Water crises in its multifarious forms are the major threat of modern day’s human civilisation. To do away with this problem, it is necessary to look back at our traditional practices of rain water harvesting and preservation and conservation of subsoil water table.

Water conservation is the cause of concern since the ages of sages. If we take a peep into the Sabha Parba of Mahabharat we will find Debarshi Narada asking Yudhisthir, are your subjects living and leading life in peace and containment? They must not be suffering hardship from dearth of seeds and foods. Hope you have arranged for digging of big ponds and lakes at places in your kingdom. Is agriculture made independent of rain?

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In ancient India, kings were more concerned to make agricultural land irrigable and rain-independent so that during drought or times of rain shortfall, agriculture did not get affected and people of his kingdom did not starve. It the reason that in ancient India water harvesting was given prime importance.

India is a country with very deep historical roots and strong cultural traditions. These are reflected in our social fabric and institutions of community life. In spite of social movements of varied nature through the millennia we have retained the spirit and essence of these traditions and have remained attached to our roots.

Some of our traditions, evolved and developed by our forefathers thousands of years ago have played an important role in different spheres of life. Most important among these is the tradition of collecting, storing and preserving water for various uses. It all started at the dawn of civilisation with small human settlements coming up on the banks of rivers and streams.

Our ancient texts and epics give a good insight into the water storage and conservation systems prevailing in those days. For instance, the sage Narad during his visits to different kingdoms would invariably enquire about the state of the ponds and other water bodies and whether these had enough water for the population. In the Ramayana, Lord Hanuman is wonderstruck by the beauty and grandeur of Lanka especially its well maintained lakes, ‘baolis’, wells, gardens, orchards and forests.

In our villages there are countless stories from mythology, folklore and songs extolling the glory of our sacred rivers and lakes. The story of Bhagirath singlehandedly training the mighty Ganga has been narrated from generation to generation. The Arthashastra of Kautilya gives an extensive account of dams and bunds that were built for irrigation during the period of the Mauryan Empire. The water supply systems were well managed within the framework of strict rules and regulations.

In India, the first major human settlements started in the Indus Valley (3000-1500 BCE) in the north and western India. Evidence of water systems is found in different writings of this period. There are archaeological evidence of irrigation and drinking water supply systems from a large number of wells with brick lining. Dholavira, an important site of Indus Valley had several reservoirs to collect rain water. Similar evidences have been found at Mohenjodaro and Harappa. In Lothal (Gujarat) and Inamgaon (Maharashtra) and other places in north and western India small bunds were built by the local people to store rain water for irrigation and drinking.

In fact, wells were invariably built close to the tanks, lakes, canals etc. In the arid and semi-arid areas of northwest India, rain water was collected in underground storage tanks called Tanka, Kunds or Kundis. However, the first known construction of a Kund was in 1607 by Raja Sur Singh in village Vadi-Ka-Melan. In 1755, Maharaja Udai Singh built a large Kund in his fort at Jodhpur. Subsequently, during the famine of 1895-96 construction of these storage structures was taken up on a large scale.

The city of Delhi, founded in the early eleventh century near the present Suraj Kund in Haryana, used to get its water supply from Suraj Kund, which was built to impound rain water from the Aravalli hills. During the Sultanate period that followed, several cities were built in the vicinity of the Aravallis and all these had elaborate rainwater harvesting systems to meet the domestic water requirements.

The prominent among these is the Hauz-e-Sultani built by Sultan Iltutmish (1210-1236 AD). In 1615, during the Mughal rule, Abdul Rahim Khan built a unique water supply system of the Burhanpur town (Madhya Pradesh). The system involved construction of long lines of underground tunnels with vertical airshafts to tap the underground water flow from the nearby Satpura hill ranges to the Tapti River lower down. The system is still functioning well and is adequate to meet the entire water requirements of the town.

Various religious, cultural and social rituals prescribed interalia, purification and cleansing with water. Water itself had many applications in different rituals. Development of reliable sources of water like, storage reservoirs, ponds, lakes, irrigation canals et al came to be regarded as an essential part of good governance.

Emperors and kings not only built various water-bodies but also encouraged the village communities and individuals to build these on their own. Wide-ranging laws were made to regulate their construction and maintenance and for conservation and preservation of water and its proper distribution and use.

The Satvahanas (1st century BCE- 2nd century AD) introduced the brick and ring wells. Lake and well irrigation was developed on a large scale during the time of Pandya, Chera and Chola dynasties in south India (1st-3rd Century AD) and large structures were built across Cauvery and Vaigai rivers.

The Rajput dynasty (1000-1200 AD) promoted irrigation works in northern India. The 647 sq.km Bhopal lake was built under King Bhoja. In Eastern India Pal and Sen Kings (760-1100 AD) built a number of large tanks and lakes in their kingdoms. Rajtarangini of Kalhana gives a detailed account of irrigation systems developed in the 12th Century in Kashmir.

In the Medieval period, Mohammad Bin Tughlaq (1325-1351 AD) encouraged the farmers to build their own rain water harvesting systems and wells. Feroze Shah Tughlaq (1351-1388 AD) built the Western Yamuna Canal in 1355 to extend irrigation facilities in the dry land tracts of the present-day Haryana and Rajasthan. Emperor Shah Jahan built many canals prominent among these being the Bari Doab or the Hasli Canal. Under the rule of Rangila Muhammad Shah, the Eastern Yamuna Canal was built to irrigate large tracts in Uttar Pradesh.

The Vijaynagar Kingdom (1336-1546 A.D.) in the south took keen interest in building large and small storage tanks. Anantraj Sagar tank was built with a 1.37 km long earthen dam across the Maldevi river. The well-known Korangal dam was built under King Krishnadevraya.

The Bahamani rulers (1388-1422 A.D.) introduced canal irrigation for the first time in the eastern provinces of the Deccan. Sultan Zain Uddin (1420-1470 A.D.) introduced extensive network of canals in Utpalpur, Nadashaila, Bijbihara and Advin areas of Kashmir.

The social norms for civilised behaviour, interalia, enjoined on the community members to maintain these facilities, conserve and protect water from pollution and ensure its equitable and fair distribution.

Social scientists, historians and scholars have found that there was no problem of water scarcity where the community organisations were strong and the people relied upon their own efforts to build water harvesting structures. On the other hand, the situation was bad where the people depended entirely on the state for water.

‘Water for all’ formed the basis for the all round development and prosperity in earlier times. Let us revive and expand this old wisdom for the benefit of all our people especially in the rural areas. We can do it, can we not?