Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the temporary shelving of the Indian Water Treaty corrected the historic injustice caused to India in 1960. Image source: PTI
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday (May 19, 2025) that the decision to shelve the Indus Water Treaty corrected the historic injustice caused by India in 1960. The state is as part of the agreement.
He said the new moves taken after the Pahalgam terrorist attack will benefit Indian farmers and the country. He added: “We will ensure that Indian farmers get the water they deserve from the Indus River.”
The minister addressed several peasant organizations in the northern states at a meeting in the national capital.
The union’s Ministry of Agriculture said in a press release that the farmers’ organizations at the meeting welcomed the government’s decision and demanded that the treaty be completely abolished. “They also appealed to the government to ensure that the Punjab River, Haryana, Rajasthan and states such as Jamu and Kashmir use water from the Indus River,” the release said.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (non-political) spokesman Dharmendra Malik said in a statement after the meeting that India has the right to terminate the treaty. “The treaty is a shameful agreement that allows enemy countries to use our water. We hope that in the future, similar bold decisions will be made on the welfare of farmers and national security.”
Consciousness movement
Earlier, Mr. Chouhan said in a conversation with reporters that he had already had a discussion with the National Agriculture Minister and senior officials about Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, involving information on agricultural technological advances among farmers. He said the center will hold a meeting of the National Agricultural University vice president during the campaign, where 2,170 teams of scientists will visit villages across the country to interact directly with and train farmers.
“The campaign will follow a two-way approach to communication – on the one hand, scientists will share research and technical knowledge with farmers, and on the other hand, they will provide insights into the challenges farmers face in the field. These findings will help guide future research efforts and provide practical, location-specific solutions,” Mr Chouhan said.
He added that the center is working on the spirit of “one country, one agriculture, one team” and such “lab-to-farm” movements that will help increase agricultural production ahead of the upcoming Kharif seeding season.
publishing – May 19, 2025 11:03 pm ist
