Indus River
This article deals with the Indus River in South Asia. For other uses of the word Indus, see Indus (disambiguation).The
Indus (
Sanskrit:
Sindhu;
Tibetan:
Sengge Chu ('Lion River');
Urdu:
Darya-e-Sindh;
Persian:
Hindu;
Greek:
Sinthos;
Pashto language:
Abaseen ("The Father of Rivers");
Mehran(an older name)) is the longest and most important
river in
Pakistan. Originating in the Tibetan plateau in the vicinity of
Lake Mansarovar, the river runs a course through
Kashmir in both
India and
Northern Areas in
Pakistan, and in a southernly direction along the entire length of Pakistan to merge into the
Arabian Sea near the city of
Karachi. The total length of the river is 3200 km (1988 miles). The river has a total drainage area exceeding 450,000 square miles. The river's estimated annual flow stands at around 207 cubic kilometres. Beginning at the heights of the world with
glaciers, the river feeds the
ecosystem of temperate forests,
plains and arid countryside. Together with the rivers
Chenab,
Ravi,
Sutlej,
Jhelum,
Beas and the extinct
Sarasvati River, the Indus forms the
Sapta Sindhu ("Seven Rivers")
delta in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It has 20 major tributaries.
The Indus provides the key water resources for the
economy of Pakistan - especially the
breadbasket of
Punjab province, which accounts for most of the nation's agricultural production, and Sindh. It also supports many heavy industries and provides the main supply of
potable water in Pakistan.
 |
Satellite image of the Indus River basin. |
The ultimate source of the Indus is actually in
Tibet; it begins at the confluence of the Sengge and Gar rivers that drain the Nganglong Kangri and Gangdise Shan mountain ranges. The Indus then flows northwest through
Ladakh-
Baltistan into
Gilgit, just south of the
Karakoram range. The Shyok, Shigar and Gilgit streams carry glacieral waters into the main river. It gradually bends to the south, coming out of the hills between
Peshawar and
Rawalpindi. The Indus passes gigantic gorges (15,000-17,000 feet) near the
Nanga Parbat massif It swiftly flows across
Hazara, and is dammed at the Tarbela Reservoir. The
Kabul River joins it near
Attock. The remainder of its route to the sea is in plains of the
Punjab and
Sind, and the river becomes slow-flowing and highly braided. It is joined by
Panjnad River at
Mithankot. Beyond this confluence, the river, at one time, was named as Satnad River (sat = seven, nadi = river) as the river was now carrying the waters of Kabul River, Indus River and the five Punjab rivers. Passing by
Hyderabad, it ends in a large delta to the east of
Karachi.
The Indus is, by volume, the largest
exotic river (one that mainly flows through a country from which it receives no water) in the world. It is one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a
tidal bore. The Indus system is largely fed by the snows and glaciers of the Karakoram,
Hindu Kush and Himalayan ranges of Tibet, Kashmir and
Northern Areas of
Pakistan. The flow of the river is also determined by the seasons - it diminishes greatly in the winter, while flooding its banks in the
monsoon months from July to September. There is also evidence of a steady shift in the course of the river since prehistoric times - it deviated westwards from flowing into the
Rann of Kutch. It is the Official and
National River of Pakistan in Urdu as
Qaumi Daryaa.
Tributaries
The Delta
The
Indus River Delta occurs where the Indus River flows into the
Arabian Sea in
Pakistan. The delta covers an area of about 16,000 square miles (41,440 km²), and is approximately 130 miles across where it meets the sea. Unlike many other deltas, the Indus River Delta consists of
clay and other infertile
soils, and is very swampy. The delta receives between 10 and 20 inches of rainfall in a normal year.
Pakistans fifth largest city,
Hyderabad, lies about 130 miles north of the mouths of the Indus. Towns are found throughout the delta, but there are no large cities on the delta south of Hyderabad.
Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, lies west of the delta on the coast of the Arabian Sea. Average temperatures for the delta region in July range from 70 - 85 °F, and 50 - 70 °F in January. The Indus River Delta is an important region for migrating water
birds, and is an area rich in freshwater
fauna. Fish found in the delta include the
Hilsa, Indus
baril, Indus garua (a
catfish), the giant
snakehead, golden mahaseer and the Rita catfish.
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Archaeological sites in the Indus Valley. |
Paleolithic sites have been discovered in
Pothohar, with the stone tools of the
Soan Culture. In ancient
Gandhara, evidence of cave dwellers dated 15,000 years ago has been discovered at
Mardan.
