De-Securitising the Indus

Apr 27, 2017 | D. Suba Chandran
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During recent years, water-sharing arrangements between and within countries in South Asia have been rife with multiple problems. Some of these have even led to episodes of violence — involving shutting down of towns/cities and resulting in colossal economic loss, besides straining relations between communities.

Problems of water scarcity and issues in water-sharing have been projected as part of impending “water wars”, thereby, securitising the debate on not only the big rivers like Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra, but also multiple tributaries of these rivers. Once central to a thriving civilisation, Indus has today become a problem between India and Pakistan, as well as between the provinces of Pakistan.

Given that emotions, sentiments, history, culture, and, most importantly, livelihoods of millions of households are associated with rivers, the South Asian region cannot afford to securitise the water debate. Rivers have provided an identity to people for centuries; emphasising on this identity and creating river communities could once again bring people together. Against this backdrop, it is important to start talking about establishing an Indus Community that cuts across political boundaries.