This dissertation examines the political economy of the Ganga River during the early modern period. Thematically, the seven chapters of the dissertation may be categorized in three broad divisions.... Show moreThis dissertation examines the political economy of the Ganga River during the early modern period. Thematically, the seven chapters of the dissertation may be categorized in three broad divisions. Taking a longue dur_e perspective, the first two chapters situate the Ganga and its plain in the wider cultural and geographical framework of the Indian subcontinent. While Chapter 1 is concerned with the central role of the Ganga in Indian culture and civilization since the first millennium BC, Chapter 2 discusses early migration and the settlement pattern along the Ganga by paying close attention to the environmental predispositions of the region. The second broad division relates to the Ganga as connecting and feeding the political economy of northern India during the early modern period. The Ganga linked the region with the maritime economy, facilitated navigation, transportation of merchandise and also facilitated political control. Thus, Chapters 3 to 6 examine the political economic processes along the Ganga in eastern India, the integration of the regional commercial economy with the maritime global economy, bullion flows and production processes of such merchandise as saltpeter, opium and textiles. As Bihar offered these commodities, its economy pulled the maritime traders who approached the region through the Ganga highway. The inflows of specie boosted the economy and the agricultural and craft-productions kept pace with the increasing demands in overseas markets. Benefitting from the expanding economy of Bihar, the zamindars (warlords-cum-gentry) asserted their control over the Ganga and chocked the flow of resources to the Mughal imperial coffers and thus paving the way for Mughal decline in the eighteenth century. The third and last thematic division in Chapter 7 focuses on the decline of the Mughal Empire, zamindar-led regional centralization, and the political transition to EIC rule. Show less
Until the 1970s, the fish fauna of Lake Victoria was dominated by 500+ endemic haplochromine cichlid species in which detritivores was the dominant group followed by zooplanktivores. With the... Show moreUntil the 1970s, the fish fauna of Lake Victoria was dominated by 500+ endemic haplochromine cichlid species in which detritivores was the dominant group followed by zooplanktivores. With the upsurge of Nile perch in the 1980s, a strong decline of haplochromines occurred. During the1990s, a resurgence of some haplochromine species was observed and the abundance of detritivores and zooplanktivores reversed. In establishing the status of the recovering haplochromines in the period 2006-2008, the study has given evidence for a strong resurgence of the detritivorous, zooplanktivorous and oral mollusc shelling species, while other trophic groups were rare or absent. The recovered haplochromines extended their habitats. Differences in diet of detritivores and zooplanktivores and differences in predation pressure by Nile perch on the two trophic groups have been tested as potential ecological factors for their differential resurgence. It was found that both groups had switched from a restricted to a more diverse diet, with a greater overlap. Further, the study shows that resurgent haplochromines became the major prey of Nile perch, but there was no differential predation effect by Nile perch on detritivores and zooplanktivores. Thus, it is not likely that these factors played an important role in differential resurgence of the two trophic groups in Lake Victoria. Show less
