Place-making and environmental change in a Hindu pilgrimage site in India

Many Hindu pilgrimage sites in India experience heavy influxes of pilgrims and are subject to considerable environmental impact. Existing literature on the study of the environment in pilgrimage sites, however, appears to follow two divergent directions: one emphasizes degradation of the physical environment while the other highlights the sacred character of the place and how that is compromised by contemporary visitor flows. The aim of this paper is to move beyond this divergence and to demonstrate how contemporary environmental problems are outcomes related to a historical process of environmental change that accompanies the making of a sacred place. This paper is based on a case study of Vrindavan, a Hindu pilgrimage site associated with Krishna worship in northern India. More than 6 million visitors visit Vrindavan annually. Using a historical geography approach and socio-spatial dialectic conceptual framework, the paper explains how this pilgrimage landscape was established in the 15th century, and how since then it has evolved into a religious-urban place comprising more than 5500 temples. Its development is categorized into three periods: pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial. In each period, the socio-spatial fabric showed significant transformations that resulted from the interaction of three critical factors: the influence of local and global socio-economic processes on the cultural economy of pilgrimage, the relationship of this economy to spatial change, and institutional controls that regulated the other two factors. It is argued that the environment of pilgrimage is simultaneously social, economic, cultural and religious and shaped by the need to maintain the place as sacred. This insight is useful for a better understanding of contemporary environmental problems so that they may be addressed effectively.     

Multi-stage metamorphism by progressive accretion of continental blocks,example from the Western Hindu Kush

Basement rocks from the Western Hindu Kush preserve evidence of multiple metamorphic and magmatic events that occurred along the boundary between the Archean–Proterozoic Afghan Central and Afghan–Tajik Blocks. To verify the different metamorphic stages or events, mineral textures and phase equilibria in metamorphic basement rocks and their age relations to magmatic episodes have been investigated. Quartzofeldspathic gneiss and migmatite with lenses of amphibolite (with assumed Proterozoic age for their metamorphism) are intruded by the Triassic Hindu Kush granitoid batholith and small Cretaceous and Oligocene granite intrusions. The age of thermal overprint (210–170 Ma) by the Triassic batholith is confirmed by new monazite data. Both Triassic and Cretaceous granitoids and surrounding basement rocks underwent subsequent metamorphism up to epidote–amphibolite facies. The degree of this metamorphism increases southward at the contact to the Kabul Block, which under-plates the Western Hindu Kush from the south. An early Miocene age was obtained by Pb–Th analyses in thorite and huttonite, which are close or slightly younger than the Oligocene granite in this area. The Cretaceous meta-granodiorite near the border with the Kabul Block contains xenoliths of granulite facies rocks that could come from the Neoarchean granulite facies basement of the Kabul Block. The multi-stage metamorphic and magmatic evolution classifies the Hindu Kush mountain belt as a long-lived suture zone that was active since the early Palaeozoic. The results of this study support the interpretation about possible relations of the Afghan Central Blocks to the southern margin of Eurasia during the evolution of Para- and Neotethys.     

Maps, newspapers and nationalism: The Finnish historical experience

Cartography has usually been perceived as an objective and exact science. Maps have been seen as actual presentations of the world or the area they depict. But another angle is also possible: they may be interpreted as social or political statements and tools for policy making. Therefore, it is important to aim at interpreting maps as products of their own time, in their own social and historical context. Iconology and hermeneutic interpretation may prove to be useful tools, especially when historical press maps are concerned. I will explore the ways in which maps were used in the Finnish newspapers, magazines and humorous magazines, with examples from the early 1900's to 1941. In many cases, the map was an essential part of the article or caricature, along with the text and other figures. They were often aimed to affect people's opinions and images, and to support Finland's territorial hopes in the Eastern Karelia. Among the other national symbols, such as the flag, national anthem or coat of arms, the map of Finland can be considered as a symbol of nationhood.     

