Water in Hyderabad and the Deccan

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Water in Hyderabad and the Deccan chronicles how power in the Deccan has long been tied to water. Spanning nearly 1,000 years—from medieval kingdoms to post-colonial times—the book shows water as a central force in shaping society, politics, and the environment. Rejecting narrow technical views, it embraces a hydrosocial approach, seeing water as co-produced with human society. It reveals how elites controlled, celebrated, and mythologized water, using it to reinforce status. It opens with the case of a centuries-old reservoir, once celebrated and later vanished, introducing themes of power, memory, and water. Chapters chronicle how rivers, oceans, and springs were spiritually and practically vital; how built waterworks displayed grandeur and governance; and how monsoons shaped agriculture, pilgrimage, and military campaigns. It explores water’s bodily role: how thirst, taste, and disease framed relationships with it; and how class and occupation structured access and meaning. The 1908 flood of Hyderabad’s Musi River is shown to have disrupted elite structures and exposed vulnerabilities. Recreational activities like ritual bathing and boating reveal class distinctions, contrasting with the more modest enjoyments of the public. Water infrastructure repair further impacted forms of governance. A postscript connects ancient water politics with recent crises: overextraction, privatization, and nostalgic (often failing) restoration efforts. Water lords now control access in modern cities as aquifers vanish and historic reservoirs disappear under urban development. This book reframes Deccan history through water, bridging chronological divides and challenging colonial-era interpretations, offering an interconnected vision of the region’s past.</jats:p>