Hiranyakashipu’s Curse? The Uncertain Future of a Peri-urban Lake in South India
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22433357 |
|---|---|
| Authors | S Krithi (0000-0002-9742-4613, O. P. Jindal Global University, corresponding author), Frédéric Landy (0000-0002-7975-0650, Université Paris Nanterre) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 325-347 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-19 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Agrarian South Journal of Political Economy A triannual Journal of Agrarian South Network and CARES (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2277-9760 • E-ISSN: 2321-0281 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/22779760261464601 |
| OpenAlex | W7169719153 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 17 |
This is a study of the social and ecological transitions around erstwhile agriculture-centered water bodies at the periphery of a rapidly expanding city. It critically engages with the concept of horizontal and vertical (scale) conflicts through an empirical study of the various processes and challenges faced by different users in the context of the Ossudu tank/lake, a water body near Puducherry city in South India. The study finds that in the transition to the urban sphere, local use for recreation rises in importance, while environmental concerns and real estate demands form opposing pressures on the lake area. Issues of power, marginality, and justice mirror and strengthen each other both on the horizontal and vertical axes, determining the future of the lake. It is argued that the neoliberal recreation paradigm leaves out the urban working class, while at the same time being a part of shifts in natural resource management that disempower and alienate dalits, landless, and nomadic communities. The study highlights the need to bring users rather than uses to the forefront of rediscovering the continuing purposes of these water systems.
Context (archaeology) · Estate · Natural (archaeology) · Natural resource · Recreation · Resource (disambiguation) · Social justice · Tourism · Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact · Water Governance and Infrastructure · Water resources management and optimization
Governing the Commons
Urban Environments
Lines in the Mud
Water Bodies Protection Index for assessing the sustainability status of lakes under the influence of urbanization
There is no environmental health without public health
Alienation, Conflict, and Conservation in the Protected Areas of Urban Metropolis
Central Park as a Model for Social Control
From Urban National Parks to Natured Cities in the Global South
Re-placing displacement in gentrification studies
Applying the social-ecological system framework to the diagnosis of urban lake commons in Bangalore, India
The Symbolic Making of a Common Property Resource
| Highly cited | No |
|---|