Colonizing the Lu ’s Realm: How Lowland Aquacultures Transformed the Upper Brahmaputra’s Waters in the Twentieth Century

This article argues that first the British, then the Indian, and especially the Chinese states extended their control over the upper Brahmaputra River’s waters in Tibet and the Himalaya, marginalizing Indigenous beliefs—particularly those regarding aquatic spirits (lu)—and establishing extractive aquaculture industries. The presence of two highland polities, Bhutan and Sikkim, and limited technology constrained British and Indian extraction. The Chinese state faced fewer obstacles. It took control of central Tibet in the 1950s, and by the 1990s, it had incorporated the plateau’s waterways into its extensive aquaculture system. The article also outlines Indigenous resistance to this enclosure and how it differed from resistance to terrestrial enclosure. As British encroachment occupied a realm set aside for lu, it went relatively unnoticed. Intense Indigenous resistance surfaced only in the 1990s, as aquaculture grew exponentially and fish eating became politicized.