The major cities of the
Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), such as
Harappa and
Mohenjo Daro, date back to around 3300 BC, and represent some of the largest human habitations of the ancient world. The IVC was extended from
Balochistan to
Gujarat, with an upward reach to the Punjab from east of River
Jhelum to
Rupar on the upper
Sutlej. The coast settlements extended from
Sutkagan Dor at
Iranian border to
Lothal in Gujarat. There is an Indus site on the
Oxus river at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan (Kenoyer 1998:96), and the Indus site Alamgirpur at the Hindon river is located only 28 km from Delhi (S.P. Gupta 1995:183). To date, over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region of the
Ghaggar-Hakra River and its tributaries. Among the settlements were the major urban centers of
Harappa and
Mohenjo-daro, as well as
Lothal,
Dholavira,
Ganeriwala, and
Rakhigarhi. Only 90 to 96 of the over 800 known Indus Valley sites have been discovered on the Indus and its tributaries. The
Sutlej, now a tributary of the Indus, in Harappan times flowed into the
Ghaggar-Hakra River, in the watershed of which were more Harappan sites than along the Indus (S.P. Gupta 1995: 183).
Settlements of
Gandhara grave culture of the early
Indo-Aryans flourished in Gandhara from 1700 to 600 BCE, when Mohenjo Daro and Harappa had already been abandoned. The name
Indus is a Latinization of
Hindu, in turn the
Iranian variant of
Sindhu, the name of the Indus in the
Rigveda.
Sanskrit sindhu generically means "river, stream", probably from a root
sidh "to go, move";
sindhu is attested 176 times in the Rigveda, 95 times in the plural, more often used in the generic meaning. Already in the Rigveda, notably in the later hymns, the meaning of the word is narrowed to refer to the Indus river in particular, for example in the list of rivers of the
Nadistuti sukta. This resulted in the anomaly of a river with masculine gender: all other
Rigvedic rivers are female, not just grammatically, being imagined as
goddesses and compared to cows and mares yielding milk and butter.
The Indus has formed a natural boundary between the Indian hinterland and its frontier with Afghanistan and
Iran. It has been crossed by the armies of
Alexander the Great - Greek forces retreated along the southern course of the river at the end of the Indian campaign. The Indus plains have also been under the domination of the
Persian empire and the
Kushan empire. The
Muslim armies of
Muhammad bin Qasim,
Mahmud of Ghazni and
Babur also crossed the river to strike into the inner regions of
Gujarat,
Punjab and
Rajputana.
The Indus delta is one of the driest in the
Indian subcontinent, lying just to the west of the
Thar Desert of
Rajasthan. The upper valley of the Indus receives 4-8 inches of rainfall in the winter months owing to northwestern winds. The mountainous region in Kashmir and
Northern Areas Pakistan receives a large amount of precipitation in the form of snow. Annual temperatures fall below freezing in the northern mountainous regions in the winter, while exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the plains of Punjab and Sindh in the summer.
Jacobabad, which is one of the hottest spots in the world, lies to the west of the river in Sindh.
Accounts of the Indus valley from the times of Alexander's campaign indicate a healthy forest cover in the region, which has now considerably receded. The Mughal Emperor Babar writes of encountering rhinoceroses along its bank in his memoirs (the BaberNameh). Extensive
deforestation and human interference in the ecology of the
Shivalik Hills has led to a marked deterioration in vegetation and growing conditions. The Indus valley regions are arid with poor vegetation. Agriculture is sustained largely due to irrigation works.
The
Blind Indus River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor) is a sub-species of Dolphins found only in the Indus River. It formerly also occurred in the tributaries of the Indus river.
Palla fish (
Hilsa ilisha) of the river is a delicacy for people living along the river. The population of fishes in the river is moderate, with Sukkur, Thatta and Kotri being the major fishing centres - all in the lower Sindh course. But damming and irrigation has made fish farming an important economic activity. Located southeast of
Karachi, the large delta has been recognised by conservationists as one of the world's most important ecological regions. Here the river distributes into many marshes, streams and creeks and meets the sea at shallow levels. Here marine fishes are found in abundance, including
pomfret and
prawns.
The Indus is the most important supplier of water resources to the
Punjab and
Sindh plains - it forms the backbone of agriculture and food production in Pakistan. The river is especially critical as rainfall is meagre in the lower Indus valley. Irrigation canals were first built by the peoples of the Indus valley civilization, and later by the engineers of the
Kushan empire and the
Mughal empire. Modern irrigation was introduced by the
British East India Company in 1850 - the construction of modern canals accompanied with the restoration of old canals. The British supervised the construction of one of the most complex irrigation networks in the world. The
Guddu Barrage is 4,450 feet long - irrigating
Sukkur, Jacobabad,
Larkana and
Kalat. The
Sukkur Barrage serves over five million acres (20,000 km²).
