CSS 2014 Solved Current Affairs Past Papers | Water Conflict Between India and Pakistan
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Question Breakdown
This question has one part in which we are supposed to evaluate the significance of the water conflict between India and Pakistan from the perspective of water management projects in Indian-held Kashmir.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-Historical Evolution of Water Conflicts and Efforts (IWT)
- ✓Early Water Conflicts and Partition (1947-1960)
- ✓The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)
3-How Water Management Projects in Indian-held Kashmir Define India-Pakistan Relations
- ✓Indian Water Management Projects
- Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project
- Baglihar Dam
- Tulbul Navigation Project
- ✓Pakistan’s Water Management Projects
- Diamer-Bhasha Dam
- Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Project
4-Suggestions for Future Conflict Resolution and Cooperation
- ✓Improving Diplomatic Mechanisms
- ✓Joint Water Management in Kashmir
- ✓Sustainable Solutions in the Context of Climate Change
5-Critical Analysis
6-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
The water dispute between India and Pakistan regarding the rivers and their tributaries has been one of the most critical aspects of their bilateral relations since the division of the two nations in 1947. Both countries use it extensively for agriculture, industries and daily household purposes, making it an area of strife. The signing of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in 1960 was one of the most important diplomatic efforts to efficiently partition the waters of the Indus River basin between the two countries. Relative peace prevailed during the first significant period after the IWT, but many squabbles were reignited later, including those on water projects in the Indian-occupied Kashmir. India improved its economy in particular by undertaking big generate ventures, among them the hydroelectric projects like the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project, Baglihar Dam project, the Tulbul Navigation Project, and other such projects alarmed Pakistan wields of breach of the IWT agreement and dried up the water downstream. Pakistan has defended itself by hastening its water conservancy programs targeted at pollution and flooding, including the Diamer Bhasha dams and the Neelum Jhelum hydroelectric power project. However, these projects on both sides increased the tension, and each country felt threatened by the others undertaking the so-called water projects, which were perceived as a threat to each country’s water security. More than a simple supervisory role for the administration would be needed to end this continuing skirmish. The project development processes require more openness, the help of an impartial mediator to comply with international obligations and joint water resource management in the region. Since the climate is changing, and water shortages are likely to become more pronounced, this poses the need for such options as guaranteeing future generations’ needs with this vital common resource.
Historical Evolution of Water Conflicts and Efforts (IWT)
- ✓ Early Water Conflicts and Partition (1947-1960)
The water dispute between India and Pakistan is as old as the Partition of 1947, which separated not just land but also significant water sources. Water politics originated with the Partition when parts of the Indus River basin were allocated to India while downstream, Pakistan became dependent on waters from rivers ruled by India. Premature concerns turned into acute crises in 1948 as India refused to allow water to flow to Pakistan, and therefore, there was a solid need to resolve issues about water disputes. By this time, both countries had found themselves in unending disputes about how best they could utilize the Indus River basin, and it was no surprise that bilateral talks commenced.
- ✓ The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)
With the growing intensity of the water conflict, the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was signed in 1960 with the intervention of the World Bank. India was given Dominion of the three east-flowing rivers, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej; meanwhile, the three west-flowing rivers, Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, were stripped for use by Pakistan. The IWT encompassed data sharing and dispute resolution mechanisms, which have endured despite armed hostilities between the two nations regarding other issues. It is believed to be one of the most successful international water-sharing treaties.
How Water Management Projects in Indian-held Kashmir Define India-Pakistan Relations
- ✓ Indian Water Management Projects
The emergence of water management initiatives in Indian-administered Kashmir has greatly affected the bilateral relations between India and Pakistan, owing to the significance of the area for the water security of both countries. The core issue in this conflict is India’s Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project, which diverts water from the Neelum River, an important water source for Pakistan’s Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Power Plant. Pakistan contended that such river re-routing goes against the IWT because it adversely affects the country’s hydropower-dependent engineering water needs, particularly Pakistan’s. Although taking the matter to the International Court of Arbitration, where India was allowed to go on with the works at some point, it remained a disavowal to Pakistan, further entrenching the animosity between the two states. This is also true with India’s Backwater Dam in the Chenab River basin. The cultivable agricultural lands in Pakistan comprise the majority of the Cehnab privatisation. Therefore, this project has also ringed alarm bells in Pakistan as it gives, in some cases when there is a conflict, the then internal community water management systems to change the water flowing to Pakistan. In this regard, although international diplomacy pressed India and made it possible through variations, the case remained a sore thumb more so since it strengthened the justification of Pakistan’s fears of the Indian Upper Riparian position. Also active in this course of conflict is India’s Tulbul Navigation Project, which works on the Jhelum River and aims to enhance its navigation potency. While India argues that the project poses no threat, Pakistan has reservations, believing that the project is simply another effort to monopolise vital water resources, complicating the relations even further. The cumulative impact of the construction of these projects, especially in such a volatile region, demonstrates how vital water management is in the relations between India and Pakistan since every additional project only adds further changes of mistrust to the already existing.
