2025/05/27 by Amit Ranjan · 1 voice · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Transboundary Water Resource Management #Bangladesh Politics, Society, and Development #South Asian Studies and Conflicts
paper · doi:10.1080/03068374.2025.2519631
openalex publication_date 2025/05/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/25
The Ganga/Ganges Waters Treaty (GWT) expires at the end of 2026, but its renewal is being held hostage to the outcome of a ‘two-level game’ in Indian politics. At the international level, political changes in Bangladesh have damaged the decades-old ties between New Delhi and Dhaka. Following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster from power in 2024, India is having trouble engaging with the new government while Bangladesh has been improving ties with China and Pakistan. At the same time, domestic politics in the state of West Bengal and relations between its Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, and the Union government in New Delhi are holding up several agreements over water sharing with Bangladesh. The nature of any renewed GWT will therefore depend upon New Delhi’s ability to negotiate both its triangular relationship with Bangladesh and China and the power balance between central government and West Bengal.