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Rethinking the Irrigation Dream: Pynes and Canals in Colonial Bihar

Researcher: Praveen Singh

The destruction of the traditional pyne system in the nineteenth century has not been adequately studied in historical accounts. The introduction of a modern canal system in the region was the final assault on a system already undermined by colonial land revenue policies. This study explores the nature of the conflict between indigenous and modern irrigation systems in Champaran district in colonial Bihar. It also revisits the debate on modern versus indigenous notions of technology in colonial India, with a particular emphasis on micro-level analysis. It concludes that the destruction of pyne irrigation was brought about as much by the economic and social pressures of colonization as by the technology of modern irrigation.

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