Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
मनोहर पर्रिकर रक्षा अध्ययन एवं विश्लेषण संस्थान

Uttam Kumar Sinha

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Uttam Kumar Sinha is a leading scholar and commentator on transboundary rivers, climate change and the Arctic. He was Co-Chair of the Think-20 Task Force on ‘Accelerating SDGs: Exploring New Pathways to the 2030 Agenda’ during India’s G20 Presidency.

After a brief stint in the print media and a doctoral degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, he joined the MP-IDSA in 2001, where he coordinates the Non-Traditional Security Centre and is the Managing Editor of Strategic Analysis published by Routledge, the institute’s flagship journal.

He is a recipient of many fellowships and leadership programmes including senior fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (2018-2020); US-South Asia Leader Engagement Programme at the Harvard Kennedy School (2015); Chevening ‘Gurukul’ leadership at the London School of Economics and Political Science (2008) and a visiting fellow at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (2006).

His recently published work is BBIN Sub-Region: Perspectives on Climate-water-Energy Nexus (Pentagon Press, 2023), Indus Basin Interrupted: A History of Territory and Politics from Alexander to Nehru (Penguin, 2021). His other works include the Riverine Neighbourhood: Hydro-politics in South Asia (Pentagon Press, 2016) and Climate Change Narratives: Reading the Arctic (2014). His edited and co-edited volumes include Modi: Shaping a Global Order in Flux (Wisdom Tree, 2023); MODI 2.0: A Resolve To Secure India (Pentagon Press, 2021); The Modi Doctrine: New Paradigms in India’s Foreign Policy (Wisdom Tree, 2016); Non-Traditional Security Challenges in Asia: Approaches and Responses (Routledge, 2015); Arctic: Commerce, Governance and Policy (Routledge, 2015) and Emerging Strategic Trends in Asia (Pentagon Press, 2015).

Senior Fellow

Publication

Indus Basin Uninterrupted: A History of Territory and Politics from Alexander to Nehru

  • Publisher: Penguin Random House India
The Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan marks six decades, but carries the reflection of several thousand years of history. Indus Basin Uninterrupted, with an easy narration and rich archival material, brings alive a meandering journey of peace, conflict and commerce on the Indus basin. The Indus system of rivers, as a powerful symbol of the passage of time, represents not only the interdependence and interpenetration of land and water, but equally the unfolding of political identities, social churning and economic returns. From Alexander's campaign to Qásim crossing the Indus and laying the foundation of Muslim rule in India; from the foreign invaders and their 'loot and scoot' to the Mughal rulers' perspective on hydrology and water use; from the British 'great game' on the Indus basin to the bitter and bloody Partition; and finally, as a historical pause, the signing of the Indus Waters Treaty—this book is a spectrum of spectacular events, turning points and of personalities and characters and their actions that were full of marvel.
  • ISBN: 9780670094486,
  • Price: ₹ 799.00

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Indus Waters Treaty: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Uttam Kumar Sinha's piece ‘Indus Waters Treaty: Looking Back, Looking Ahead’ has been published in National Strategy on 19 September 2023.

The best option for India is to fulfil the IWT’s provisions, particularly on the western rivers. The Treaty allows storage up to 3.6 MAF and 13.4 lakh acres of irrigation. Many projects now underway will achieve the “permissible capacity”. Any move to abrogate the IWT without first optimising the provisions of the Treaty is hardly pragmatic, says Dr Sinha.

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  • 19 September, 2023 |

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Pakistan Must Course-Correct

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Uttam Kumar Sinha’s article ‘Pakistan Must Course-Correct’ has been published in Open Magazine on 10 February 2023.

For Pakistan, playing to the gallery will no longer be tenable. The outstanding problems are engineering in nature, requiring matching solutions. If Pakistan wants the treaty to continue, it needs to do a course correction, says Dr Sinha.

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  • 10 February, 2023 |

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India in the G-world Order

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Uttam Kumar Sinha’s op-ed ‘India in the G-world order’ has been published in BlitzIndia on 18 November 2022.

The G20 ‘Troika’ of the past, present and forthcoming leadership (Indonesia, India and Brazil) marks not only the rediscovery but the re-energising of the Global South. India’s G20 presidency can potentially become a watershed moment in global governance, says Dr Sinha.

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  • 18 November, 2022 |

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LIFE will help fight climate change

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Uttam Kumar Sinha’s opinion piece ‘LIFE can help fight climate change’ has been published in Nationalist, on 27 October 2022.

LIFE encapsulates state and society, the global and the national, the rich and poor both between and within countries, the market and regulators and all that must be done to ensure climate transition that is fair and equitable. All this will help to generate behavioural adjustments and changes. However, high impact actions require substantive even radical behaviour changes. This brings in the question of population growth which by far has the highest impact on the climate, says Dr Sinha.

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  • 27 October, 2022 |

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Jai Anusandhaan: Prime Minister Modi’s clarion call for innovation and progress

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Uttam Kumar Sinha's article ‘Jai Anusandhaan: Modi's clarion call innovation and progress’ has been published in the July-August 2022 edition of Nationalist Magazine, Syama Prasad Mukherjee Research Foundation.

It is not that India lacked scientific and innovation capacity in the past; what it lacked was the ability to prioritise at the policy planning and implementation levels. While it is always welcome to strike technological collaboration with different countries, it is equally crucial to strengthen national innovation. Adapting, identifying and re-evaluating technology and innovation, and ensuring higher budgetary resources are allocated will help India to remain both resilient and competitive in the changing landscape, says Dr Sinha.

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  • 30 September, 2022 |

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