Postcolonial environmental justice: Government and governance in India

In this paper, we investigate the context within which struggles for environmental justice are taking place in India. We explore the ways in which postcolonial patterns of government and governance in India affect the ends, the means and the representation of these struggles, focusing on three particular areas: state reform, the judiciary and public interest litigation, and environmental social movements. We argue that India differs from west in the ambitious yet incomplete and contradictory nature of government-sponsored intervention in the environment, and in the particular nature of its public sphere, both of which have been important in shaping struggles for environmental justice. Our wider intention is not merely to catalogue these differences, but to use the Indian material to raise questions about the emphases and implicit assumptions of western environmental justice literature, and reflect on how these may be need reconsideration when working in postcolonial contexts.     

Morphotectonic evaluation of the Delhi region in northern India,and its significance in environmental management

This paper deals with the morphotectonic evaluation of the Delhi region in northern India to understand its impact on land use and urban development. To accommodate heavy urbanization and population rise (being the capital of India), the area has undergone tremendous environmental degradation resulting from a mismatch between adopted land use and morphotectonic considerations. The geomorphic and drainage signatures of the region have evolved out of interaction of varied geological parameters including neotectonic activities. We have evaluated the changes in the drainage pattern of the Yamuna River in the Delhi region to underline its significance in geomorphic evolution and subsequent land use and/or land suitability. The Yamuna River has shown variations both in channel position and geometry over the last two centuries. The observed migration pattern of the river (shifting of confluences, position and disposition of palaeochannels, etc.,) cannot be attributed to normal river phenomenon and appears to have been effected by neotectonic changes. In addition, some case studies are discussed to underline the significance of geomorphic factors in urban development.     

Late Quaternary environmental studies on salt lakes in western Rajasthan,India: a summarised view

The paper reviews pollen analytical and palaeoenvironmental work carried out on saline lakes in western Rajasthan, northwest India. The saline lakes are salient geomorphological features within the arid and semi-arid landscapes to the west of the Aravalli mountain ranges. Preliminary palynological work was carried out on two profiles from a gypsum-rich lake depression around Thob (District of Barmer). The varied pollen data are indicative of a fluctuating vegetational assemblage, possibly in response to local hydrological conditions and not necessarily indicative of climatic change. Pollen of Ephedra sp. (a typical desert species) in the lower levels suggests episodes of relatively dry conditions during the early phase of lake sedimentation at the end of the Pleistocene. Other work at four lake sites, on the basis of pollen analysis has indicated shifts in climatic and vegetational belts during the early Holocene, especially during the period of Indus Valley Culture. Later in the Holocene, between 5000 and 3500 yr BP, rainfall variations have been related to the dynamics of the monsoon. Pioneering geoarchaeological studies carried out at the palaeolithic site of 16 R and the adjacent Didwana lake have illustrated palaeoclimatic fluctuations and accompanying changes in cultural stages from the lower palaeolithic to mesolithic. These studies have been extended geochemically and sedimentologically through a detailed study documenting a history of salinity from 20000 to 13000 yr BP and freshwater conditions from 9000 to 6000 yr BP. Later studies have illustrated a sequence of changes reflecting summer and winter precipitation. These have indicated steppe vegetation during the last Glacial Maximum along with hypersaline lake conditions at Didwana, inferring a weakened summer monsoon and relatively high winter precipitation. The taxa indicative of both summer and winter precipitation in the mid-Holocene declined during the late Holocene, at the same time as falling lake levels around 4000 yr BP, a time when other lakes, at Sambhar, Lunkaransar and Pachpadra, also became ephemeral. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Imprints of environmental pollution on laterite/clay and groundwater of Eloor-Kalamassery Industrial Belt,Kerala State,India

The role of laterites and clay in the adsorption of trace elements and consequent remediation of contaminated water from toxic elements has been studied. Laterite, clay and associated water samples from industrially and biologically polluted rivers and wells from Eloor-Kalamassery are analysed for Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Bi, As, and Hg contents. The cation exchange capacity of the clay-organic matter components from the in situ and transported laterites and clay in differing environments of pollution are responsible for the reduction and depletion of toxic elements concentrated in the polluted water medium. Adsorption of toxic elements by laterite has further been corroborated by a simulation experiment conducted in the laboratory. An artificial laterite bed was prepared and water containing known amounts of Cr, Zn, Ni and Mn were allowed to flow overnight through the bed at uniform rate. Analysis of artificial laterite bed shows enrichment of Cr, Zn, Ni, Mn, indicating the absorbent properties of laterite.     

