Himanta Biswa Sarma Rebukes Pakistan’s Brahmaputra Remark: “River Doesn’t Depend on China”

Assam CM slams Islamabad’s claim that China could block Brahmaputra, says river gains strength within Indian territory.

HH News Desk 2 weeks agoLast Updated: June 7, 2025

14 3 minutes read

GUWAHATI, June 3 — A day after a senior Pakistani official floated the idea that China could stop the Brahmaputra’s flow into India, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma fired back with a strong rejection, calling it a hollow claim “spun out of thin air.”

The statement in question came from Rana Ihsaan Afzal, an aide to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who reportedly warned that if India could suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, then China might take a similar step by stalling Brahmaputra waters upstream.

What If China Stops Brahmaputra Water to India?
A Response to Pakistan’s New Scare Narrative

After India decisively moved away from the outdated Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan is now spinning another manufactured threat:
“What if China stops the Brahmaputra’s water to India?”…
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 2, 2025

Sarma, not mincing words, said Pakistan was manufacturing a “new scare tactic” in response to India’s water policy shift. And he didn’t stop there.

“Let’s dismantle this myth — not with fear, but with facts,” he said in a post on X.

‘Brahmaputra swells in India, not shrinks’ – Himanta

According to Sarma, the claim doesn’t hold water — quite literally. China, he explained, contributes only 30 to 35 percent of the Brahmaputra’s flow, most of it from glacial melt and some rainfall over Tibet. The rest, nearly 70 percent, is generated inside India — from the monsoon and a vast network of tributaries.

He laid it out plainly: in the hills and plains of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and parts of the Northeast, rainfall during the monsoon season feeds the Brahmaputra through rivers like the Subansiri, Lohit, Manas, Jia-Bharali, and more. The Khasi and Jaintia Hills also contribute via smaller rivers, which eventually push the river’s flow to several times what it was at the border.

“At the Tuting point on the Indo-China border, flow ranges from 2,000 to 3,000 cubic metres per second. In Guwahati, it jumps to 15,000 to 20,000 m³/s during monsoon. That alone should tell you where the strength of the river lies,” he said.

In other words, the river gains volume in India — not the other way around.

No official warning from China

To date, China has never officially threatened to reduce Brahmaputra’s flow into India, nor hinted at any such move through bilateral or multilateral platforms. While the river, called the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, originates in Chinese territory, water-sharing arrangements with India have largely been confined to data exchange — particularly for flood forecasting.

Sarma pointed this out as well, saying there has never been a precedent — or even informal indication — of Beijing weaponizing the river in this manner.

And if China did reduce water flow? “It might actually help Assam,” Sarma noted, referencing the annual floods that displace lakhs across the region. “Less upstream flow during peak monsoon may even reduce the damage.”

The real trigger: Indus Waters Treaty suspension

This back-and-forth wasn’t born in isolation. In April, the Indian government halted the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty — a 1960 pact that gave Pakistan access to a majority of the water from the Indus system. The move came after a terror attack in Pahalgam, which India blamed on Pakistan-backed groups.

The action didn’t go unnoticed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking in Gujarat last week, said Pakistan was “sweating” following India’s decision to reclaim its rightful share of river waters.

Pakistan’s response has been sharp. Its army chief, General Asim Munir, said last week, “Water is Pakistan’s red line,” warning India against unilateral changes to what Islamabad views as a core entitlement.

But New Delhi’s view appears unchanged. Officials familiar with the water policy say India is only using what it’s entitled to under international norms — and that future decisions would follow the country’s “strategic and security interests.”

River politics or rhetoric?

India has long accused Pakistan of politicizing shared resources. But this latest remark — invoking China in the Brahmaputra debate — has struck a different nerve.

“Dragging China into an internal river flow issue is not just illogical — it’s desperate,” a former Indian diplomat familiar with the matter said. “It shows how worried Islamabad is after the Indus Treaty freeze.”

Experts in water governance also see no basis for panic.

“The Brahmaputra is overwhelmingly monsoon-fed within India. It doesn’t behave like a typical Himalayan glacier-fed river,” said a hydrologist based in Shillong, who tracks river basin data. “Yes, upstream flow matters. But it doesn’t define the river.”

‘Powered by our geography, not Beijing’

Sarma’s broader message was aimed not just at Pakistan, but also at reassuring the people of Assam and the Northeast. His words — part political, part scientific — leaned heavily on regional pride.

“Let’s remind them,” he said, “the Brahmaputra is not controlled by one source. It is powered by our geography, our rainfall, and our resilience.”

The message seems clear: this is not the Indus, and Pakistan should not expect to use the same playbook twice.

Written by Amit S. | Published on 3 June 2025 | Source: ANI

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