LAUSR

ing its territorial integrity as a riparian country. India, on the other hand, exerted its control of the river system as an upstream country through which the rivers of the Indus system pass before entering Pakistan. The historical roots of Indus water usage date back to the 1880s when a number of canal colonies were established in East Punjab to irrigate unused and marginally used lands. After the partition, these lands went to Pakistan, resulting in dissatisfaction on the part of those who had rehabilitated them. Similarly, India’s charging seigniorage from Pakistan in return for water usage also has a pre-partition history. On the other hand, the basin’s geography, which includes meandering, braiding and char lands, especially in Sutlej in Punjab, proved problematic on ground as Radcliffe award drew a static boundary. Keeping account of the historical and geographical setting, the book cites several tussles between local officials and public in demanding absolute sovereignty. Conversely, higher officials demonstrated more flexibility an initiated resolving those skirmishes. The Indus water dispute is also linked to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan’s demand for both the banks of Chenab, the linking of Kashmir Rivers, Pakistan’s fortune in the common discourses, and the demand for Kashmir based on owning the headwaters of the western rivers (Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum) that flow through the region, are indicative of this link. India, on the other hand, was unwilling to accede to this. The book concludes with the important observation that the IWT, in place of cooperation, has strained tensions further. The reconfiguring of space and territory is still continuing in both nations, and on the face of developmental ventures and deficits in power and water, the treaty might well generate further tensions in the near future. The book is to be appreciated for disentangling the links between water, territory, and politics and also for situating the arguments in the complicated historical and geographical particularities of the region. The IWT failed to act as a model for resolving water issues between India and East Pakistan with regard to Ganga and Karnafuli rivers. In addition, the book critically reflects on how, despite its direct connection with the Kashmir and Indus issues, IWT has evidently deprived J&K, through which the western rivers, Chenab and Jhelum, flow. Overall, the book successfully makes sense of the links between IWT, nation-building, and the Cold War. Also praiseworthy is the nuanced way in which the book sutures geopolitical events to establish how a river system works to build nations. The piece promises to be of great interest to political geographers, historians and international relations experts.