Early human impact in the forest ecotone of southern High Asia (Hindu Kush, Himalaya)

The vegetation of the treeline ecotone of the southern declivity of arid High Asia (Hindu Kush, northern areas of Pakistan; Himalaya, northern central Nepal) is dominated by hedgehog-like open dwarf shrublands of thorny cushions. Since climatically sensitive ecotones are always also sensitive to human impact, the question arises whether the current lack of forests is a result of the Subboreal climate decline or of human impact. Due to inadequate knowledge of the pollen flora and of ecological indicator values of the plants, pollen analyses in High Asia have mainly been limited to the regional verification of globally known climatic impulses. However, the role of human impact on regional vegetation patterns has been widely neglected. We postulate that today's open dwarf shrublands replace woodlands and forests. Isolated vigorous juniper trees and successful reforestation appear to confirm our hypothesis. An abrupt decline of Pinus forests before 5700 and 5400 ka cal yr BP can be demonstrated. As the first indicator pollen of human impact appeared at both sites synchronous with the forest pollen decline, we infer human impact to be a more decisive cause for this environment change superimposing the effects of a climatic deterioration. The forests were displaced by open dwarf shrublands.     

Depositional Environments and Diagenesis of the Kuldhar and Keera Dome Carbonates (Late Bathonian–Early Callovian) of Western India

This paper describes 11 microfacies types in late Bathonian–Early Callovian carbonates of the Kuldhar Member of the Jaisalmer Formation (Rajasthan) and the Keera Golden Oolite Member of the Chari Formation (Kachchh Mainland) western India. The different microfacies associations reported in this study reflect an ideal shallowing upward sequence, representing a system of bioclastic bars developed on the lower ramp, evolving into an oolitic bar-to-bank system separating restricted lagoonal—from lower ramp environment. Four main types of cements, i.e. bladed, fibrous, syntaxial overgrowth and blocky cement (characterized in a few cases by ferroan calcite and anhydrite II) occur in these carbonates. The study also reveals that chemical compaction followed the two phases of early mechanical compaction that largely governed porosity of these limestones. However, micritization and neomorphism also contributed significantly in this respect. Diagenetic signatures in these carbonates suggest that marine phreatic and fresh water phreatic environments dominated, but deep burial diagenesis also played its role in shaping these rocks. The early and late diagenetic changes have been controlled by the depositional facies evolving in a basin riddled with rifting in an extensional tectonic regime forcing regional-scale sea level fluctuations.     

2000—2020年兴都库什东部冰川区物质平衡变化及其影响因素

利用SRTM DEM和ASTER立体像对数据获取的DEM分析了2000—2020年兴都库什东部的冰川物质平衡,并结合CRU TS 4.04气象数据探讨了气温、降水、地形和冰湖对南、北冰川区物质平衡空间差异的影响。结果表明：2000—2020年兴都库什东部冰川区物质平衡为（-0.02±0.04） m w.e.·a^-1,冰川整体呈现微弱的负物质平衡状态。从坡向来看,南坡以正物质平衡冰川居多,北坡以负物质平衡冰川居多。从南、北两个子区域来看,北部冰川区物质平衡为（0.07±0.04） m w.e.·a^-1,南部冰川区物质平衡为（-0.32±0.04） m w.e.·a^-1。北部冰川面积规模大,所处海拔区间高,南部则相反。北部冰川区处于较高的海拔区间且冬季气温较低,导致夏季升温所产生的冰川消融的影响被削弱,冰川物质平衡的分布与降水分布在空间上具有一致性。南部冰川区出现的强烈物质亏损主要是由于夏季气温的急剧升高和冰川处于较低的海拔区间。南、北区域冰前湖和冰面湖面积不断扩大的空间差异性,也在一定程度上加剧了该地区冰川物质平衡的空间差异。     

