Narendra Modi’s third term as Prime Minister was delivered by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the political vehicle of Hindutva, an ideology that seeks to define Indian culture and identity through Hindu values. Those values, as expressed in Hindu scriptures and philosophical traditions, include dharma, or righteous duty; satya, or truth; ahimsa, or non-violence; karma, the moral law of consequences; compassion; restraint; and the belief that the same divine reality is present in all living beings. A political movement that invokes Hindu civilisation and its values must also be willing to be examined through the ethical standards of that civilisation.

This is why India’s decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and statements about controlling the waters of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab raise a question much deeper than geopolitics. The question is whether using water as an instrument against millions of people can be reconciled with the highest teachings of Hinduism. We believe it cannot. If water is deliberately withheld from innocent people as a means of political pressure or punishment, such an act stands in profound conflict with dharma, ahimsa, compassion and the Hindu principle that all life is interconnected.

Hindu civilisation itself grew around rivers. The Rigveda contains the celebrated Nadistuti hymn, which praises the rivers and gives special recognition to the Sindhu, the Indus. In Hindu tradition, water is not merely a commodity. The waters are sacred, life-giving and purifying. Rivers such as the Ganga are revered as mothers, and water is repeatedly associated with life, renewal and spiritual purification. The Vedic conception of rita, the cosmic order, reflects the idea that human conduct should remain aligned with a larger moral and natural order. If rivers are gifts of nature and sources of life, they cannot morally be transformed into weapons against those who depend upon them downstream.

The principle of dharma strengthens this argument. In Hindu thought, the ruler is not simply a possessor of power. The ruler carries a duty to protect the people and maintain social order. Rajadharma places responsibility above personal or political interest. Ancient Indian traditions concerning irrigation, reservoirs, wells, canals and agricultural water systems demonstrate that water management was understood as a public responsibility. Kautilya’s Arthashastra, for example, contains provisions concerning irrigation and water infrastructure and recognises the importance of protecting agricultural productivity. The broader lesson is significant: control over........

© The Friday Times