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Abstract
Deltas around the world are sinking, and the Indus Delta in Pakistan is no exception. Situated at the dynamic interface between the sediment-bearing Indus River and the erosive forces of the Arabian Sea, the Indus Delta has long been shaped by the continuous interplay of fluvial and marine processes. For thousands of years, human and other-than-human lives have been intimately attuned to the temporal rhythms and flows of this deltaic environment. However, over the past century, large-scale riverine infrastructure, such as dams, barrages, and irrigation canals constructed upstream, has significantly altered the river’s behavior. These interventions have disrupted the river’s velocity and sediment transport capacity, leading to a decline in soil accretion that once sustained the formation of deltaic lands. In the absence of sustained freshwater and sediment flow, marine processes have gained dominance. Saltwater intrusion, tidal encroachment, and coastal erosion have steadily transformed the fertile Indus Delta into a shrinking marine delta, transforming the everyday lives, practices, and relationships of the delta’s human and nonhuman communities. This dissertation takes a multidisciplinary and deep-time approach to examine these shifting more-than-human ontologies of the Indus Delta, moving beyond anthropocentric narratives to engage with the longue durée of riverine and deltaic processes. Through historical analysis, ethnographic fieldwork, and ecological observation, the research juxtaposes pre-infrastructure hydrological flows with the altered conditions produced by modern river management. In doing so, it reveals how infrastructures not only disrupt sediment dynamics and hydrology but also reshape the social and ecological fabric of the delta. By foregrounding multispecies relations and entangled temporalities, the dissertation argues for a more-than-human understanding of deltaic life. It emphasizes the need to reimagine governance frameworks that recognize the agency of rivers, sediments, fish, and mangroves, entities that have long co-constituted the delta alongside human communities. Ultimately, this research contributes to critical scholarship on environmental change, political ecology, and multispecies ethnography in riverine landscapes undergoing profound transformation.