Fluorine distribution in waters of Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Geochemical and hydrochemical studies were conducted in Nalgonda District (A.P.), to explore the causes of high fluorine in waters, causing a widespread incidence of fluorosis in the local population. Samples of granitic rocks, soils, stream sediments, and waters were analyzed for F and other salient chemical parameters. Samples from the area of Hyderabad city were analyzed for comparison. The F content of waters in areas with endemic fluorosis ranges from 0.4 to 20 mg/l. The low calcium content of rocks and soils, and the presence of high levels of sodium bicarbonate in soils and waters are important factors favoring high levels of F in waters.     

Geographic Information System and groundwater quality mapping in Panvel Basin,Maharashtra, India

Panvel Basin of Raigarh district, Maharashtra, India is the study area for groundwater quality mapping using the Geographic Information System (GIS). The study area is typically covered by Deccan basaltic rock types of Cretaceous to Eocene age. Though the basin receives heavy rainfall, it frequently faces water scarcity problems as well as water quality problems in some specific areas. Hence, a GIS based groundwater quality mapping has been carried out in the region with the help of data generated from chemical analysis of water samples collected from the basin. Groundwater samples show quality exceedence in terms of chloride, hardness, TDS and salinity. These parameters indicate the level of quality of groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes. Idrisi 32 GIS software was used for generation of various thematic maps and for spatial analysis and integration to produce the final groundwater quality map. The groundwater quality map shows fragments pictorially representing groundwater zones that are desirable and undesirable for drinking and irrigation purposes.     

Assessment of the impact of industrial effluents on water quality in Patancheru and environs, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh, India

The effects of multiple industrial-pollutant sources on the groundwater system were evaluated in the Industrial Development Areas (IDAs) of Medak district, Andhra Pradesh (AP), India. The quality of groundwater in the region has been affected negatively due to the discharge of effluents on open land and into ponds, tanks, and streams. Water samples from surface-water bodies, dug wells,and bore wells were analyzed for their major ion concentrations. The high values of electrical conductivity (EC) and concentrations of Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl^–, and HCO₃ ^– indicate the impact of industrial effluents. Based on the hydrochemistry, the groundwater is classified into various types, such as sodium-chloride, sodium-bicarbonate, calcium-chloride, and magnesium-chloride, and its suitability for drinking and irrigation has been assessed. The present studies made it possible to demarcate areas of contaminated groundwater and those prone to contamination in the near future. Water in the area has deteriorated all along Nakka Vagu up to a maximum distance of 500–700 m from the eastern bank. The groundwater quality in and around Patancheru (to a depth of 30 m) has become hazardous. Some possible remedial measures are suggested. Electronic Publication     

兴都库什山及伊朗高原抬升对南亚季风-中亚干旱气候演化影响的模拟研究

新生代以来青藏高原大地形及其周围边缘地形的构造抬升对亚洲气候演化有着深远而复杂的影响。目前的气候代用指标表明南亚季风的开始可以追溯到始新世, 随后在早中新世和晚中新世经历了显著的加强过程。同时, 构造地质证据表明兴都库什山脉和伊朗高原的隆升可能开始于10~12 Ma。兴都库什山脉和伊朗高原作为南亚季风和中亚干旱区之间的天然地理屏障, 其对南亚季风和中亚干旱区气候演化和分异是否有一定的影响, 目前尚未可知。本研究利用高分辨率的大气环流模式系统性评估了兴都库什山脉和伊朗高原对南亚和中亚气候的影响。结果表明, 兴都库什和伊朗高原对南亚季风的加强和中亚干旱区降水的抑制均有贡献。相较而言, 兴都库什山脉对南亚季风的加强和向北扩张起主导作用。兴都库什山脉引起的南亚夏季降水增量达到兴都库什和伊朗高原共同作用的65.6 %。兴都库什山脉抬升后, 南亚地区15° N以北, 尤其是印度半岛中部和西北部夏季降水均显著增加, 阿拉伯海对流层低层的西南风和印度西北部偏南风显著加强。伊朗高原对中亚干旱区的干旱化作用更强, 并以冬季变化为主导。伊朗高原引起的中亚地区冬季降水减少量占兴都库什和伊朗高原共同作用的71.4 %。伊朗高原抬升后, 中亚地区冬季的盛行西风显著减弱, 从而导致降水显著减少。本研究的数值模拟试验表明, 地质记录揭示的南亚季风在晚中新世的加强可能与兴都库什山脉和伊朗高原在该阶段的抬升密切相关。

