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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday dismissed claims that China could stop the flow of the Brahmaputra River into India, calling it a false narrative being pushed by Pakistan
in the wake of India’s recent steps to reassert its water sovereignty. “Pakistan is now making up another baseless theory—that China will stop the Brahmaputra’s water, and it will affect
India. This is simply not possible,” Sarma said, adding that the Brahmaputra is primarily fed by Indian rainfall and tributaries and grows stronger only after entering Indian territory.
Advertisement The Chief Minister’s remarks come amid heightened rhetoric from across the border following India’s decision to move away from the Indus Waters Treaty—an arrangement seen by
many in New Delhi as outdated and skewed in Pakistan’s favour. Advertisement In recent days, Pakistan’s media and analysts have begun floating alarmist scenarios suggesting China could
retaliate by cutting off the Brahmaputra’s waters. However, scientific data and topography strongly contradict such claims. While the Brahmaputra originates in Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo,
only about 30 to 35 per cent of its annual flow comes from Chinese territory through glacial melt and limited Tibetan rainfall. The remaining 65 to 70 per cent of its volume is generated
after the river enters Arunachal Pradesh, thanks to torrential monsoon rains and a vast network of tributaries spread across Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and beyond. At the point where the
river crosses into India at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh, the average water flow ranges between 2,000 and 3,000 cubic metres per second. By the time it reaches the Assam plains near Guwahati,
especially during the monsoon, the flow expands dramatically to between 15,000 and 20,000 cubic metres per second—underscoring how its real might comes from Indian rainfall and geography,
not upstream control. Sarma said that even if China were to hold back some of the water, it could paradoxically benefit Assam, which faces catastrophic floods every year. “Instead of being
alarmed, we should recognise that any marginal reduction in upstream flow could actually help mitigate our annual flood crisis,” he said. Beijing, for its part, has never publicly threatened
to divert or restrict the Brahmaputra’s flow to India. While China has constructed a few run-of-the-river hydro projects, including the Zangmu Dam in Tibet, these are designed for power
generation and are not known to affect downstream flow. In fact, India and China maintain a limited data-sharing arrangement on the river’s flow to assist in flood forecasting during the
monsoon season. The Chief Minister also criticised Pakistan’s sudden interest in the Brahmaputra, suggesting it is a diversionary tactic following India’s decision to issue a notice seeking
renegotiation of the Indus Waters Treaty last year. The 1960 agreement, brokered by the World Bank, has long allowed Pakistan to control the waters of three western rivers while India was
restricted to the eastern ones. “Pakistan exploited this treaty for 74 years, and now, when India wants an arrangement rooted in present-day realities, they want to shift the fear narrative
to the East. But the Brahmaputra is not a tool for political fear-mongering—it is a river of Indian strength, fed by our land, our monsoon, and our resilience,” Sarma said. Advertisement