Ganga and gandagi: interpretations of pollution and waste in Benaras. (India) From: Ethnology | Date: March 22, 1994| Author: Alley, Kelly D. | COPYRIGHT 1994 University of Pittsburgh. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Residents of Benaras, India, interpret pollution of the Ganges River through an interplay of cultural logic, empiricism and rhetoric. There is a conflict of cultural logic between the scientific view of pollution and the traditional belief in the Ganga's purity. At the empirical level, urban waste is seen as a serious problem, but without a clear consensus on apportioning blame. In addition, the problem is linked rhetorically with everyday resistance to those in power. The history of waste ma...