Bangladesh stands on the edge of economic and social transformation, while India is experiencing a unique diplomatic opportunity that could reshape its leadership role in South Asia. Since the partition of the sub-continent in 1947, unresolved disputes over water-sharing and geopolitical tensions have impacted India’s relationships with its neighbouring countries. Currently, with the advent of Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus at the centre of Bangladesh’s interim government, a historic opportunity for progress has arisen — the long-awaited solution to the Teesta River Water Sharing dispute.
This agreement could perhaps repair the unsynced communications between the two countries, accelerate a new culture of regional collaboration on trade, climate resilience, and food security – directly enhancing the livelihoods of more than 30 million people in both the countries. Among these populations, the Teesta’s significance is most deeply felt in the lives of the people of North Bengal, where I come from.
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The Teesta river basin is densely populated, out of the 30 million people, 2% are located in Sikkim, 27% are located in West Bengal’s North Bengal and 71% in Bangladesh’s North Bengal. In the villages of North Bengal, on both sides of the border, life ebbs and flows with the rhythm of the Teesta river. When the water levels in the Teesta fall during the dry season, hope fades alongside it. Farmers watch their crops shrivel; and families struggle, while finding it increasingly difficult to meet their basic needs. After the emergence of Yunus as the head of the interim government in Bangladesh, the Teesta dispute can no longer just be considered a policy matter; it holds the key to reshaping Bangladesh-India relations, while re-structuring the socio-political dynamics of South Asia, with the potential to transform millions of lives who depend on Teesta for their agricultural and irrigation needs.
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Urgency for diplomatic resolution
The struggles of North Bengal’s farmers underscore the urgency for a diplomatic resolution, and in this context, Modi’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, which aims to accelerate India’s role in regional leadership, while Yunus, with his global reputation for ethical leadership, is uniquely positioned to build bridges across the long standing political divides which have diminished our subcontinent’s true potential. This opportunity carries economic weight as well. Bangladesh happens to be India’s most important trading partner in South Asia, exceeding $18 billion in annual trade.
For Modi, a permanent resolution of the Teesta dispute would re-categorise India’s position as a reliable partner in South Asia, unlock new avenues for regional integration; while also showing to the rest of the world that India stands by its closest friends in moments of need. For Yunus, securing Bangladesh’s water rights goes beyond politics — it is about restoring hope and trust for millions of farmers whose lives depend on it, giving them a fighting chance for a better future, and laying the groundwork for strengthening the foundations of Bangladesh’s agricultural economy which future governments can work on.
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What happened in 2011?
With political will, collaboration, and compromise, Modi and Yunus stand at the possibility of turning the Teesta from a source of conflict into a living embodiment of cooperation. In 2011, both Bangladesh and India were almost on the verge of finding a resolution to the Teesta dispute. But things hit a roadblock when West Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, opposed a draft treaty that proposed allocating 37.5% of the Teesta’s water to Bangladesh during the dry season.
A core principle connected to the Teesta dispute is found within Article 7 of the 1997 United Nations Watercourses Convention, which focuses cooperation and information sharing between riparian states.
The 2004 Berlin Rules on Water Resources reiterates the obligations of upper riparian states like India in managing water resources in such a way that avoids harming lower riparian nations like Bangladesh, and this is especially crucial in the context of Teesta, as North Bengal’s economic survival, particularly its reliance on irrigation, farming, and livelihoods, depends on the river’s flow.
What Mamata Banerjee said
Mamata Banerjee’s core argument – Teesta’s water is the only source to increase the area under irrigation in West Bengal’s North Bengal, the minimal water flow into West Bengal during the winter months understandably fuels hesitation, while Teesta is the lifeblood of northern West Bengal’s farmers, who rely on it to keep their crops thriving and their families fed. But that reality does not diminish the desperation felt by Bangladeshi farmers, whose fields run dry as a consequence – over-complicating the far-reaching regional needs that call for a solution which is equitable, unexpectedly casting a shadow over the lives of the 21 million farmers across the border. Mamata Banerjee faces the difficult task of defending the future of West Bengal’s agricultural sector, all while steering through the political tightrope with New Delhi.
