Preface
It is a frightening acknowledgement that the Indus basin, with its richness and impetuosity, can be so all-pervasive, defining history, ordering territories, attracting invaders and in many senses, determining the way of life and the politics around it. Much, of course, is known of this vast basin, yet much is unknown. It is time, perhaps, as we mark sixty years of the Indus Waters Treaty, to 'talk of many things', as the Walrus said to the Carpenter in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. Many centuries after the great Indus civilization, Edward Gibbon, the historian, known to be a mute and indifferent backbencher in the House of Commons, reflected on the ravages of the Tiber on Rome and the efforts of the Roman emperor Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE) to prevent flooding. He observed with irony, The servitude of rivers is the noblest victory which man has obtained over the licentiousness of nature. Both in terms of 'licentiousness' and as a ... lasting amelioration of nature...? that the eighteenth century French political philosopher Montesquieu expressed, the Indus has remained a powerful symbol of the passage of time, influencing and in turn being influenced by the sharpening of the sociopolitical landscape, the institutional structures, the technological interventions, the moulding of the legal and the potential for commerce and peace, though not without its share of dispute and conflict. These acquired dimensions continue to influence the basin in the twenty-first century. The past is always as inescapable as it is intriguing. An attempt has been made to open the pages of history to the interlinked events of the Indus basin. The book engages with history, not strictly in the sense of historical inquiry but by identifying with historical figures, like characters shaping plots, and their decisions. Often and not unintentionally, the narrative takes a first-person account involving the lived experiences or the position of the figures. The characters that run along the timeline of the Indus right till the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960 are influenced by concerns of pride, power, envy, fear, desperation and many a time sheer greed. Their actions and consequences have been momentous. The book utilizes varied sources, from memoirs and biographies to letters and diaries. The 'Nehru Papers' at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (New Delhi) provides valuable information, adding substantially to the volumes published of the Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nebru. Substantiating these papers are the fantastically well-documented telegrams, communiqués and notes on the canal water disputes compiled by Avatar Singh Bhasin. Niranjan Gulhati's work based on his experience as India's principal negotiator on the Indus is a valuable source that details most extensively the negotiations for its resolution. The World Bank archives and files on the Indus basin dispute, which are now digitized, form another crucial primary source. The new and unused material that has been indicated to the best extent possible, one hopes, will help enrich the existing source of reference. The book is an outcome of a two-year sojourn at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (2018-20) graciously offered by my parent organization, the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. Both are institutions of pride and legacy, and one is humbled by being associated with them.
About The Book
Indus Basin Uninterrupted, with an accessible narrative and rich archival material, brings alive a meandering journey of peace, conflict and commerce on the Indus basin. The Indus system of rivers, as a powerful symbol of the passage of time, represents not only the interdependence and interpenetration of land and water, but equally the unfolding of political identities, social churning and economic returns. From Alexander's campaign to Muhammad-bin-Qásim crossing the Indus and laying the foundation of Muslim rule in India; from the foreign invaders and their 'loot and scoot' to the Mughal rulers' perspective on hydrology and water use; from the British 'great game' on the Indus basin to the bitter and bloody Partition; and finally, as a historical pause, the signing of the Indus Waters Treaty-this book is a spectrum of spectacular events, turning points, and of personalities, characters and their actions that were full of marvel.
Hindu (935)
Agriculture (118)
Ancient (1086)
Archaeology (753)
Architecture (563)
Art & Culture (910)
Biography (702)
Buddhist (544)
Cookery (167)
Emperor & Queen (565)
Islam (242)
Jainism (307)
Literary (896)
Mahatma Gandhi (372)
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