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Paper short abstract:

The paper asks i) how different experiences of famines continue to shape people’s lives in the region and ii) the paper seeks to understand what kind of social relations, amicable and antagonistic, remain within and between villages as response to the droughts in Tharparkar, Pakistan

Paper long abstract:

The identity of Tharparkar is tethered to rain, droughts and famines. Tharparkar is a semi-arid land in the province of Sindh bordering India. Whereas these disasters cause inhumane implications on the residents and animals of the region, these same narratives have come to stand and define the identity of the residents too. The story of colonial famines still functions to define a vital identity of resistance from the residents in the postcolonial state, whilst the recent famines resulted in actions by the state, the non-governmental organisations, and aid agencies.

In the last ten years, Tharparkar has become a site of extraction. Within coal mining and energy projects, Thar has experienced a surge in the construction of roads and usage of social media. It has gained both physical and digital connectivity. Whilst at the same time, the transfer of agriculture and common grazing grounds, water depletion, and other ecological issues have exacerbated living conditions.

With the perspective of time, the paper asks how different experiences of famines continue to shape people’s lives in the region. In relation to the perspective of depth, the paper seeks to understand what kind of social relations, amicable and antagonistic, remain within and between villages as response to the droughts. The next famine could be consequential and requires our urgent understanding of the social and cultural parapet against previous crises.