Keynote: "The Color of Water"
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An A.D. White Professors-at-Large Keynote Public Talk
"The Color of Water"
P. Sainath (Founder and editor of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI)
🗓️ Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026
⏰ 4:30pm
📍 Lewis Auditorium (G76), Goldwin Smith Hall (*tentative)
Reception to follow. Open to all.
Abstract: Water-stressed India accounts for about 18% of the world’s population, while possessing only 4% of the planet’s renewable freshwater resources. This talk addresses systems of water transfer --who controls it, who pays for it, and who goes without—which are critical to understanding water scarcity. Transfers occur between classes and castes, between regions, from agriculture to industry and virtually, embedded in crops and goods. Almost no one discusses who carries the burden of collection: rural women who spend about 150 million working days fetching water, by one widely cited estimate. A new transfer is spreading quickly: data centers, more than half of which sit in water-stressed regions with some states like Maharashtra and Telangana classifying them as essential services, which would put them ahead of households in a shortage. The question we ask is how to forge better paths for the color of future water in India.
"The Color of Water"
P. Sainath (Founder and editor of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI)
🗓️ Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026
⏰ 4:30pm
📍 Lewis Auditorium (G76), Goldwin Smith Hall (*tentative)
Reception to follow. Open to all.
Abstract: Water-stressed India accounts for about 18% of the world’s population, while possessing only 4% of the planet’s renewable freshwater resources. This talk addresses systems of water transfer --who controls it, who pays for it, and who goes without—which are critical to understanding water scarcity. Transfers occur between classes and castes, between regions, from agriculture to industry and virtually, embedded in crops and goods. Almost no one discusses who carries the burden of collection: rural women who spend about 150 million working days fetching water, by one widely cited estimate. A new transfer is spreading quickly: data centers, more than half of which sit in water-stressed regions with some states like Maharashtra and Telangana classifying them as essential services, which would put them ahead of households in a shortage. The question we ask is how to forge better paths for the color of future water in India.
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Where is it happening?
Goldwin Smith Hall, Ithaca, New York, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherA. D. White Professors-at-Large at Cornell
