This book explores the means of controlling water for irrigation in India and Nepal. It looks at water sources and technologies in use and institutions evolving with them, and their adaptation under new policies and agrarian change. The various field studies conducted in India and Nepal document the complexities of water control in irrigation systems, and introduce concepts for their interdisciplinary analysis. The plurality of technological and institutional choicesof irrigators, engineers, and policymakers show their dynamism in meeting new water challenges.