Water disputes in South Asia

The paper examines various water sharing treaties in South Asia, with a comparative evaluation of past and future trends, followed by suggestions for a sustainable future cooperation.It examines:the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan India and Bangladesh dispute over the Ganges river India and Nepal sharing the Mahakali river watersIt makes the following observations and recommendationsOne common factor in all three water sharing cases discussed above is the dominant attitude displayed by India, by virtue of its sheer size, with a view to controlling regional water resources it shares with othersIn the case of the Mahakali Treaty, India, despite being the lower riparian country, is strong enough to threaten Nepal and in altering the terms in its favourWater-sharing agreements have been highly politicised at domestic levels in Pakistan, Bangladesh and NepalWars over water between upstream and down-stream neighbours are likely only if a downstream riparian threatens to go to war against an upstream riparian owing to various factors. This sounds a remote possibility in the case of downstream country like Bangladesh, given its lower military capability vis-a-vis IndiaIndia has already taken several initiatives in violation of the Ganges Water Treaty and may violate the Treaty in future, in the absence of any guaranteeChanging demographic, technological, economic and environmental factors underscore the need for an cooperation beyond the three co-operation treaties that already exist in the region rather than conflict, not only at bilateral levels but more so at the regional levelManagement of shared river systems should grow beyond the sphere of national sovereignty and bilateral co-operation and must be addressed at the regional level to achieve the best possible use of available waterPolitical leaders in South Asian countries have to be convinced of the potential benefits accruing from such cooperation. The Indian hegemonic attitude towards other South Asian states needs to be redirected into a more cooperative one