Telling New Stories of Water Wars

Scroll this

The Indus Waters Treaty is a multi-faceted and complicated water sharing agreement between India and Pakistan, especially apportioning the complicated waters in the contentious region of Kashmir. After the attacks on tourists in Indian-Occupied Kashmir in April 2025, India has reportedly put the treaty in abeyance, provoking fears of war between the two long-embattled neighbours.  

At root are the five tributaries of the Indus whose use is defined by the treaty to ensure a modicum of fairness. Usage is divided based on consumptive usage i.e. irrigation etc., whereas non-consumptive uses include hydropower creation. In a region so rife with conflict, the Indus Waters Treaty was, until a couple of weeks ago, a relatively stable agreement sustaining millions of lives. A river older than the subcontinent, the Indus and its tributaries are no strangers to effects of human induced climate change. The Indus is the principal river of Pakistan, irrigating lands from the north to the south. Originating in Tibet, the river flows through Tibet, Indian Occupied Kashmir, Pakistan Administered Kashmir before flowing into the rest of the nation on its way to the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi.

map of indus river basin
“Indus River basin map” by Keenan Pepper is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of the most important and contentious tributaries of the Indus is the Chenab, also called the Moon River which originates in an Indian state before flowing into Pakistan. Under the Indus Waters Treaty, the Chenab’s waters are used by Pakistan for consumptive uses such as irrigation. India, especially in its occupation of Kashmir has constructed “run of the river” dams on the Chenab. After the abeyance of the treaty, it remains unclear as to what will happen to rivers like the Chenab whose waters could be held behind dams.

Based on extensive fieldwork in the region especially near where the river leaves India, the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People (SANDRP) put together an extensive report which makes for instructive reading. The Mershon Center for International Security Studies at the Ohio State University, based on original research as part of the Indus Water Project and the as well as ‘River Ethnographies‘ endeavour created and an Arc GIS StoryMaps with the help of Michelle Hooper (OSU), Madhumitta Dutta, and Parineeta Dandekar (SANDRP) on the effects of climate change on the Chenab. Explore the map here. The Mershon Center also created a People’s Story of the Chenab also on StoryMaps here.

StoryMap: Water Towers of the Indus Basin
StoryMap: Moon River: People’s Story of Chenab
Feature Image: “Chenab River, Head Tarimon Jhang” by Aqeel Syed is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
The following two tabs change content below.

Ramya Swayamprakash

Ramya is an Assistant Professor at Grand Valley State University in Allendale MI. A transnational and interdisciplinary environmental scholar who focuses on rivers, dredging, and the place of nature in the Great Lakes, Ramya’s research has been published in academic and public-facing avenues. She takes tea and dredging (not necessarily in that order) seriously. Ramya has also published work on dams in South Asia. As a survivor of domestic abuse and as a single parent, Ramya’s scholarship is driven by a commitment to social/ecological justice and equity. Website: www.riverborders.com Twitter: @ramyasat | Bluesky: @ramya.bsky.social

NiCHE encourages comments and constructive discussion of our articles. We reserve the right to delete comments that fail to meet our guidelines including comments under aliases, or that contain spam, harassment, or attacks on an individual.