as those between agrarian and environmental, and state and community, also should engage readers with a broader interest in the theoretical basis of environmental studies. The editors' introduction provides a coherent overview of the analytic focus of the collection, which was to reveal through empirical analysis the ways that typical analytic categories in environmental studies have failed to provide a meaningful view of environmental issues. Included among their targets are polarizing categories that have become a staple of literature on the developing world: feminine vs. masculine treatments of nature, indigenous vs. Western knowledge about and views of the environment, and state vs. community. While acknowledging the political appeal of such polarities, the editors challenge the broad applicability of those categories and note that they carry the danger of hiding significant underlying contradictions. As a basis for sound environmental decisions, they argue, such work is dangerously deceptive.
The quality of the individual essays offered here is uniformly high, as each author incorporates a thoughtful analysis of the issues raised by the editors. As such, the volume is coherent in a way that many edited collections are not, despite differences in methodology. Two examples give a flavor of the volume a whole. Sumit Guha's "Economic Rents and Natural Resources: Commons and Conflicts in Premodern India," is a historical piece that critically re-evaluates the assumption that indigenous, small communities by their nature had a sustainable and harmonious approach to environmental management. Cecile Jackson's and Molly Chattopadhyay are among those who take a more anthropological view in "Identities and Livelihoods: Gender, Ethnicity, and Nature in a South Bihar Village," an essay that critiques the women-as-natural-environmental-stewards view, demonstrafing the complex dynamics of gender and ethnicity in the process of building environmental relations in one village. Despite differences in approach, all the essays stress the importance of empiricism to inform theory.
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2. Critically analyse the chief characteristics of the Harappan cities. 20
The most striking feature of the Harappan cities is their town planning. The Harappan Citywas divided into the upper town (also called the Citadel) and the lower town. The various features of the Harappan town Planning is given below:
Granaries: The granary was the largest structure in Mohenjodaro, and in Harappa there were about six granaries or storehouses. These were used for storing grain.
Great Bath: This was another important structure in Mohenjodaro. The floor of the bath had five layers. It was so watertight that even today it holds water. There were changing rooms. People probably used it during festivals and religious ceremoies.
Town Hall: A palace-like building that looked like an assembly hall for the city government or for people to meet.
Lower Town: This was the residential area where the common people lived.
Streets: The roads and streets intersected at right angles, with covered drains along the road. Houses were built on either side of the roads and streets.
Drainage System: The drainage system of the Harappan cities was the best known to the world in ancient times. The brickwork prevented the dirty water from leaking. Wooden screens stopped the solid wastes from being washed away with the water. Drains were built on either side of the roads. They were covered with stones which could be removed in order to clean them.
Houses: The houses varied in size. Some might have had two storeys. The houses were made of burnt bricks. Most of the houses had a central courtyard, a well, a bathing area and a kitchen
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