A dramatic title aimed at western influenced security scholars, 'Is China aiming to weaponize water'- in an English daily based in Geneva on 31st January, has once again triggered apprehensions in India of unilateral water diversion in the Brahmaputra River by China.
While water war syndrome is being contested in the international security discourse, the real water conflict remains an active flashpoint within the national boundary. On November 6, 2007, some 30,000 farmers stormed Hirakud reservoir on the Mahanadi River in Sambalpur, Orissa. The reason is that water from reservoirs originally meant for irrigation is increasingly being given to industries. The mass agitation was faced with police high-handedness, injuring many. The November agitation has state-wise political ramifications.