Misplaced Water Diplomacy
Reciprocity is the first principle of diplomacy. But not for India, if one goes by its record. India has walked the extra mile to befriend neighbours, yet today it lives in the world's most-troubled neighbourhood.
India's generosity on land issues has been well documented, including its surrender of British-inherited extraterritorial rights in Tibet in 1954, the giving back of strategic Haji Pir to Pakistan after the 1965 war, and the similar return of territorial gains and 93,000 prisoners after 1971 - all without securing any tangible reciprocity. Despite that record, there are still calls within India today for it to unilaterally cede control over the Siachen Glacier.
Even though India is reeling under a growing water crisis - with hospitals in its capital postponing surgeries because of lack of water and much of the country parched and thirsty - few seem to know that India's generosity has extended not just to land but also to river waters.
