Indus Water Treaty is ‘one-sided’: Why did Nehru agree to it, says PM Modi
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sharply criticised former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for agreeing to what he termed a “flawed” Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, alleging it caused decades of hardship to Indian farmers.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Modi said the pact, signed over 70 years ago, contained a clause barring India from desilting certain dams without Pakistan’s consent, with one dam’s gate allegedly welded shut to prevent accidental opening. “Our dams, our water, but Pakistan’s decision,” Modi remarked, adding that the restriction reduced water storage capacity and harmed agricultural productivity.
He claimed Nehru later admitted the mistake but said the facts had been “hidden and suppressed” from the public. Modi reiterated that the right to water “belongs to India and its farmers,” stressing that the agreement had resulted in “unimaginable losses” over the decades.
The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960, governs water-sharing between India and Pakistan across six rivers, with the World Bank as a guarantor.