Water is a state subject in India, but the Indian parliament can craft a law under Article 253 of the Indian constitution to give legal status to the Teesta water sharing agreement.
In the past, Bangladesh had been in talks with China, discussing an approximate $1 billion proposal, for a comprehensive management and restoration project on Teesta, with the core objective of managing the river basin efficiently to control floods and to address the deep water crisis during summers. These discussions occurred at a time when India was increasingly concerned about China’s growing influence in the subcontinent, adding another layer of complexity to the already tense water-sharing negotiations.
However, at this moment, under Yunus’s leadership, Bangladesh is seeking to celebrate good relations with India and its neighbours, with Yunus stressing that these relationships must be based on “fairness and equality.”
The Indian dams on the Teesta release excess water during monsoon, and the upstream flow of water towards Bangladesh floods its North Bengal, and that also affects Bangladesh – people find it difficult to bear the expenses of the very basic needs, children’s education, and let alone without money, people can only expect sorrows and sufferings. The Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), has consistently advocated towards collaborative efforts that harness the benefits of the peoples in both the countries – thus, a trans-boundary river, Teesta demands hyper-focus.
The resolution of the Teesta dispute centres on establishing a permanent and fair water-sharing agreement between India and Bangladesh, which considers seasonal flows and the variabilities of the river, in the agreement’s entirety. It must be grounded in reliable data that reflect seasonal variations, ensuring an equitable distribution of water during dry periods. Across the Teesta, installing flood-control mechanisms, such as advanced flood gates or dam controls, which could be modelled from the Rhine River in Europe, could potentially prevent downstream flooding in Bangladesh’s North Bengal. The actualisation of these initiatives should transcend beyond political cycles, and reflect long-term cooperation rather than focusing on short-term political expediency.
Achieving these objectives largely depends on whether both nations can collaborate on joint infrastructure projects, especially focusing towards artificial reservoirs that have the capacity to store excess monsoon water for the drier months. This is not simply a technical remedy; it reflects a genuine commitment between the two countries, signalling to the peoples of both India and Bangladesh, that their futures are interconnected, while enabling the governments of the two nations to demonstrate their dedication
towards finding lasting solutions. In this manner, everyone would have a vested interest in the outcome.
However, infrastructures will not cut it. An advanced JRC, which is well-equipped with sophisticated monitoring capabilities would accelerate transparent collaboration frameworks, while real-time progressions on water levels and dam operations would enable both the countries to forecast and analyse the depth of shortages and surpluses, helping in effective planning towards catering agricultural activities and hydropower generation. Establishing a formal, joint river basin authority between India and Bangladesh, that is modelled based on the Mekong River Commission between Southeast Asian countries, could also help in managing the Teesta’s water flow.
India and Bangladesh should also look forward to channelling climate-resilient agriculture to address the losses due to the climatic variables across Teesta – investments into the development and implementation of drought-resistant crops and use of advanced irrigation methods such as drip irrigation, greatly enhance water efficiency. Hyper-focusing on the local contexts is important — North Bengal, on both sides of the border, shares deep socio-cultural synergies, and when local communities take part in managing resources together, they naturally take ownership of their success. Ultimately, the core objective should be to reduce the dependency on the Teesta’s natural flow while maintaining agricultural productivity.
The Teesta issue is a deeply emotive one, and the lower riparian, Bangladesh, is highly dependent on India, the upper riparian, for keeping minimum flows in the Teesta river. A permanent resolution not just serves as a practical necessity, but rather a deeply symbolic act, intertwined in the shared history and destinies of both nations. India, the upper riparian, should demonstrate greater broadness and vision. For both Bangladesh and India, the overall benefits of cooperation go far beyond water management — they include scopes of paradigm shifts in regional relations, economic upliftment, and a renewed trust in South Asian diplomacy. For India, this is not just about fulfilling an old promise — it would strengthen people-to-people relationships and celebrate socio-cultural synergies. India can indeed become Bangladesh’s eternal friend, but as Tajuddin Ahmad, the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh, rightly said, this friendship must be built on mutual respect and equality: “Only as equals.”
(Nazmus Sakib Khan is a Bangladeshi economist and international relations enthusiast. The views expressed are personal.)
