On the banks of the Gaṅgā
Subtitle: when wastewater meets a sacred river
By: Kelly D. Alley
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Ann Arbor
Language: eng
Number of pages: 296
Subjects: Nature -- Effect of human beings on -- Ganges River Valley (India and Bangladesh); Water -- Religious aspects -- Hinduism; Water -- Pollution -- Ganges River Valley (India and Bangladesh); Sewage -- Ganges River Valley (India and Bangladesh); Water quality -- Ganges River Valley (India and Bangladesh); Vārānasi (Uttar Pradesh, India) -- Religious life and customs; Vārānasi (Uttar Pradesh, India) -- Environmental conditions; Ganges River Valley (India and Bangladesh) -- Religious life and customs; Ganges River Valley (India and Bangladesh) -- Environmental conditions
Description: Alley investigates ethno-semantic, discursive, and institutional data to flesh out the interplay between religious, scientific, and official discourses about the river Ganga. Using a new outward layering methodology, she points out that anthropological analysis must separate the historical and discursive strands of the debates concerning waste and sacred purity in order to reveal the cultural complexities that surround the Ganga. Ultimately, she addresses a deeply rooted cultural paradox: if the Ganga river is considered sacred by Hindus across India, then why do the people allow it to become polluted? -- Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 267-291) and index