RAS question
The Indus Waters Treaty (1960) was signed between India and Pakistan with the mediation of which organization?
Correct answer: (B) World Bank.
The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 between India and Pakistan was negotiated with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory to the treaty.
Explanation
The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 after negotiations between India and Pakistan held with the help of the World Bank. Its core geography is the allocation of the Indus river system: Pakistan received the Western Rivers, namely the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, while India received the Eastern Rivers, namely the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The treaty still allows each country certain uses on rivers allocated to the other. For RAS preparation, the World Bank was not merely a loose observer in the original arrangement; it helped the negotiations and is also a signatory. The mediation organisation associated with the treaty is the World Bank.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Asian Development Bank did not help negotiate the Indus Waters Treaty; the World Bank helped the India-Pakistan negotiations.
- (C) The United Nations was not the mediator of the Indus Waters Treaty.
- (D) The International Court of Justice is a judicial body, while the treaty mechanism involved World Bank-assisted negotiations and later treaty procedures, not ICJ mediation.
Concept
Interstate river-water agreements in Indian geography involve the division and governance of river systems across political boundaries. The Indus system links physical geography with India-Pakistan relations and water-resource management, so it recurs in RAS preparation.