Suggestions for Future Conflict Resolution and Cooperation
- ✓ Improving Diplomatic Mechanisms
Both India and Pakistan have to enhance the role of diplomacy to find a solution to this water dispute. Although existing bases have provided a cornerstone, such as the Indus Waters Treaty, new bilateral dialogues are warranted to address the latest issues as they emerge. The creation of a permanent bilateral body responsible for the management of water resources might be charged with the provisions that are the timely resolution of conflicts, observance of the provision of coalitions, and openness to project development. So, that agreement focused even on a higher level between concerned representatives purely on water-related issues can also bring down aggravated situations. Besides, bringing neutral third parties someone to broker peace as disputes occur can also improve the relations between the two nations, which would translate to better ways of handling differences.
- ✓ Joint Water Management in Kashmir
At the heart of this analysis is the final comment, which implies that more robust diplomacy mechanisms are required. In this context, sub-regional cooperation, that is, joint water management in Kashmir, may engender India and Pakistan relations, changing water from a bone of contention into an element of reconciliation. Mutual agreements on water have been established; it is possible to control water supply and river flow, gather and distribute water resources and coordinate all charter flows. The advancement of this approach by applying this strategy would have to involve creating an unbiased third party responsible for managing certain strategically important rivers from both countries’ perspectives and respecting all the accords between the two nations. Concurrent projects of this type, including joint dams or hydroelectric plant construction with expected benefits, are also likely to be considered. This aim will achieve not only de-escalation but also open many opportunities in the future by fostering and practising sustainable hydration, especially in the area.
- ✓ Sustainable Solutions in the Context of Climate Change
Moreover, the need for sustainable resolutions is critical because of rising climate change and intensifying water shortages in the area. India and Pakistan should focus on formulating climate-resilient water management plans to highlight sustainable conservation and fair allocation. Consequently, both countries need to engage in collaborative research endeavours to examine the effects of climate change on the Indus River system, exchange technologies for water conservation, and use advanced irrigation methods to minimise water wastage. To alleviate the pressure on communal water supplies, invest in alternative energy sources, like solar and wind power, instead of only depending on hydroelectric projects; in short, collective action on climate change would guarantee water security and mitigate the potential for future conflicts.
Critical Analysis
To critically analyse, the water conflict between India and Pakistan, built on the political and historical complexities of the subcontinent, has become acute as a result of the Indian water management projects in Indian-held Kashmir. The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has been remarkably successful in keeping peace over the shared rivers, but it increasingly feels like it is under pressure. India’s ability to control the waters using projects, such as the Kishanganga and Baglihar Dams, on its side of the border has raised Pakistani anxieties about water availability for its agriculture-based economy. Nevertheless, in reality, the problem is not just external. Pakistan’s inability to manage its internal water resources efficiently exacerbates the problem. Conversely, India’s growing energy requirements have pushed it towards further hydroelectric development. Both countries look at each other’s actions suspiciously. Water has become a zero-sum game where both aim to gain at the expense of the other. As climate change brings a new dimension, there is a growing recognition that water availability for both countries might be reduced. Thrust that defines the India-Pakistan relationship. The IWT will remain one key constraint on their behaviour. However, its mechanisms should also be acknowledged and updated to address the new challenges confronting them: greater transparency and international mediation, for instance. A step back from conflict and towards cooperation will be necessary. This is because they are caught up in each other’s destinies. Take away the water, and neither India nor Pakistan can survive. Without addressing the more fundamental political tensions between them and the territorial dispute over a divided Kashmir, water will remain a critical issue in relations between the two countries for the foreseeable future.
Conclusion
To conclude, the water dispute, at once the most challenging issue and at the heart of Pakistan’s and India’s contestations and claims, is also perhaps the most clearly regulated area of the two countries’ relations. The IWT is a reminder of the only document governing these relations, an island of cooperation in a sea of hostility. Yet, between climate change, growing populations, and the increasing availability of “instrumentalist” mega-projects in the LIWMP region, and especially in the India-controlled part of Kashmir, the IWT faces its challenges. The diplomacy of shared water resources calls for a better process and a more effective mechanism, at least no less than before. Both countries stand to lose a great deal if they fail to resolve the water dispute effectively and peacefully. Water is, after all, a scarce resource in the Indus Basin but abundant in a highly insecure region. It could also become the ultimate weapon of asymmetric climate change relations between the two nuclear-armed states if poorly handled. In the future, the water dispute must be framed as the common plight of the two countries; in a democracy, being transparent is not merely a virtue but a necessity. If it is not, it is bound to eventually backfire and make the two countries even more estranged than they are already, inundating fragile aquifers and igniting already inflammable dispute over water, a relationship characterized by Mistrust Leading to Miscalculation between two over-armed and fundamentally adversarial neighbours.
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