Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said the Indus Valley Water Treaty was a historical blunder committed by the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered a historic body blow to this injustice.

Taking to his micro blogging account, X Sarma said that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s signing of the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960 stands as one of the greatest strategic blunders in India’s history.

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Detailing about the treaty, Sarma said that despite India’s natural upper riparian advantage, Nehru, under immense pressure from the then American administration and the World Bank, handed away over 80% of the Indus basin waters to Pakistan — gifting full control over the mighty Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers, while restricting India to the smaller eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej). Pakistan received a staggering 135 million acre-feet (MAF) of water annually, while India was left with just 33 MAF.

“Worse, India’s rights over the western rivers were limited to minor irrigation and run-of-the-river hydro projects without meaningful storage, permanently compromising the water needs of Punjab, Haryana, and Jammu & Kashmir. Nehru’s misplaced obsession with international approval came at the cost of India’s long-term national interest, weakening India’s strategic and agricultural strength in its own land,” he wrote.

Sarma added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered a historic body blow to this injustice.

“By initiating India’s withdrawal from the treaty, Modi has reclaimed India’s sovereign rights over its rivers, sending a clear message that India will no longer reward terror and hostility with appeasement. This bold move strikes at the heart of Pakistan’s fragile economy, where over 75% of agriculture depends on Indus waters, and corrects a historic betrayal that had shackled India’s rightful control for over six decades. Modi’s action marks the rise of a new, assertive India — determined to defend its interests without apology” he wrote.