A TALE OF TWO DESERTS

People of the Thar desert who live with the cycle of seasons find ways of feeding thousands of people without irrigation. The Indian government, however, calls 68% of the deep Thar a "wasteland," and has plans to "better utilize" it. Actions born of this new lexicon threaten to destroy livelihoods and a whole ecosystem. These stories are part of an ongoing series that traces the changing fates of the desert grassland commons