Introduction: Placing Water First - Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt I. THE REGIONAL POLITICS OF WATER IN SOUTH ASIA National and Regional Water Concerns: Setting the Scene - Ramaswamy R. Iyer Pakistan India Nepal Bhutan Bangladesh A Resume of Convergences and Divergences Conclusion The Monsoon Rivers of South Asia: A Geomorphological Perspective on Managing Monsoon Rivers - Avijit Gupta Rivers: Forms and Function River Management: Objectives and Procedure Monsoon Rivers in Asia: Distribution and Characteristics Managing Monsoon Rivers Concluding Remarks The Politics of Water in Colonial India: The Emergence of Control - David Hardiman Introduction Early Interventions Canal Networks From Rainfed to Irrigated Farming The Regional Politics of Water Sharing: Contemporary Issues in South Asia - Douglas Hill Introduction Political Economy of Water in South Asia Disputes over Water Future Outlook Global Conventions and Regulations on International Rivers: Implications for South Asia - Binayak Ray Regulating Rivers in a Volatile Region The 1997 United Nations General Assembly Convention India's Water Sharing Treaties China: A Key Player in Riparian Water Policy Under China's Shadow River-Linking and its Discontents: The Final Plunge for Supply-side Hydrology in India - Rohan D'Souza Roots of River-linking Plans History and Hydraulic Practice The Collapse of Supply-side Hydrology The Nature of Flooding and Drainage The Global Water Crisis and the Rise of Demand Management Towards a New Approach II. REGIONAL ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND APPROACHES Water Quality and Economic Growth in India - Robert J. Wasson Introduction The EKC and Water Quality India's Economic Development The Quality of River Water in India (BOD and Faecal Coliforms) Institutional Developments Summary and Conclusions When a Public Health Story Goes Sour: Arsenic Contaminated Drinking Water in Bangladesh - Bruce Caldwell Water, Water, Everywhere, Nor any Drop to Drink Tubewells: The Key to 'Safe' Water Arsenic: A Cruel Blow The Health and Social Research Project The Risks and Benefits of Arsenic Intervention Intervention Study Conclusion Arsenic Contamination of Ground Water: Social Determinants of an Environmental Crisis in India - Atanu Sarkar Introduction Methods Results Processes Determining Manifestations Conclusion Gender and Integrated Water Resources Management in South Asia: The Challenge of Community-managed Alternatives - Sara Ahmed Gender in Water Management Understanding Gender in IWRM Gender and Water in South Asia: An Overview Mainstreaming Gender in Livelihoods: Water for Agriculture Irrigation and Gender Gender and Domestic Water Supply Gender and Sanitation - Still Cinderella's Slipper? Mainstreaming Gender in IWRM: Challenges Now Institutions for Integrated Water Resources Management: Lessons from Four Indian States - Vishal Narain and Saurabh Chugh Why IWRM? Approaches to IWRM Irrigation Reforms Reforms in Drinking Water Supply Integration in Watershed Management Conclusion Top-down or Bottom-up?: Negotiating Water Management at the Local Level in South Asia - Saravanan V.S Introduction Constitutional Background Water Policies: Shaping and Reshaping Landscapes Water Legislation Water Administration: Multiple and Complex Top-down or Bottom-Up? Watershed Development Programmes and Rural Development: A Review of Indian Policies - Sucharita Sen Introduction A Review of Policies for Land Resource Management Evolution of Watershed Policy in India Assessing the Watershed Programmes Future Dir.