Busting the Brahmaputra Myth: Himanta Biswa Sarma Debunks Water Scarcity Scare
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma refutes Pakistan’s alarmist narrative about China controlling Brahmaputra’s flow, asserting India’s hydrological dominance, geographical strength, and self-reliance over the river’s water volume.
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has categorically refuted Pakistan’s latest alarmist rhetoric concerning the Brahmaputra River, calling it a “baseless attempt” to incite unnecessary fear rooted in a fabricated scenario.
Taking to X(formerly Twitter), Mr Sarma dismantled the widely circulated question, “What if China stops the Brahmaputra’s water to India?”—with a detailed, evidence-backed response.
What If China Stops Brahmaputra Water to India?
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 2, 2025
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After India decisively moved away from the outdated Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan is now spinning another manufactured threat: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?”…
“Let’s dismantle this myth, not with fear, but with facts and national clarity,” he stated, pushing back against conjecture with hydrological clarity and regional insight.
According to Sarma, the Brahmaputra is far from a river solely dependent on upstream sources. Only 30 to 35 per cent of its total volume originates in China, predominantly from glacial melt and sparse rainfall over the Tibetan plateau. The overwhelming 65 to 75% is generated within India itself, fed by robust monsoon patterns and extensive tributary inflows across the Northeast.
Quoting hydrological records, he explained that “the river’s average discharge at the Indo-China border in Tuting is around 2,000 to 3,000 cubic metres per second”. However, this volume surges exponentially to between 15,000 and 20,000 cubic metres per second as it flows through Assam during the rainy season—a vivid illustration of India's hydro-dominance.
“The Brahmaputra is not a river India depends on upstream. It is a rain-fed Indian river system, strengthened after entering Indian territory,” he reaffirmed.
Interestingly, Mr Sarma even suggested that if China were to reduce upstream flow, a highly improbable scenario, it might inadvertently benefit India by mitigating the severe flooding Assam faces almost annually, which displaces thousands and causes substantial socio-economic turmoil.
Labelling the scare as speculative fiction, Sarma added that China has never officially threatened to manipulate the Brahmaputra’s flow as a geopolitical tool. He categorised such claims as strategic fear-mongering, lacking a credible basis.
He also took a jab at Pakistan, stating that the country, which has long leveraged the Indus Waters Treaty, seems to be “panicking” as India asserts hydrological autonomy.
“Brahmaputra is not controlled by a single source. It is powered by our geography, our monsoon, and our civilizational resilience,” Sarma concluded, reinforcing the river’s deep integration with India’s topography, climate, and heritage.
The Chief Minister’s articulate rebuttal serves as a strategic narrative, turning misplaced anxiety into informed confidence, and reminding citizens that the Brahmaputra’s strength flows not from beyond the border, but from India’s vibrant lands.
