New Playbook of Water Diplomacy

In an unstable G-zero world, India must recalibrate the Indus Water Treaty into a strategic lever for economic resilience, energy security, and conflict deterrence

- Amal Chandra & Anusreeta Dutta

Amal Chandra is an author, political analyst, and columnist. Anusreeta Dutta is a cotutelle doctoral researcher of BITS Pilani (India)-RMIT (Australia), with prior experience as a political research and ESG analyst.

In the volatile and leaderless terrain of the G-zero world, where geopolitical alignments are increasingly fluid and institutional guardrails are weakening, India is redefining its diplomacy from restraint to resolve. Amidst its growing assertiveness in defence technology and trade diplomacy, one element of strategic inertia still stands out: The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) of 1960. As India navigates a landscape shaped by grey zone conflicts and economic shocks in the wake of military escalations with Pakistan, it becomes quintessential to rethink the Indus Water Treaty. No longer just a water-sharing agreement, the IWT must be viewed as a tactical instrument of strategic deterrence and economic stabilisation.