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How Fares the Well? A Study of the Interstices of the Welfare State: Bharati Sarabhai’s The Well of the People (1943), Mahasweta Devi’s Jal/Water (1976), and Vinodini’s Daaham/Thirst (2005)

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  • Tutun Mukherjee

Abstract

The essay examines India’s journey from “colonialism†to “post-colonial awareness.†It also explores the ideals of the Republic and their fulfillment as seen in India as a nation founded on the principles of a welfare state. Discussion of three selected texts explores the connections between water management and social welfare to instantiate the obstacles in India’s aspirations as a functioning welfare state as well as narrativizing resistance built in the interstices of society against caste hegemony and power politics. One instance is access to or denial of the life-sustaining element, water. Interestingly, Rabindranath Tagore’s 1922 play Muktadhara/Free Current conveyed a percipient warning about politics of control over water. The chosen texts, Sarabhai’s The Well of the People , Mahasweta Devi’s Jal/ Water, and Vinodini’s Daaham/ Thirst, besides highlighting the politics of “hydro power,†also portray the deep and mystical relationship between water, ecology, and gender. I argue that India as a welfare state would obviously benefit from gender sensitization of its developmental policies, especially regarding water management if women’s views are taken into serious consideration.

Suggested Citation

  • Tutun Mukherjee, 2017. "How Fares the Well? A Study of the Interstices of the Welfare State: Bharati Sarabhai’s The Well of the People (1943), Mahasweta Devi’s Jal/Water (1976), and Vinodini’s Daaham/Thirst (2005)," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(3), pages 21582440177, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:7:y:2017:i:3:p:2158244017723953
    DOI: 10.1177/2158244017723953
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ruth Meinzen-Dick & Margreet Zwarteveen, 1998. "Gendered participation in water management: Issues and illustrations from water users‘ associations in South Asia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 15(4), pages 337-345, December.
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