Historically, Indian rulers were able to ensure that adverse weather conditions - such as periodic drought - did not lead to famines. This was done by husbanding water and other resources through wise practices. However, this system was thrown out of equilibrium during the age of European imperialism, because the new rulers had mercantile agendas, and because they used techniques that had an adverse impact on the land and on the people. Today's prevailing western-style agricultural management is based on intensive cultivation that degrades the land, wastes water, depends heavily on fossil fuels without adequate use of organic matter, and makes indiscriminate use of newly evolved high yielding varieties, all of which are unsustainable.