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

Uttam Kumar Sinha

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 Prime Ministers Museum and Library (2018-2020); Academic Visitor 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 Trial By Water: Indus Basin and India-Pakistan Relations (Penguin 2025); 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: Energising a Green Future (Pentagon, 2023); 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

Uttam Sinha’s Opinion Piece ‘India’s Calculated Move on the Indus Waters Treaty’ Published in Telangana Today

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Uttam Sinha's opinion piece ‘India's Calculated Move on the Indus Waters Treaty’ has been published in Telangana Today, on 29 April 2025. Abeyance is more about finally asserting country’s legitimate rights to develop our own resources, says Dr Sinha. Read Complete Article [+] Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author are personal and do not in any way reflect the views of MP-IDSA or the Government of India.

Read More

Uttam Sinha’s Piece ‘Indus Versus Them’ Published in Time of India

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Uttam Sinha’s piece ‘Indus Versus Them’ has been published in Time of India on 25 April 2025. Suspension of the water treaty can upend Pak’s agri economy & water security if India can build water storage infra on Chenab & greenlight stalled projects like Tulbul. These’ll take time. The immediate impact is to open up New Delhi’s options & increase uncertainty for Islamabad, says Dr Sinha. Read Complete Article [+]

Read More

Hot Stakes in the Arctic: Global Rivalries and New Geopolitical Forces

The Arctic, so exquisitely remote, seems at times to drift beyond the reach of global politics. In this frigid expanse, the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum standing as a rare bridge, kept its most formidable of rivals—Russia and the US—together, compelling the two to cooperate even as they continued to lock horns elsewhere. It seemed almost too good to be true. The enduring East-West peace once held in the Arctic has come under unaccustomed strain due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, disrupting governance, research and economic activity while challenging decades of practical and operational cooperation across the region’s vast landscapes and seascapes spanning the northern reaches of North America, Europe and Asia.

Read More

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

Read More

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.

Read Complete Article [+]

Read More
  • Visitor No:22611311
  • © Manohar Parrikar Institute For Defence Studies and Analyses
  • XHTML validation2.0 Level Double-A Conformance
    CSS Validator
    Explanation of WCAG 2.0 Level Double-A Conformance