AMRITSAR: The Indus water agreement between India and Pakistan way back in 1955 become the root cause of Inter-state water dispute between Punjab and Haryana and this is being ignored when the river water dispute is discussed today.
This was observed by the prominent political scholar. Dr. Kuldeep Singh at Khalsa College Amritsar who delivered a lecture on his latest book by Routledge Publication entitled “Punjab River Waters Dispute in South Asia”. To Stake its claim on the whole of waters of Satluj, Beas and Ravi, India had to prove that it has no surplus water, therefore at that time 8 MAF out of total 15.8 MAF of water was given disproportionately to Rajasthan.
Later, after Green Revolution was introduced and the need of Punjab and Haryana increased, the endless water dispute between the two states started in which all the political parties played to the galleries for the votes and paid least attention to the honest solution of the problem as the share of Rajasthan was not brought into the agenda again. Before this, Dr. Atam Singh Randhawa, Principal of the college while welcoming the esteemed speakers observed that in Cultural terms also, water, like land, is a sensitive issue for the farmers of Punjab and it demands serious discussions.
Dr. Satnam Singh Deol, Head of Political Science and Dean Student Welfare, GNDU, in his review lecture said that this book is a land mark as it provides significant insights in the river water dispute both from historical and political point of view. Dr. Devender Singh, Head of the Department introduced the speakers and the theme and Prof. Jaspreet Kaur, Dean Arts and Humanities presented vote of thanks. The students took keen interest in the subject and had a long interaction with the speakers proving the worth of the lecture. Dr. Sukhjit Singh, Dr. Gurveil Singh Malhi, Dr. Harbilas Singh, Dr. Dawinder Kaur, Dr. Baljit Singh and other staff members from all the social sciences departments were also present on this occasion.