Punjab’s River Waters: From Congress’s Betrayal to BJP’s Continuation of Injustice

Instead of correcting the decades-long abuse of Punjab’s river waters initiated under Congress rule at the Centre, the present Central government has chosen to perpetuate the same injustice. What began as a constitutional betrayal under the Punjab Reorganisation Act has now turned into a sustained assault on the state’s sovereignty and rights. Punjab remains the only example in the entire country where a state’s constitutional authority over its natural resources was stripped away and its waters were unconstitutionally distributed to other states. Rather than amending this historical wrong, the Union government is deepening the crisis through fresh encroachments on the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and Punjab’s dams—acts that amount to a direct attack on federal principles and the constitutional rights of the state.

The roots of this injustice lie in the Congress party’s deeply flawed and discriminatory approach toward Punjab and the Sikhs. When the Congress ruled both the Centre and the state, it exploited Punjab’s rivers without regard for the region’s interests, draining its lifeblood to benefit others. What is even more disturbing is that the BJP-led government, instead of correcting these wrongs, has embraced and furthered this same mindset—only in a new, more sophisticated form. The same machinery that once worked under the Congress banner to weaken Punjab’s control over its resources now operates under a different colour, but the intention remains the same: to centralize power and subdue Punjab’s autonomy.

The responsibility for this injustice, however, also lies with successive Punjab governments that failed to take this fight to its logical conclusion. Whether out of political weakness, lack of courage, or collusion, past administrations in Punjab did not assert the state’s rightful claim over its waters before the judiciary or the Centre. Instead of demanding what is constitutionally Punjab’s due, they remained entangled in half-hearted protests and symbolic gestures.

What makes the current situation even more distressing is that the Aam Aadmi Party government, which had promised to stand up for Punjab’s rights, has chosen a path of appeasement instead of resistance. Rather than challenging the Centre’s unconstitutional encroachments on Punjab’s BBMB representation and dam control, the AAP government has engaged in political theatrics—holding token sit-ins at Ropar to create a spectacle for public consumption while avoiding a real, substantive legal and political battle.

Punjab’s water issue is not merely about resource allocation; it is a matter of the state’s existence, dignity, and sovereignty. The rivers of Punjab are its veins—feeding its fields, sustaining its people, and shaping its identity. To deny Punjab control over its waters is to deny it the right to live with dignity. The Centre’s continuing exploitation of these waters, under the pretext of national interest, is a betrayal of federalism and a continuation of the same colonial attitude that began decades ago. It is time for Punjab’s political leadership to rise above party lines, to reclaim what rightfully belongs to the state, and to remind the Centre that the Constitution guarantees equality to every state—not subjugation of one for the benefit of others.

Punjab’s fight for its river waters is, at its core, a fight for justice, for identity, and for the future of generations yet to come.

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