After partition, the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority undertook the construction of the Chashma-Jhelum link canal - linking the waters of the Indus and Jhelum rivers - extending water supplies to the regions of
Bahawalpur and
Multan. Pakistan also constructed the
Tarbela Dam near Rawalpindi - standing 9,000 feet long and 470 feet high, with a 50 mile-long reservoir. The
Kotri Barrage near
Hyderabad is 3,000 feet long and provides additional supplies for Karachi. The
Taunsa Barrage near
Dera Ghazi Khan produces 100,000 kilowatts of electricity. The extensive linking of tributaries with the Indus has helped spread water resources to the valley of
Peshawar, the
Northwest Frontier Province. The extensive irrigation and dam projects provide the basis for Pakistan's large production of crops such as
cotton,
sugarcane and
wheat. The dams also generate electricity for heavy industries and urban centres.
|
The Indus River near Skardu, Pakistan |
The inhabitants of the regions through whom the Indus river passes and forms a major natural feature and resource are diverse in ethnicity, religion, national and linguistic backgrounds. On the northern course of the river in Kashmir live the
Buddhist people of
Ladakh, of Tibetan stock, with Kashmiris who practise both
Islam and Hinduism. As it descends into
Northern Areas of
Pakistan, the Indus river forms a distinctive boundary of ethnicity and cultures - upon the western banks the population is largely
Pashtun,
Balochi, and of other
Afghan stock, with close cultural, economic and ethnic ties to
Iran and Afghanistan. The eastern banks are largely populated with peoples of the
Punjabi stock, with smaller populations of
Sindhis and people from regions in modern India. In northern Punjab and the NWFP,
Pathan peoples and ethnic
Pashtun tribes live alongside
Punjabi peoples. In the southern portion of the Punjab province, the
Serakai peoples speak a distinctive tongue and practise distinctive traditions. In the province of Sindh, peoples of
Sindhi,
Gujarati,
Punjabi and
Urdu-speaking
Mohajir backgrounds form the local populations. Upon the western banks of the river live the
Balochi and
Pashtun peoples of
Balochistan.
Due to its location and vast water resources, Indus is a strategically vital resource for Pakistan's economy and society. The river is also sacred for
Hindus in both India and Pakistan, and India's control of the river in its Kashmir course has created conflict for the use of the river's resources between the two nations.
Indus Waters treaty
After the
partition of India in 1947, the use of the waters of the Indus and its five eastern tributaries became a major dispute between India and Pakistan. The irrigation canals of the Sutlej valley and the Bari Doab were split - with the canals lying primarily in Pakistan and the headwork dams in India - disrupting supply in some parts of Pakistan. The concern over India building large dams over various Punjab rivers that could undercut the supply flowing to Pakistan, as well as the possibility that India could divert rivers in the time of war, caused political consternation in Pakistan. Holding diplomatic talks brokered by the World Bank, India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960. The treaty gave India the control of the three easternmost rivers of the Punjab,
Sutlej,
Beas and the
Ravi, while Pakistan gained control of the three western rivers,
Jhelum,
Chenab and the Indus. India retained the right to use of the western rivers for non irrigation projects. (See discussion regarding a recent dispute about a hydroelectric project on the Chenab (not Indus) known as the Baghlighar project).
Pilgrimage
Hindu pilgrimage to holy sites alongside the river has been a source of conflict between the nations. Pakistan does not generally allow Indian citizens to visit the country for religious purposes, and Hindu worship of holy sites on the banks of the river has provoked the consternation of Muslim extremists. However, owing to the volatile nature of bilateral relations, most pilgrimage and religious ceremonies are performed by Hindus in Kashmir.
Conservation
There are concerns that extensive deforestation, industrial pollution and
global warming are affecting the vegetation and wildlife of the Indus delta, while affecting agricultural production as well. There are also concerns that the Indus river may be shifting its course westwards - although the progression spans centuries. On numerous occasions, Water-clogging owing to poor maintenance of canals has affected agricultural production and vegetation. In addition, extreme heat has caused water to evaporate leaving salt deposits that render lands useless for cultivation.
*World Atlas, Millennium Edition, pg 265.
*Jean Fairley, "The Lion River", Karachi, 1978
*
National symbols of Pakistan*
Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law See
Indus River. Peace Palace Libray
*
Northern Areas Development Gateway*
The Mountain Areas Conservancy Project*
Indus River watershed map (World Resources Institute)*
Indus Treaty*
Baglihar Dam issue*
Indus*
Indus Wildlife
