Shiban Khaibri
Pakistan, as is well known, is an arid country already facing tremendous shortage of water even for drinking purposes and as per the experts’ views, Pakistan would be facing a severest water crisis by 2025 given the uninterrupted water supply from its parent country India . It could be anyone’s guess as to what could be its condition if India fired the salvo of a slight cut back on the water “lavishly” flowing through its rivers to Pakistan . At the outset, it would not be out of reference to make a brief mention of the saying, “Lamhoon ney khatta key aur sadyoon ney saza payee” or a blunder committed at the super of a moment results into paying through the nose for centuries together. It is what precisely was unfortunately done while inking an agreement with Pakistan in 1960 in Karachi known as Indus Water Treaty (IWT). History unfolds itself page by page to have decisions , events , agreements and ways of governance and authoritarian one-upmanship related to contemporary periods, perused and analysed in perspective dispassionately and through the clear prism of probity and what should have instead been done, in the interests of the nation. However, it is a bold and courageous step proposed to be taken by the Indian government to regulate the ‘prodigal water’ flowing down through our rivers to Pakistan to quench their thirsty throats and parched land(s).
It is not that, the water under the said treaty which India agreed to let flow to Pakistan is sought to be curtailed or cut down. It is that part of half of 20% which India does not utilise which is decided to be cut down. Hence, the selected Indian liberals, Indo-Pakistan Friendship ‘fans’, Aman Key Aasha ‘crusaders’, “Talk to Pakistan and establish CBMs” club, Cultural and Sports exchange ‘Traders’, Biryani Diplomats, High Profile Democrats and many Pakistan sympathisers including writers against Kulbhushan Yadav’s case which was put out by Pakistani lawyers in ICJ at the Hague as ‘clinching evidence’ against India – may not heighten their diastolic and systolic pressures as it is that portion of the water which is its own share but not used . This share of India’s own waters from the three eastern rivers, the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej which is not used by India and allowed as a humanitarian gesture and as good neighbourliness in the highest traditions of our culture and civilization sought to be cut down. This water will be diverted from these rivers and supplied to our own people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. It may be recalled that this water needs to be stored in dams and diverted via small network of canals to the places where this cut back water was needed in our states. On River Ravi, a dam is currently under construction at Shahpur Kandi in adjacent Punjab. In addition to it, the national project of Ujh Hydroelectric Power plant too is destined to store our own share of water which otherwise would have gone to Pakistan and would be used for our state of Jammu and Kashmir and the left out part of our share of water would flow from the second link of Ravi-Beas for use of other basin states.
Late last year, Modi Government decided to restart the Tulbul Navigation project on River Veth or Jehlum at the mouth of Wular Lake in Sopore town of Kashmir valley . It may be noted that the Congress government led by Late Rajiv Gandhi had stopped the work on it in 1987 succumbing to unfounded pressures and objections of Pakistan. Wullar in the state of Jammu and Kashmir is the country’s largest fresh natural water lake. Pakistan raised unfounded objections and played victimhood saying construction of this Indian national project was tantamount to violating the Indus Water Treaty of 1960. To make the river navigable in summer, India proposed to build the barrage but Pakistan feared that India could use the barrage to control the flow of the Veth and which could be used as a strategic weapon. Whatever the objections and hullabaloo raised by Pakistan , if India really wanted to cut Pakistan to its size, it could at any time influence the smooth sail of its triple canal project of Upper Jehlum, Upper Chenab and the Lower Bari Doab canals. If Pakistan did not still mend its ways to stop patronising terrorism against this country, why should India not translate Pakistan’s apprehensions into reality, is the moot question when looked at the perspective of its waging a disguised treacherous war for more than thirty years on our soil against us ? After all, sixty long years’ broadmindedness and forgive and forget policy pursued by successive governments at the centre yielded nothing except the likes of February 14 .
Land and territory , Pakistan got from India; finance and money to start its separate household was given by India , water and that also quite liberally it got from India and to quote the famous dialogue of a movie on partition, an aggrieved Indian aptly is shown as saying to a ‘new’ Pakistani that to save “yourselves from getting drenched with rains , even the ‘Tripal’ was given by India “. What India did not give was what Pakistan indulged in right from 1947 Kabayali raid down to the likes of February 14. Can it be believed that thanks to largesse lavishly agreed to by Nehru to be given to Pakistan resulted in Pakistan receiving more waters from India . In fact, the three rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty Bias, Ravi and Sutlej do not flow as much water for India as Indus , Chenab and Jehlum do for Pakistan under the covenants of the IWT of 1960 brokered by the World Bank and agreed to by Nehru and signed by him with Ayub Khan of Pakistan . The treaty allowed India to use Western rivers water for limited irrigation use while restrictions were not there as much for non consumptive uses like navigation, fish culture etc but see the brazenness of Pakistan that having taken this country for granted , it managed to get Tulbul Navigation project suspended for decades .
It would not be out of place to mention that the preamble of the IWT declares that its main objectives were recognising rights and obligations of each country in settlement of optimum water use from the Indus family of rivers in a spirit of goodwill, friendship and co-operation . While India respected and sustained friendship, goodwill and cooperation, Pakistan reciprocated with ‘Jihad’ of inflicting 1000 cuts to “bleed India ” , heaping hate and harm on this country along with 1965, 1971, 1999, 2008, 2016 and 2019 wars, intrusions, terror attacks and the like. That no ‘Water Wars’ were there for 60 long years depict how much kind-hearted Indians are, how much peace loving and accommodating the very culture of Indians is. Hence, a review under the emerging scenario was imperative as much as a response to smouldering feelings of the aggrieved nation, barring of course, enemies from within including Pakistani apologists, due to massacre of our brave hearts in Pulwama Kashmir. The impact of the Indian water cannon should have been immediate but technically to have its implementation in real effect, it would take at least a decade more as requisite infrastructure has to be raised . We are not scrapping the treaty although it is not binding on India as India of 2019 is definitely not the one of 1960 or 1987. Our two neighbours Nepal and Bangladesh would not in any manner be effected with the stoppage of surplus water to the abode of terrorism, Pakistan.
The push has come to more than a severe shove and if it means scrapping altogether the very Treaty , it should not sound strange. In circumstances and conditions of war, fear of invasion, heightened tensions and the like, bilateral treaties and those of International standing can easily be scrapped . In fact, such treaties are deemed to having been rendered infructuous and stale. India is impelled and dragooned by Pakistan to have its mistaken view about India being a soft state removed and therefore, must pull out arrow after arrow from its vast and deep quiver to hit Pakistan where it hurts her the most.
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