The Coast Bouleverses at Kolkata

This chapter argues that “hinterland” is not only a designation related to the economic field, but also a perspective. As the sea is increasingly turned into land for developmental purposes, and as legal strategies transform coastal waters into land-like, developable components of state territory, hinterlands are transforming in nature. This process is markedly visible in Kolkata’s environs, where seemingly passive spaces have changed into active places where people create their own identities and histories.