Good on Description, Short on Analysis

While this book will prove 'a welcome addition to some libraries because of the volume of information it contains, editors Verghese and Iyer deliver much less than what they promise in the title. Because negotiations on the Eastern Himalayan rivers have seen extremely limited progress "for a variety of reasons", they write, the time seemed right for an "objective, nonofficial study by scholars uninhibited by political compulsions and able to examine and propose a range of possible options".

Unfortunately, this publication contains no definite proposals or development options. Instead, till past the halfway mark, the book belabours the background and describes the vast untapped potential of the Brahmaputra, Ganga and Meghna rivers — of which there has been no doubt. When the book eventually takes up the core issues related to regional cooperation and development strategies, the discourses are mostly restricted to records of past dialogues and country positions — as seen from an Indian perspective. There are no startling revelations or fresh insights in this 286-page work, which contains 22 papers by distinguished Indian experts on a range of topics.

It is of course true: "it is not that the tremendous, catalysing potential of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) system is unknown or technologically unrealisable", but opportunities have "not been creatively seized", because "a number of social, political and historical inhibitors are at work". The goals the editors set for themselves were to address these inhibitors and to define "a common approach to the optimal development" of the Eastern Himalayan rivers.

What the book does best is provide the reader with background information on the GBM Basin, which supports 535 million people and covers over 174 million hectares (including in Tibet). The three rivers together drain a third of India and almost all of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, and represent one of the world's most expansive river systems. Harnessing their full potential would of course create enormous economic wealth in the four countries.

It is intriguing why the editors chose not to include maps in this volume, especially as it seems to be directed to the lay reader rather than the water specialist. It is not possible to make much of the arguments when one is unsure of exactly where the waters of the Karnali or Kosi would be impounded by the proposed high dams, or where in India or Bangladesh the proposed alignments of the Brahmaputra link canal would terminate.

Provided that the reader is already familiar with the territory, river courses, and location of important projects, the book contains useful information on the history of cooperative efforts between India and her three basin neighbours. However, the absence of a chapter on the various projects that have been proposed for future implementation is missed. Both in terms or past differences and possible future cooperation, discussion of schemes and development scenarios would have been justified.

The editors take pains to emphasize that meaningful cooperation within the region has not been possible in the area of water resources development due to differing perceptions coupled with "mistrust and a sense of historical wrongs, real or exaggerated". Perhaps the most telling comment on the possibilities of "regional cooperation in South Asia" (one half the book's title) is contained in the foreword, where it is indicated that perceptions of each of the three participating counties will be compiled in separate volumes, and that this particular book represents the Indian perspective for the optimal development of the GBM Basin.

It is obvious that despite the earnest desire on the part of the contributors to "present rational options on the basis of which public opinion can be educated to recognise where true self-interest lies," inherent inhibitions are still at work. The book falls far short of providing any definite blueprint for harnessing the Eastern Himalayan rivers.

Subba, formerly head of Bhutan's Department of Power, presently lives in Kathmandu.