“Water resources are both an asset and a source of conflict in South Asia.” Examine this statement giving examples.
Approach · directive: “examine”
What it asks · Show with examples how shared rivers underpin South Asian economies and cooperation, and how they also fuel disputes between and within countries.
The question has 3 parts — answer each
- Examine: water as an asset — irrigation, energy, navigation and the cooperation it has produced, with examples
- Examine: water as a source of conflict — between and within countries, with examples
- Weigh the two and indicate the way forward
Open with · The Indus, Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna and other Himalayan systems sustain hundreds of millions of people but cross tense borders.
Cover
- Asset: irrigation and food security across the Indo-Gangetic plains; drinking water; inland navigation (Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route).
- Cooperation: hydropower partnership with Bhutan; Ganga Waters Treaty (1996) with Bangladesh; Mahakali Treaty (1996) with Nepal.
- Conflict: India placed the Indus Waters Treaty (1960) in abeyance in April 2025 after the Pahalgam terror attack.
- Pending issues: the Teesta sharing agreement with Bangladesh; China's upstream dams on the Yarlung Tsangpo without a water-sharing treaty.
- Within countries: inter-state disputes over the Cauvery, Krishna and Mahadayi show the same upstream–downstream tension.
- Aggravating factors: glacier retreat, floods and droughts, population growth and poor data sharing.
Close with · Basin-level cooperation, data sharing and institutional hydro-diplomacy can turn rivers from flashpoints into shared assets.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 212 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
The Indus and Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna systems feed hundreds of millions of people, yet they cross some of the world's tensest borders.
Water as an asset
- Food and water security: the Indo-Gangetic canal and groundwater systems underpin South Asia's grain output; rivers supply cities and industry.
- Energy and transport: Bhutan's Chukha, Tala and Mangdechhu projects sell hydropower to India; the India–Bangladesh Protocol routes carry inland cargo.
- Cooperation: the Indus Waters Treaty (1960) survived wars for six decades; the Ganga Waters Treaty (1996) with Bangladesh and the Mahakali Treaty (1996) with Nepal show shared rivers can be negotiated.
Water as a source of conflict
- Between states: India placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance in April 2025 after the Pahalgam attack; the Teesta agreement with Bangladesh remains unsigned; China's dams on the Yarlung Tsangpo proceed without any water-sharing treaty.
- Within states: the Cauvery, Krishna and Mahadayi disputes repeat the upstream–downstream tension at home.
- Aggravators: glacier retreat, erratic monsoons, floods and droughts, population growth and poor data-sharing turn scarcity into suspicion.
Way forward
- Basin-level management, real-time hydrological data-sharing, joint flood forecasting and standing hydro-diplomacy institutions can make rivers instruments of regional cooperation.
Rivers will remain both asset and flashpoint; South Asia's choice is whether to manage them as shared resources or contest them as sovereign ones.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.