@ Save Rivers with Traditional Knowledge. Basic issues/limitations/questions that need attention: Is the ‘traditional wisdom’ really dying and needs revival or the proponents of ‘revival needs’ have been reinterpreting this making it look like ‘dying’, suiting to their organization’s gain for survival and support? Both ‘traditional wisdom’ and ‘modern wisdom’ have strengths and weaknesses. Wisdom (ancient or new) never dies. Although, large dams have come under heavy criticism for right reasons, yet, small-scale 'traditional' rainwater harvesting systems’ as an alternative to it could not be accepted widely due to inadequate hydrological and hydrogeological understanding. In the context of India, it has to be kept in mind that the so-called 'traditional' was not necessarily always benign and was small-scale. The local communities may not always like to have a traditional approach if it does not lead to better access to water or increased benefits in terms of harvest or wage employment. New-traditionalist views do not appreciate the conflicts within pre-modern communities and are somewhat blind to local power relations in accessing natural resources. Such mentality may lead to water harvesting practices getting somehow incorporated into the wider practice of land grabbing, and may be designed by involvement of certain specific workers in politics to allow continued and extended accumulation of land at the expense of local communities, their livelihoods, and their relationship with the area. The new-traditionalist views community as a homogeneous entity as opposed to the centralized state but fails to analyze relations among different social groups within a given community as well as the highly heterogeneous nature of the state.

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@ Save Rivers with Traditional Knowledge.

Basic issues/limitations/questions that need attention:

Is the ‘traditional wisdom’ really dying and needs revival or the proponents of ‘revival needs’ have been reinterpreting this making it look like ‘dying’, suiting to their organization’s gain for survival and support? Both ‘traditional wisdom’ and ‘modern wisdom’ have strengths and weaknesses. Wisdom (ancient or new) never dies.

Although, large dams have come under heavy criticism for right reasons, yet, small-scale 'traditional' rainwater harvesting systems’ as an alternative to it could not be accepted widely due to inadequate hydrological and hydrogeological understanding.

In the context of India, it has to be kept in mind that the so-called 'traditional' was not necessarily always benign and was small-scale. The local communities may not always like to have a traditional approach if it does not lead to better access to water or increased benefits in terms of harvest or wage employment.

New-traditionalist views do not appreciate the conflicts within pre-modern communities and are somewhat blind to local power relations in accessing natural resources. Such mentality may lead to water harvesting practices getting somehow incorporated into the wider practice of land grabbing, and may be designed by involvement of certain specific workers in politics to allow continued and extended accumulation of land at the expense of local communities, their livelihoods, and their relationship with the area.

The new-traditionalist views community as a homogeneous entity as opposed to the centralized state but fails to analyze relations among different social groups within a given community as well as the highly heterogeneous nature of the state.

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