Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday commented on the central government’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, calling the original agreement signed in 1960 a major strategic error by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Sarma made the remarks in a post on social media platform X, stating that the treaty, which governs the sharing of the Indus river system between India and Pakistan, had long placed India at a disadvantage, particularly in terms of access to critical water resources.
“Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s signing of the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960 stands as one of the greatest strategic blunders in India’s history,” Sarma said in a post on X.
He claimed that under the treaty, India retained only limited rights to use the waters of the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers, while the larger western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—were allocated to Pakistan.
According to Sarma, this division granted Pakistan access to approximately 135 million acre-feet (MAF) of water annually, compared to 33 MAF for India.
The chief minister also linked the treaty’s continued operation to recent security concerns, including the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, that claimed 26 lives.
He welcomed the Union government’s decision to suspend the treaty, stating it reflected a change in India’s response to cross-border hostilities.
The chief minister maintained that “Nehru’s misplaced obsession with international approval came at the cost of India’s long-term national interest, weakening India’s strategic and agricultural strength in its own land”.
He said the Modi government’s decision to withdraw from the treaty has “delivered a historic body blow to this injustice”.
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“By initiating India’s withdrawal from the treaty, Modi has reclaimed India’s sovereign rights over its rivers, sending a clear message that India will no longer reward terror and hostility with appeasement,” he said.
This move strikes at the “heart of Pakistan’s fragile economy”, where over 75 per cent of agriculture depends on Indus waters, and “corrects a historic betrayal that had shackled India’s rightful control for over six decades,” Sarma said.
He also claimed, “Modi’s action marks the rise of a new, assertive India determined to defend its interests without apology,” he added.
