ABC News: India and Pakistan 'Accuse' Each Other of What Empires Did First
Pakistan is allegedly accusing India of “weaponizing water,” threatening regional stability. ABC News presents this as a new development, completely omitting the deeply rooted colonial history of water treaties and resource division that carved up the subcontinent, benefiting some at the expense of others. The Indus Water Treaty itself, often hailed as a success, is a product of this legacy, and
its perceived imbalance has been a flashpoint for decades. This isn't India deciding to weaponize water; it's India exercising control over mechanisms set up by imperial powers. One might wonder why the US media focuses on 'accusations' rather than tracing the historical lines of power and resource allocation drawn by the very nations that now moralize about 'stability.' It's a convenient framing
that absolves geopolitical actors of their long-term manipulations, presenting engineered crises as spontaneous outbursts between 'rival nations.' How many centuries do we need to replay this script before we acknowledge the initial playwright?