The Cauvery river, which flows through the Southern peninsula has long been the site of disagreements and negotiations. The dispute initially takes off in the 1800s when the princely state of Mysore and Presidency of Madras both lay claim to the river. With new dam building technologies, each side tries to best harness the waters to their ends. Eventually the two sides reach agreements—first in 1892 and later in 1924. The 1924 agreement seems to give one side the upper hand. After Independence, the end of the agreement approaches in 1974, the dispute starts to flare up again. Enmeshed as it is in linguistic identity politics, livelihood issues and electoral politics, the dispute continues to catch fire through the decades.
References
The transcript and full list of resources are available here: http://anildivanfoundation.org/episode4
Credits:
Host: Raghu Karnad
Guest: AS Panneerselvam, KK Lahiri, Sharad Javali, Sugata Srinivasaraju
Research Manager: Ramya Boddupalli
Legal Researcher: Vipinn Mittaal
Scriptwriter: Ramya Boddupalli
Script editor: Bhavya Dore
Fact checker: Vipinn Mittaal
Advisors: Lawrence Liang, Ranvir Singh, Shyam Divan and Vivek Divan
Head of Production: Shaun Fanthome
Creative Director: Mae Mariyam Thomas
Production Assistant: Sakshi Nair
Sound Design & Mix: Kartik Kulkarni
Sound Editor & Music Supervisor: Lakshman Parsuram
Graphic Designer: Sephin Alexander