Raging Waters: China, India, Bangladesh, and Brahmaputra River Politics

Abstract

The Brahmaputra River originates in China and runs through India and Bangladesh. China and India have fought a war over contested territory through which the river flows, and Bangladesh faces human security pressures in this basin that will be magnified by upstream river practices. Controversial dam-building activities and water diversion plans could threaten regional stability; yet, no bilateral or multilateral water management accord exists in the Brahmaputra basin.

Hydropolitics intertwined with geopolitics in the Brahmaputra River Basin

“…However, Bangladesh acknowledges India's wholehearted assistance to its independence (Chowdhury, 2013). As historical allies since the 1971 Liberation War, India‐Bangladesh disagreements persist over the riverine border created by the Brahmaputra, resulting in cross‐border smuggling, insurgencies, and illegal immigration to India (Samaranayake et al, 2018). The alleged encroachment of the chars (islands created during dry season) and Sattra lands (Vaishnavite monasteries) in Assam by Bangladeshi immigrants tainted the social milieu of Assam.…”

Climate and energy justice along the Brahmaputra river in Northeast India

“…Due to limitations in terms of space and scope of the paper, the author is unable to address the transboundary impacts of Indian dams along the Brahmaputra. For further discussion on this topic, and to better understand transboundary water politics and tensions between India and Bangladesh, please see Nishat and Faisal (2000), Crow and Singh (2009), Rahaman (2009), Rahaman and Varis (2009), Rahman et al (2010), Hanasz (2017), Huda and Ali (2018), Samaranayake et al (2018), Vij et al (2020), andRahman et al (2020).…”

“…(2010), Hanasz (2017), Huda and Ali (2018), Samaranayake et al. (2018), Vij et al. (2020), and Rahman et al.…”

Multi-track water diplomacy: current and potential future cooperation over the Brahmaputra River Basin

“…One of the key basin-wide contexts that affected this cooperation is the recent development of Chinese hydropower dams in the upstream of the Brahmaputra River. The first of these built in the Chinese part of the Brahmaputra, the Zangmu Dam, was operationalized in 2014, and three more (Da Gu, Jie Xu and Jia Cha) are planned by the government (Samaranayake, Limaye, & Wuthnow, 2016;State Council, 2013). There has also been a debate in China about whether to divert water from the Brahmaputra to water-scarce parts of that country.…”

“…There has also been a debate in China about whether to divert water from the Brahmaputra to water-scarce parts of that country. Some commenters report that the plan is currently on hold as other inter-basin transfers within the country are undertaken (Amano, 2015;Samaranayake et al, 2016), while some commenters outside China assert that satellite images show possible signs of the construction of water-diversion tunnels (Bhat, 2017;Dasguptal, 2017). What is undoubtedly true is that these relatively new developments in the basin have created concerns downstream in India.…”