     

Occurrence and Emplacement of Chromite Ores in Sindhudurg District,Maharashtra, India

<正>In the present study,we present the occurrence and emplacement of chromite ore deposits from two abandoned mines(Kankavali[Janoli]and Wagda) in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra,India.These ores,that occurred as lenses and are associated with metamorphic and ultrabasic rocks,consist of octahedral grains of chromite,while clinochlore is present between the interstices of these grains.The Kankavali(Janoli) and Wagda ores revealed a dominance of Cr_2O_3 followed by FeO and variable proportions of A1_2O_3,MgO,and SiO_2.The former deposits have a slightly higher Cr_2O_3(average 52 wt%) and FeO(～18 wt%) than those from Wagda(Cr_2O_3～50 wt%,FeO～25 wt%).The similar Cr~# values(0.73 for Kankavali[Janoli],0.74 for Wagda) correspond to those reported for typical podiform-type chromite deposits.We suggest that the ores were emplaced as phacoliths in folded outcrops with a steep easterly dip and a northwest-southeast trend.We postulate the continuation of the fold structure from Janoli to Wagda(～4.5 km apart) and the probable (sporadic) occurrence of chromite along this stretch.The possibility of the contribution of chromite grains from these areas to the coastal placer deposits cannot be ruled out.     

Paleomagnetism and geochronology of the Gwalior Sills,Bundelkhand craton,Northern India Block: New constraints on Greater India assembly

We present an updated paleomagnetic pole from the Gwalior Sills in the Bundelkhand craton within the Northern India Block (NIB). Geochronological results from baddeleyite grains from one of the sills yielded an age of 1719 ± 7 Ma which together with a previously published age indicates the emplacement of sills between 1712 and 1756 Ma (∼1730 Ma). The paleomagnetic pole calculated from additional sites in this study, combined with previous studies, falls at 13.5°N, 173.7°E (A95 = 3.6°, K = 98) indicating near equatorial latitudes for northern India. Limestone sampled a few meters above the contact with the sill exhibits similar directions consistent with having been baked by the sill. The pole does not resemble any younger poles from Peninsular India and receives a reliability score of R = 5. Dykes in the Singhbhum craton are slightly older (1765 Ma) and indicate low paleolatitudes for the Southern Indian Block (SIB). Although the Gwalior and Singhbhum poles data indicate low latitudes for both the NIB and SIB, they are statistically different and indicate that a rotation of at least 65° is required to bring the poles into accord. We propose that the NIB and SIB were in proximity but were separated by an ocean basin. We propose the name Gotosindhu (‘Ancient Sea’) for the body of water separating the NIB and SIB. We also review previous models for the assembly of the Columbia supercontinent during this time and critically examine the position of the NIB/SIB in those reconstructions.     

