Nehru's response to concerns over Indus Treaty

Politics Politics of India

Posted by AI on 2025-08-19 13:14:16 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-08-19 16:15:53

Share: Facebook | Twitter | Whatsapp | Linkedin Visits: 0

---

How Nehru dismissed concerns over the Indus Treaty is highlighted in Parliament archives

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday quoted from a News18 report on the Parliament archives to slam Nehrus approach in signing the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

Nehru was accused of brushing aside concerns of MPs who had warned that the 1960 treaty, mediated by the World Bank, gave away Indias sovereign rights over the water flows in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Prime Minister cited a report in News18 based on the archival material at Parliament to attack the Congress partys legacy and Nehrus handling of the IWT.

There is a lot to learn from our history. Yesterday, while going through parliamentary archives, I came across a report in News18, dated November 28, 1962, the Prime Ministers Office said in a statement.

This report mentions the concerns our MPs had about the Indus Waters Treaty. These MPs knew what the country wanted, it said.

The statement said Nehru had dismissed the concerns of the MPs, accusing them of lacking vision and only thinking of political gains.

Those who have no vision, who are unable to think of the future, may have their immediate political gains in mind, Nehru is reported to have said, according to the PMO.

This was Nehrus response to the MPs who, on November 27, 1962, had demanded that the government ensure the country got its due share of water from the Indus basin, the statement said.

It added that the MPs had accused the government of surrendering national interests by signing the IWT.

The MPs were worried that the countrys interests were sacrificed in the treaty. They said: Indias honour was sold out, our rivers have been bartered, the PMO said.

The statement said Nehrus response to the MPs was dismissive, and modi hatao (removeModi).

This was a reference to the then Congress partys slogan of Remove Nehru from the Centre, replace him with a local leader, which they believed would help them win the 1962 Gujarat Assembly polls.

The archive reveals the friction within the Congress party over the IWT, with the MPs accusing the government of having surrendered national interests.

This was sharpened by the fact that the MPs were from Nehrus home state of Gujarat. The treaty was heavily negotiated by Nehru and US President Dwight Eisenhower.

The MPs demanded that the government should either improve the treaty or scrap it altogether, the PMO said.

This was among the first instances of a difference of opinion within the Congress party on the IWT, which was seen as a major compromise of Indias position with regard to Jammu and Kashmir, the statement said.

Go!