Fire, Forest, City: A Social Ecology of Fire in British India

Abstract Of all the elements, fire has been the most neglected in the environmental history of South Asia. This article traces a trajectory of fire and fire-use in British India from the 1840s to the 1930s and from the forest to the city. It considers the destructive role attributed to fire in the forest by colonial foresters but also the ways in which fire became integral to the management and exploitation of state forests. Rather than focusing on 'big timber', the discussion then turns to the consumption of firewood as a leading energy source and the extensive trade that brought firewood to the city. Urban lighting, city fires and new energy sources like kerosene are assessed as aspects of a changing urban fire environment. The article concludes with Hindu cremation pyres as an illustration of the economics and culture of Indian fire-use and changing patterns of fire consumption.