Arrested charnockite formation at Kottavattam, southern India

Abstract At Kottavattam, southern Kerala (India), late Proterozoic homogeneous leptynitic garnet–biotite gneisses of granitic composition have been transformed on a decimetric scale into coarse-grained massive charnockite sensu stricto along a set of conjugate fractures transecting the gneissic foliation. Charnockitization post-dates the polyphase deformation, regional high-grade metamorphism and anatexis, and evidently occurred at a late stage of the Pan-African tectonothermal history. Geothermobarometric and fluid inclusion data document textural and chemical equilibration of the gneiss and charnockite assemblages at similar P_lith–T conditions (650–700°C, 5–6 kbar) in the presence of carbonic fluids internally buffered by reaction with graphite and opaque mineral phases (X_CO2= 0.7–0.6; X_H2O= 0.2–0.3; X_N2= 0.1; log f_O2= -17.5). Mineralogical zonation indicates that charnockitization of the leptynitic gneiss involved first the breakdown of biotite and oxidation of graphite in narrow, outward-migrating transition zones adjacent to the gneiss, followed by the breakdown of garnet and the neoblastesis of hypersthene in the central charnockite zone. Compared to the host gneiss, the charnockite shows higher concentrations of K, Na, Sr, Ba and Zn and lower concentrations of Mg, Fe, Ti, V, Y, Zr and the HREE, with a complementary pattern in the narrow transition zones of biotite breakdown. The P_lith–T–X_H2O data and chemical zonation patterns indicate charnockitization through subsolidus-dehydration reaction in an open system. Subsequent residence of the carbonic fluids in the charnockite resulted in low-grade alteration causing modification of the syn-charnockitic elemental distribution patterns and the properties of entrapped fluids. We favour an internally controlled process of arrested charnockitization in which, during near-isothermal uplift, the release of carbonic fluids from decrepitating inclusions in the host gneiss into simultaneously developing fracture zones led to a change in the fluid regime from ‘fluid-absent’in the gneiss to ‘fluid-present’in the fracture zones and to the development of an initial fluid-pressure gradient, triggering the dehydration reaction.     

The Ghingee Granite, Tamil Nadu, South India: Geochemistry and Petrogenesis

The Palaeo-Proterozoic Ghingee granite is an anatectic granite formed in high grade granulite terrain by ultrametamorphism. The compositional variations both in major and trace elements observed in this granite (SiO₂ : 64.16-73.81; Fe₂O₃ : 0.12-2.19; FeO : 0.12-2.80; MgO : 0.10-2.19; CaO : 1.66-4.71; K₂O : 1.09-5.09; Ba: 223-1883 ppm; Cr : 4-60 ppm) are attributed to a) source rock heterogeneity and b) the tectonic disturbances that might have abruptly ended the anatectic melting process. The granite is compositionally similar to Perur, Closepet and Hyderabad granites and is formed during Archaean-Proterozoic transition by anatectic and crustal remelting processes.     

Neoliberalism and water reforms in western India: Commercialization, self-sufficiency, and regulatory bodies

This paper deals with the changes brought about by the ‘reforms’ in water currently under way in many parts of the world. Three particular reforms in the state of Maharashtra in western India are discussed - the commercialization of a parastatal body, the concept of self-sufficiency as it plays out in the context of urban local bodies, and the working of the regulatory body in water. The analysis of these reforms shows how, in common with neoliberal projects elsewhere, changes in institutional practices are resulting in changes in subjectivities, foreclosing alternatives, and leading to attempts to ‘depoliticize’ the water arena. At the same time, there are differences between the regulatory experience of Maharashtra and regulation in other locales, which offers insights into how neoliberalism works in a context where water reforms have emerged relatively late.     

Parents,permission, and possibility: Young women,college, and imagined futures in Gujarat,India

This article advances critical geographies of youth through examining the spatiality implicit in the imagined futures of young women in rural India. Geographers and other scholars of youth have begun to pay more attention to the interplay between young people’s past, present, and imagined futures. Within this emerging body of scholarship the role of the family and peer group in influencing young people’s orientations toward the future remain underexamined. Drawing on eleven months of ethnographic fieldwork, my research focuses on a first generation of college-going young women from socioeconomically marginalized backgrounds in India’s westernmost state of Gujarat. I draw on the “possible selves” theoretical construct in order to deploy a flexible conceptual framework that links imagined post-educational trajectories with motivation to act in the present. In tracing the physical movement of these young women as they navigate and complete college, my analysis highlights the ways in which particular kinds of spaces and spatial arrangements facilitate and limit intra- and inter-generational contact, and the extent to which this affects young women’s conceptions of the future. I conclude by considering the wider implications of my research for ongoing debates surrounding youth transitions, relational geographies of age, and education in the Global South.