On India’s 79th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a powerful and resolute speech from the Red Fort, marking a significant shift in India’s stance on the Indus Waters Treaty. Modi declared the decades-old treaty “unjust” and “one-sided,” emphasising that it had caused immense harm to Indian farmers by depriving them of their rightful water resources.

He asserted emphatically that “blood and water cannot flow together,” underscoring the deep incompatibility between ongoing conflict and continued cooperation under this pact. In his view, the treaty allowed rivers originating in India to irrigate the fields of Pakistan, India’s adversary, while Indian farmers suffered from water scarcity and losses.

Modi articulated that India and its farmers have the exclusive right over the waters that belong to the country, and the current arrangement is intolerable. He emphasised that India “will no longer tolerate an arrangement that deprived its farmers” and “will not endure it any further,” signalling a decisive break from decades of endurance under what he termed an inequitable agreement brokered by the World Bank in 1960.

The Prime Minister linked the treaty’s suspension to recent acts of terror, particularly the brutal attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people. Modi referenced this incident as the catalyst for India’s renewed policy, expressing India’s anger and frustration that culminated in Operation Sindoor, a large-scale military response destroying terror infrastructure deep within enemy territory.

Beyond water rights, Modi took a firm stance against nuclear blackmail from Pakistan, stating that India will “no longer tolerate” such pressure and has established a “new normal” in responding to terrorism. 

He reiterated that India no longer distinguishes between terrorists and those who harbour or empower terrorism, treating all as enemies of humanity. The military successes in Operation Sindoor, enabled by India’s strides toward defence self-reliance, were hailed as proof of this new posture of strength and resolve.

This declaration on the Indus Waters Treaty is more than a matter of water management; it is a forceful assertion of national dignity, sovereignty, and protection of Indian farmers’ interests. Modi’s speech clearly communicates a pivot away from diplomacy characterised by concessions toward decisive action and reclamation of rights. By suspending the treaty, India signals growing impatience and readiness to enforce its national interests against cross-border threats and historic inequities.

Modi’s Independence Day message from the Red Fort encapsulates India’s rejection of past compromises perceived as unjust, a sovereign claim over vital natural resources, and an uncompromising posture on national security—declaring solemnly that neither blood nor water can flow with the adversary any longer, reflecting a new chapter in India’s approach to its neighbour and its own internal priorities.

Based On Business Today Report