UHC: South Asian History 1450 – R01
Final Project: Case Study of the Water Conflict between India and Pakistan
Written by: Jonathan Ng
December 5th 2019
Introduction to the Crisis
It is an immense understatement to underestimate the importance and severity of the
Indo-Pakistani conflict that has spanned over decades, crossing socio-political issues and has
only been exacerbated by violent skirmishes across the shared border of India and Pakistan.
Since the division of British India and Pakistan in 1947, the two sovereign nations have fought
over religious populace, socio-economic issues and perhaps most importantly, water.
Water is simultaneously the world’s most precious commodity and scarcity, primarily
due to the inadequate access or supply of clean potable water. That being said, within the IndoPakistani sub-continent both Pakistan and India have access to the sea through their southern
coasts, however fresh water is harder to come by. In Pakistan’s case, the Indus river basin has
become the sole source of natural freshwater for their surface and underground water storages.
Furthermore, as stated by the International Institute of Sustainable Development or IISD,
Pakistan’s population has increased fourfold since their secession from British India in 1947;
thus Pakistan’s water supply demand has inevitably increased as well.
On the other hand, India contains approximately 4% of the world’s overall freshwater
content due to its geographical access to Himalayan snow melt, underground water storages,
multiple freshwater rivers such as the Indus and Brahmaputra and perhaps most importantly,
consistent seasonal rains that replenish surface stores. Despite this, India has been designated
a ‘water stressed region’ by the United Nations Committee on Sustainable Development, the
reason being that climate change has severely affected annual rainfall and the rise of infectious
water-borne disease has contaminated water sources.
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UHC: South Asian History 1450 – R01
Final Project: Case Study of the Water Conflict between India and Pakistan
Historical Conflicts
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1947: The separation of Pakistan from British India initiated one of the most populous
human migrations in history due to potential religious persecution and general conflicts
that caused the separation in the first place.
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1948: The first India-Pakistan war occurs due to an invasion of the disputed territory
of Kashmir by militant tribes from Pakistan.
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1960: The Indus Water Treaty is arranged by the World Bank as a method to ease waterdistribution conflict between India and Pakistan. Thus, this technically prevents India
and Pakistan from engaging from full-scale war over water, however this treaty has not
prevented smaller scale skirmishes along the border for control of river systems.
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1965: The second India-Pakistan war erupts after Pakistani soldiers masqueraded as
migrating farmers and crossed into Indian-controlled Kashmir territory. It is only
concluded by the intervention of the UN and a subsequent ceasefire
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1971: The third India-Pakistan war begins due to the conflict over East Pakistan, it ends
within thirteen days after a full-scale Indian incursion overwhelms and captures the
Pakistani army detachment at Dhaka. The war ends with the independence of East
Pakistan which results in the creation of the sovereign nation of Bangladesh.
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1988: A joint/mutual cease fire on nuclear installations is signed by the heads of state
of both India and Pakistan, the objective is to ensure that neither nation attacks any of
the nuclear installations and that each nation is aware of the geographical coordinates
of every installation which further promotes transparency.
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1999: The current Pakistani chief of the Army led a military coup which removes thenPrime Minister Sharif from office and General Musharraf takes on the role as head of
state and government.
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UHC: South Asian History 1450 – R01
Final Project: Case Study of the Water Conflict between India and Pakistan
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2001: Pakistani militants attack India’s parliament at New Delhi which leads to the
murders of fourteen Indian nationals. India responds by massing troops at the border
and Pakistan responds in kind, the standoff is ended after international intervention.
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2008: India’s embassy at Kabul, Afghanistan is bombed and India’s government
publicly lays the blame on Pakistan’s intelligence agency. Five months later, Pakistani
militant rebels lay siege on the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, India which results in the
death of 160+ Indian nationals. In the aftermath, the Indian government severed all
diplomatic talks with the Pakistanis and declared that the Pakistani government must
prosecute the persons responsible immediately.
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2009: The government of Pakistan publicly admits that the deadly siege of the Taj
Mahal Hotel in Mumbai may have been planned within Pakistan. They disavowed
members of government affiliated charities who were allegedly behind the attacks.
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2016: The Indian military targeted terrorist camps within Pakistani-occupied Kashmir
using airstrikes in retaliation for an alleged attack on an Indian military outpost that
resulted in nineteen deaths. Later in the year, Pakistani militant rebels masquerading as
policemen infiltrated an Indian military base and murdered seven Indian servicemen.
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2019: A suicide car bombing resulted in forty Indian servicemen being killed and the
Jaish-e-Mohammed coalition, based within Pakistan, claimed responsibility. In
retaliation, the Indian military launched a series of airstrikes against an alleged
Pakistani militant rebel camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed coalition. In response, the
Pakistani government ordered strikes against Indian military outposts across the border
which resulted in an aerial dogfight between Pakistani and Indian fighter planes. An
Indian jet was shot down over Pakistan-controlled territory and the pilot was captured,
after a few weeks of international intervention and negotiation, the pilot was returned
to India and hostilities were ceased.
