Question

Discuss the nature of the river water dispute between India and Pakistan after 1947.

Answer 1

1. Background of the problem: The Indus river system consists of six major rivers: Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. After Partition, the boundary between India and Pakistan cut across the Indus basin. The headworks and control structures of these rivers were mainly located in Indian territory, while the majority of the canal network and the irrigated areas were in Pakistan.
2. Early tensions and the 1948 crisis: In April 1948, India stopped the flow of water in some canals going to Pakistan from the Ferozepur headworks on the Sutlej River. Although India agreed to restore the flow after negotiations, this incident alarmed Pakistan and convinced it that its agricultural economy was vulnerable to India’s control over the rivers.
3. Nature of the dispute: The core of the dispute was control, use, and rights over the waters of the Indus River system. Pakistan insisted on its historic usage rights and demanded an assured, uninterrupted supply of water for its canals. India, on the other hand, argued that as the upper riparian country, it had sovereign rights to use and develop the waters flowing through its territory.
4. Attempts at resolution: Recognising the seriousness of the issue, the World Bank (then known as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) offered to mediate between India and Pakistan. Under the leadership of Eugene Black, President of the World Bank, discussions began to find a practical solution.
5. The Indus Waters Treaty (1960): The dispute was finally settled by the Indus Waters Treaty, signed in September 1960 in Karachi by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India and President Ayub Khan of Pakistan, with the World Bank as a guarantor.
6. Reaction in India: Many Indians were unhappy with the treaty because India had to permanently give up its claims to the waters of three major rivers, Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. They felt this was an unfair concession to Pakistan.