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Critical Topics and Their Significance for the UPSC CSE Examination on May 22, 2025

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Should water be used as a weapon?

For Preliminary Examination:  Current events of antional and international Significance

For Mains Examination: GS II - International treaties

Context:

All is fair in love and war is a phrase that has literary roots and rhetorical appeal, suggesting that in matters of passion and conflict, rules can be discarded, and morality suspended. But in the realpolitik of nation-states, especially when it comes to shared natural resources, such romantic notions may be specious. Water, unlike territory or ideology, is not merely a symbol of sovereignty — it is a lifeline

Read about:

Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Key takeaways:

• The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was established not due to mutual goodwill, but out of pressing necessity. When British India was divided in 1947, the partition created two nations but left the water systems of the Indus basin split in a problematic way.
• The main control structures, essential for irrigation, ended up in India, while Pakistan, being downstream, depended entirely on the river flow.
• Tensions flared when India temporarily stopped water supply to Pakistan in 1948, prompting regional concerns. It was in this climate that the World Bank intervened, eventually facilitating what is now considered one of the most enduring and effective water-sharing treaties.
• Signed in 1960, the IWT assigned the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) to India, while the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) were allocated to Pakistan. India was allowed limited use of the western rivers, such as for hydropower generation, under strict design and operational rules. This division reflected both geographical realities and the larger goal of maintaining regional peace.
• The treaty has survived several major conflicts — including the wars of 1965, 1971, and 1999 — as well as periods of severe diplomatic breakdown. Its resilience lies in its technical basis and its separation from political tensions. Even during conflicts, annual meetings between the Permanent Indus Commissions were held.
• The treaty includes a structured dispute resolution process involving bilateral talks, neutral expert assessment, and, when necessary, arbitration — all of which have helped maintain its functionality despite longstanding hostility.
• In recent years, India has increasingly questioned the treaty, particularly after terror attacks such as those in Uri (2016) and Pulwama (2019), which were linked to groups operating from Pakistan. Some Indian political voices began arguing that continuing to honor the treaty was unjustifiable under such conditions, and suggested leveraging water as a strategic tool.
• This rhetoric has emerged alongside India's expanding hydropower initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir, including the Kishanganga and Ratle projects. India asserts these are in line with treaty guidelines, but Pakistan contends that certain design elements could give India undue control over water flow, particularly in dry seasons, which could impact Pakistan’s agriculture and environment.
• Pakistan has responded by invoking the treaty’s adjudication mechanisms. In the Kishanganga case, Pakistan objected to India's water diversion. The Court of Arbitration, formed in 2010, ruled in 2013 that the project could continue, provided India maintained a minimum downstream flow and abided by restrictions on reservoir operations.