<p>Access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is not only a basic human necessity but also a measure of social justice. In India, however, access to these essentials is deeply structured by caste, class, gender, and regional inequalities. This article uses the case of Uttar Pradesh—particularly the Bundelkhand region—using the framework of intersectionality, it argues that water injustice is not simply the result of infrastructural deficit but is rooted in centuries of social stratification, religious sanction, and patriarchal control. Dalit feminist perspectives help uncover how everyday practices—such as who fetches water, from where, and under what conditions—reproduce systems of exclusion and structural violence. Through historical, religious, and political analysis, the article exposes how exclusionary social hierarchies, reinforced by colonial and contemporary state practices, continue to shape rural water governance. Furthermore, it highlights how climate change amplifies these injustices, transforming water scarcity into a form of structural violence that disproportionately burdens Dalit women. By applying an intersectional lens, the article argues for the need to move beyond technocratic WASH interventions toward frameworks that embed social justice, accountability, and lived experiences at the core of development policy.</p>