About the Series  viii

Foreword  ix

Acknowledgments  xiii

Introduction. A Riverscape Undone  1

1. Creating Nepal in the Kathmandu Valley  42

2. Knowing the Problem  57

3. War, Emergency, and an Unsettled City  91

4. Emergency Ecology and the Order of Renewal  116

5. Ecologies of Invasion  139

6. Local Rivers, Global Reaches  155

Conclusion. Anticipating Restoration  175

Notes  185

References  211

Index  237

Dianne Rocheleau

“Anthropologists have just begun to turn their attention to cities in the south and Reigning the River is one of the first detailed ethnographies to effectively grapple with the cultural politics of urban natures. It is an admirable project and will not only be of immense relevance to a wide range of readers interested in questions of urban improvement, development, and livelihood struggles, but it also deserves to be read widely by undergraduate and graduate students of urban studies, environmental studies, anthropology, cultural studies, and South Asian studies. It is a pioneering contribution that is bound to have a lasting impact.”—Shubhra Gururani, American Ethnologist

“[A] valuable resource for those with a general interest in urban problems or
in Nepal for disciplinary specialists.”—John Whelpton, Asian Anthropology

“In sum, Rademacher provides an engaging ethnographic account of environmental and political transformation in Kathmandu, permeated with abundant historical material and written with a close yet critical understanding of the subject. The book, strong on theoretical references to interdisciplinary debates in social science and in the field of Nepal studies, has made its own important contributions in these fields.” —Tashi Tsering, Environmental History

“Reigning the River will enhance understanding of the forces and counter-forces of river remediation for State officials, activists and students alike.”—Matthew Fiala, Electronic Green Journal

“It certainly does represent a considerable advance in the literature of environmentally conscious humanities research, with powerful general conclusions that can guide both practitioners and academics.”—Paul Brown, Asian Studies Review

“The strength of the book lies in its charming flow of historical narrative and the ethnography around the constructions of, and conflicts over, the meaning of nature in Kathmandu.”—Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, Anthropological Forum

“Anthropologists have just begun to turn their attention to cities in the south and Reigning the River is one of the first detailed ethnographies to effectively grapple with the cultural politics of urban natures. It is an admirable project and will not only be of immense relevance to a wide range of readers interested in questions of urban improvement, development, and livelihood struggles, but it also deserves to be read widely by undergraduate and graduate students of urban studies, environmental studies, anthropology, cultural studies, and South Asian studies. It is a pioneering contribution that is bound to have a lasting impact.”—Shubhra Gururani, American Ethnologist

“[A] valuable resource for those with a general interest in urban problems or
in Nepal for disciplinary specialists.”—John Whelpton, Asian Anthropology

“In sum, Rademacher provides an engaging ethnographic account of environmental and political transformation in Kathmandu, permeated with abundant historical material and written with a close yet critical understanding of the subject. The book, strong on theoretical references to interdisciplinary debates in social science and in the field of Nepal studies, has made its own important contributions in these fields.” —Tashi Tsering, Environmental History

“Reigning the River will enhance understanding of the forces and counter-forces of river remediation for State officials, activists and students alike.”—Matthew Fiala, Electronic Green Journal

“It certainly does represent a considerable advance in the literature of environmentally conscious humanities research, with powerful general conclusions that can guide both practitioners and academics.”—Paul Brown, Asian Studies Review

“The strength of the book lies in its charming flow of historical narrative and the ethnography around the constructions of, and conflicts over, the meaning of nature in Kathmandu.”—Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, Anthropological Forum

“Cutting-edge social science has not kept pace with the shift of most of the human population to urban areas. Anne M. Rademacher helps to remedy this deficiency by asking, as one of her informants did of her, ‘What is urban ecology?’ In answer, she shows how urban nature and culture are mutually produced, reinforced, and changed, deftly weaving into her analysis recent political and environmental transformations in Nepal. The result is a pioneering study of the moral and affective dimensions of a twenty-first-century urban environment. It is a model for a new generation of urban studies.”—Michael R. Dove, Yale University

“This lucidly written and rigorously argued book is likely to become a major contribution to the anthropology of the Himalayan environment, and to the small but growing literature on urban modernity in Nepal. In the eyes of environmental activists, the sorry state of the Bagmati River is a metaphor for the state of Nepal itself. By elucidating the activists’ critique and their vision for a more ordered and coherent future, Anne M. Rademacher makes a deeply original contribution to political anthropology. This book deserves to be widely read both by students of Himalayan society, culture, and politics and by those who work in the areas of Nepal’s environment, development, and governance. The clarity of the writing makes it especially suitable as an undergraduate text in a range of courses on environment and development, political anthropology, urban anthropology, and South Asian studies.”—Arjun Guneratne, Macalester College

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