ABSTRACT
This entry traces and places the geological origins and the critical importance of the Brahmaputra in the making of the regional environment of Northeast India. It presents the river as Assam’s spine and reveals how the collective will of Assam’s residents was always overwhelmed by it. Because of its overwhelming nature, fishermen, graziers, peasants, boatmen, as well as varied animals, have long cultivated intimate relationships with it. Moreover, the River’s close link with sediment, waters, and velocity creates dynamic relations with the larger ecological setting. The final section focuses on how these relations are currently changing, mostly because of anthropogenic embankments and the activities and ambitions of engineers, technocrats, contractors, and elected representatives.
