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Central India Journal of Historical and Archaeological Research CIJHAR. Vol.III, No.10, April-June, 2014, ISSN 2277-4157
Book Review
Water Management in Medieval India A
Excellent Compilation of Papers Edited by
Vinay Shrivastava
*Dr. Priya Thakur
Water Management in Medieval India, by Dr. Vinay Shrivastava;
Originals.Delhi., pp. Xii + 261, ISBN 978-81-8454-113-7, 2012, Rs. 550.
Water Management in Medieval India is a compilation of the ideas presented by
the scholars at a National Research Seminar on History on Water Management in
Medieval India and its Historical Importance. This Seminar was organized by the
Department of History, S.V. Post Graduate College, Neemuch (M.P.) and was funded
by the UGC, C.R.O. Bhopal. This volume is edited by Dr. Vinay Shrivastava, a
renowned scholar and historian of Central India. There are 39 articles in this volume
six in English and 33 in Hindi. The articles deal with a wide range of chronology
in terms of political dynasties as well as themes and univocally highlight the various
indigenous water harvesting and collection techniques and lifting and conveyance
devices evolved in response to regional geo-physical realities and ecological
considerations with special reference to Central India. These systems met the
drinking water, irrigation, agricultural and other water related needs of the people
in the area even in years of lesser than usual rainfall.
Ever since man appeared on the surface of this earth he must have understood
the importance of water as it is apparent from the fact that all the ancient civilizations
known to history and archaeology thrived on the banks of rivers.

Both religious
and economic motives prompted the rulers and their officials to undertake the task
of providing irrigation facilities to the people. In the volume, some articles are
based on the theme of construction techniques both on traditional terms such as
the works of K.P. Singh and Ritu Sharma (pp. 1-6), PushpaDullar and GayatriTandon
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*
1
Assistant Professor, Post Graduate Department of Studies and Research in
History and Archaeology, Tumkur University (Tumkur, Karnatka)
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Central India Journal of Historical and Archaeological Research CIJHAR. Vol.III, No.10, April-June, 2014, ISSN 2277-4157
(pp.13-16), Ishwar Singh Ranawat (pp. 67-80), Anuradha Mathur (pp. 95-102)
and so on; while some papers discuss the same theme in modern context such as
Asha Shrivastava (pp. 7-12) and Vinay Shrivastava (pp. 17-26). The concept of
water harvesting and water management has been also discussed by scholars like
Meghna Sharma (27-24), Shyam Sundar Nigam (pp. 39-42), Ashok Kumar Singh
and Avinash Kumar Dubey (pp. 81-90), DigvijayBhatnagar (pp. 117-122) and
others.
The authors have also contributed their papers to this volume which
specifically deal with contributions of individual rulers or dynasties in the
development of water resources in respective regions, for example, Usha Purohita
(pp. 143-148), MadhubalaKulashrestha (pp. 155-162), K. Ratnam and Arvind Singh
Gaur (pp. 177-180), Madhulata Mishra (pp. 231-234)and Surendra Kumar Vimal
(235-238). RuchiBhardwaj and N.B. Lal (pp. 247-252) talk about the water
management of the gardens in Mughal India whereas some authors have glimpsed
on selected lake, tank or step well, such as Sanjay Swarnakar (pp. 59-66), S.P.
Vyas and ManoramaUpadhyay (pp. 109-116), B.K. Shrivastava (pp. 149-154),
AlpanaDubhashe Devas (pp. 199-202) and MallikaBohra (pp. 225-230) etc.
Some interesting and slightly different approach to the subject can be seen in
the paper of J.K. Ojha and PriyadarshiOjha (pp. 103-108), who have based their
discussions on the unpublished sources of 18
th
century AD.SushilaShaktawat (pp.
181-190) discusses the contribution of women in the construction of wells and
bawadisin the Mewar and Marwar region and provides a interesting gender
perspective to the subject. Kamla Shankar Rathod and Namrata Shrivastava (pp.191-
198) write about the water resources described by the Mughal emperor Babur.
TejendraVallabha Vyas (pp. 207-212) deals with the epigraphical aspect of the
water bodies of Jodhpur.Dilip Kumar Garg (pp. 239-246) concentrates on the
financial interplay of the water management with reference to medieval Mewar.
With its invariable physical properties, its physiological functions, and its
inherent rationality manifest and socially organized in wide variety of ways
water potentially provides the same basis for comparative analysis as kinship, food,
land tenure or centrepieces of anthropology as a cross- cultural discipline.

Dr.
Shrivastava has done a laudable work in putting together the articles which traces
on their current use, preservation, and place in Indian communities the fascinating
history of step-wells and other water bodies from their Hindu origins to their
second flowering under Muslim rule and eventual decline. It also reflects on their
current use, preservation, and place in Indian communities. The present edited
volume has made a successful attempt to discuss and bring forth the important and
interesting aspect of tools and techniques, construction details and the socio-
economical role of the water bodies and its role in the progress of human life.
Dr. Priya Thakur