The paper attempts to understand the relation between pastoral cultures and irrigation-based intensive farming regimes promoted by modern development represented by the Indira Gandhi Canal (IGNP) in western Rajasthan. Participant observation and development practice engagement with pastoral communities over the past three decades give an opportunity to reflect on epistemic rationality that constitutes the discourse of modern development, formal statecraft of technocracy, and rule by experts. Historical markers of pastoralism in the interconnected regions of north-west Rajasthan and bordering regions of Multan and Bahawalpur in Pakistan are situated to trace the longuee duree of pastoral life systems in the Thar desert region. This oscillation between enhanced moisture regimes following inundation and increased desiccation of a moisture-deficient arid region has been at the core of sustaining the culture of pastoralism among semi-nomadic pastoralists of Muslim communities in north-west Rajasthan. The IGNP canal produces a space for modern development that opens up irrigated farming and an intensive natural resource use regime. This political economy of the IGNP canal systematically marginalizes pastoral natural resource use that was ecologically embedded. The varied experiences of adaptation responses by pastoral communities to this state-led marginalization points to the tenacious ability of pastoralism to continually adapt to the radically changing ecology. The paper argues for a complementarity of pastoral and farming use as an inclusive development vision. Beginnings can be made by a compassionate engagement with cultures of pastoralism that are endowed with resilience rooted in a historically constituted rationality to adapt and innovate with changing times. This may hold cues for a sustainable future of Thar.

中文翻译：

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了解塔尔牧民的“文化”和“现代发展”：印度西北拉贾斯坦邦的穆斯林牧民

本文试图了解以拉贾斯坦邦西部的英迪拉·甘地运河（IGNP）为代表的现代发展推动的牧区文化与以灌溉为基础的集约化耕作制度之间的关系。在过去的三十年中，与牧民社区的参与性观察和发展实践活动使人们有机会反思认识论的合理性，这构成了现代发展，技术专政的正式治国之道和专家统治的论述。西北拉贾斯坦邦以及巴基斯坦穆尔坦和巴哈瓦尔布尔接壤地区的相互联系的地区，放牧历史的标志是为了追踪塔尔沙漠地区的牧民生活系统的贵族责任。淹没后的缺水干旱地区增加的水分状况与干旱不断增加之间的这种振荡，一直是拉贾斯坦邦西北部穆斯林社区的半游牧牧民维持牧民文化的核心。IGNP运河为现代发展提供了空间，从而开放了灌溉农业和集约化的自然资源使用制度。IGNP运河的这种政治经济学系统地边缘化了生态上嵌入的牧草自然资源的利用。牧民社区对这种国家主导的边缘化的适应反应的不同经验表明，牧民的顽强能力不断适应根本变化的生态。本文主张将牧业和农业用途的互补性作为包容性发展愿景。可以通过富有同情心地参与放牧的文化来开始，这种文化具有适应力，这种适应力植根于历史悠久的合理性之中，以适应不断变化的时代并进行创新。这可能为塔尔的可持续未来提供线索。