Tensions are rising in India and Pakistan over Kashmir.
Both countries have threatened to take action if violence there escalates, and one threat
to a shared natural resource could have detrimental effects.
For more than 60 years, India and Pakistan have been fighting over Kashmir, a contested
region that is claimed by both countries.
Despite ongoing efforts to create peace, 2016 saw violent protests and multiple attacks
over the region, one of which killed at least 19 Indian soldiers.
In retaliation, India’s Prime Minister has explored the possibility of manipulating Kashmir’s
water flow to benefit India over Pakistan, conceivably prompting a war over this increasingly
scarce resource.
So how likely is this?
Are India and Pakistan on the brink of an all-out water war?
Well, India and Pakistan’s conflict over water stems back to their origins as independent
states.
In 1947, India and Pakistan gained independence from Britain, and the two new countries were
left to figure out how to divide up the region’s natural resources.
One of these was the Indus Basin (In-Dus Basin), which includes rivers that flow from the Himalayas
to the Arabian Sea, carrying water through both India and Pakistan.
After partition ended and borders were drawn, the sources of most of these rivers ended
up in India, leading Pakistan to feel as though its livelihood was in the hands of its enemy.
In 1960, after years of negotiations and stalemates, the two countries signed the Indus Waters
Treaty.
India received control of the basin’s three eastern rivers, and Pakistan got control of
the three western rivers.
But Pakistan’s rivers flow through India first.
So, the treaty allowed India to use Pakistan’s rivers for things like hydroelectric power
and irrigation, as long as they didn’t obstruct a significant amount of water flow to Pakistan.
Over the next 56 years, India and Pakistan fought three wars and countless conflicts,
but the treaty was honored by both sides, making it, what many have called, one of greatest
feats of water diplomacy in history.
That is, until now.
In response to rising tensions over Kashmir and a deadly attack on its military base,
India has threatened to test the limits of the Indus Waters Treaty.
In September 2016, India’s Prime Minister said that [quote] “blood and water cannot
flow simultaneously”, and that India will exploit as much of Pakistan’s water as it
can.
More specifically, India reportedly has plans to expedite construction on a number of dams
in Pakistan-controlled rivers.
Although this is technically within the boundaries of the treaty, it would decrease Pakistan’s
share of water to levels not seen in decades, which could be detrimental as global warming
makes water increasingly scarce.
But India’s projects are still in their early stages, so it would take years for Pakistan
to feel the effects of its neighbor’s retaliation.
Nevertheless expediting these initiatives sends a clear message, that whether or not
weapons are drawn, India and Pakistan are ostensibly at war.
This episode is brought to you by Squarespace.
Creating a website with squarespace is simple, there’s no coding required.
You get a custom domain for free if you sign up for a year on sqaurespace.com.
And if you enter offer code Seeker Daily at checkout to get 10% off -- Squarespace.
Set your website apart.
The Kashmir conflict is complex and confusing, so we broke it down to make it easier to understand.
You can learn more about the origins of the dispute by watching the video on the left.
And if you want a brief explanation of why tensions are rising, check out our video on
the right.
Thanks for watching Seeker Daily, please make sure to like and subscribe for new videos
everyday.