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UHC: South Asian History 1450 – R01
Final Project: Case Study of the Water Conflict between India and Pakistan
Significance of the Water Conflict
Based on the long history of wars, border conflicts and territorial disputes between India
and Pakistan, it would appear that water does play a role in the long term. Except that would
be an exceptional folly for anyone to completely downplay or ignore the significance of water
as a catalyst for conflict.
As previously stated in the introduction, India holds approximately 4% of the world’s
freshwater supply. However that being said, in Sunil Amrith’s book Unruly Waters, he states
that within India, “groundwater is poisoned by fluoride and arsenic as well as being made
undrinkable by high salinity”, which effectively decreases the available freshwater to India’s
population of 1.3 billion people. Despite India’s access to groundwater, annual seasonal rainfall
and snowmelt; climate change has greatly affected the actual feasible usage of these resources.
As Sunil Amrith puts it, “existing inequalities will deepen: wet regions will get wetter, and dry
regions will get drier”, which explains the heightened pressures of water accessibility in both
India and Pakistan.
Water conflict sparked violence in the late 1950s between India and Pakistan due to
each respective nations access and usage of the Indus River systems water, the skirmishes and
bloody battles were of such concern to the international community that the World Bank
eventually stepped in to help broker a cease-fire and eventual treaty. The Indus Water treaty
was born from the negotiations, it stated that India would maintain northern access to the Indus
river system as well as 20% usage while Pakistan maintained control to the rest. However, it
should be noted that the Northern part of the Indus river system is actually the source of the
water which became controversial earlier this year after a suicide car bombing killed forty
Indian servicemen. Prime Minister Modi publicly stated that “blood and water cannot flow
together” and threatened the Pakistani government with closure of the sources of the Indus
River system thus cutting off Pakistan’s flow of freshwater.
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Final Project: Case Study of the Water Conflict between India and Pakistan
Conclusion
Water is an oft misrepresented and underestimated factor within international conflicts,
but in the case India and Pakistan’s relationship with water has created a state of constant
tension, stress and threat. The significance and importance of the access to freshwater must not
be underestimated, especially not when blood has already been spilled over this conflict. The
most recent violent provocations as well as threats to ignore the Indus Water treaty is just one
of many red flags that prove the gravity of the regional situation. While climate change will
inevitably continue to negatively affect the geographical situation, it is up to the nations of
India and Pakistan to create a more permanent diplomatic solution to prevent all-out war and
use of nuclear weapons on each other over the accessibility to freshwater.
Sources:
Amrith, Sunil S. Unruly Waters: How Rains, Rivers, Coasts, and Seas Have Shaped Asia's
History. New York: Basic Books, 2018. Kindle E-Book.
Amrith, Sunil S. "Are India and Pakistan on the Verge of a Water War?" Interview by Keith
Johnson. Foreign Policy. ForeignPolicy.com, 25 Feb. 2019. Web. 7 Dec. 2019.
Dyer, Gwynne. "India-Pakistan: Maybe War, but Not a Water War." The Japan Times. N.p.,
28 Feb. 2019. Web. 7 Dec. 2019.
Gettleman, Jeffrey. "India Threatens a New Weapon Against Pakistan: Water - The New York
Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p.,
21 Feb. 2019. Web. 7 Dec. 2019.
Hashim, Asad. "Timeline: India-Pakistan Relations | Kashmir News News | Al
Jazeera." Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera,
1 Mar. 2019. Web. 7 Dec. 2019.
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Final Project: Case Study of the Water Conflict between India and Pakistan
Hoover, Amanda. "Are India and Pakistan on the Brink of a Water War? CSMonitor.com." The Christian Science Monitor. N.p., 27 Sept. 2016. Web.
7 Dec. 2019.
IISD. "Making Every Drop Count: Pakistan’s Growing Water Scarcity Challenge." IISD.
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Johnson, Keith. "Are India and Pakistan on the Verge of a Water War? – Foreign
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Kugelman, Michael. "Why the India-Pakistan War Over Water Is So Dangerous – Foreign
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Mangi, Faseesh, Chris Kay, and Archana Chaudhary. "India: Water Crisis Brews Between
India and Pakistan As Rivers Run Dry." The Economic Times. N.p., 26 Jan. 2019. Web.
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Nabeel, Fazilda. "How India and Pakistan Are Competing over the Mighty Indus
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Nadeem, Mehr, Saad Sayeem, and Neha Dasgupta. "Pakistan, India Spar over Using Water
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Polgreen, Lydia, and Sabrina Tavernise. "Water Dispute Increases India-Pakistan Tension The New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News &
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Rowlatt, Justin. "Why India's Water Dispute with Pakistan Matters." BBC News. N.p.,
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UHC: South Asian History 1450 – R01
Final Project: Case Study of the Water Conflict between India and Pakistan
Sengupta, Hindol. "Why Pakistan Needs to Acknowledge India’s Generosity on
Water." Fortune India: Business News, Strategy, Finance and Corporate Insight. N.p.,
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