Community, Intimate Government, and Environmental Subjects in Kumaon, India
This paper examines the formation of environmental subjectivities in Kumaon in the state of Uttaranchal Pradesh in India. It focuses on a 70-year old example of community-based forest management and shows how regulatory strategies associated with community decision-making also transform the beliefs and subject positions of those who participate in regulatory activities. Experiences of scarcity, responsibility for governing forests, and participation in regulation are key influences on those who come to see themselves over time as environmental subjects. The paper is based upon evidence drawn from the archival record and ethnographic research conducted over two different time periods.