Paper short abstract:

This proposal examines the crisis of land subsidence in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, using historical records, Susan Schuppli's Material Witness concept and infrastructure studies. It analyzes socio-scientific dynamics, remote sensing data, and power structures to understand the suppression of knowledge.

Paper long abstract:

This proposal offers a multidisciplinary examination of the phenomenon of land subsidence in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, India. Drawing on historical materials such as the Misra Committee Report of 1976, it explores the region's precursory signs of geological vulnerability. Using Susan Schuppli's concept of 'Material Witness', the proposal scrutinizes the socio-scientific dynamics surrounding the situation, particularly the interplay between state power and scientific knowledge production. It delves into the concept of geo-aesthetics and the role of micro-nodal infrastructures of state science in shaping perceptions and knowledge/non-knowledge of land subsidence. The proposal also investigates the utilization of remote sensing and GIS technologies by organizations like the NRSC and IIRS to monitor and study the subsidence phenomenon. It highlights the power dynamics inherent in scientific evidence production and the potential suppression of certain epistemes. Through Adele Clarke's conceptualisation of the Situational Analysis framework (2022), and Susan Leigh Star and Clarke's (2008) conceptualisation of implicated actors and actants, this proposal will investigate the 'universe of discourses' in the production, invisibilisation and mobilisation of the socio-scientific materials.