The following excerpt is taken from the chapter “Pakistan’s Aab-i-Hayat — The Indus”

River Indus is the gift of God and Pakistan the gift of the Indus. Its waters are Aab-i-Hayat (life water) for the people and the great irrigation system it sustains in the Indus Plain. It owes its very existence to the alluvium deposited by the Indus and its tributaries over countless millennia. These included the Kabul, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — each a major river in its own right. The latter three have since been given to India.

The vast Indus Plain is the epitome of Pakistan; not territorially or politically but socio-economically. It hosts 95 per cent of the population and almost her entire service infrastructure. It comprises, besides human habitats, industrial and commercial centres, extensive networks of canals, highways, railways and telecommunications. Irrigation consumes 93 per cent of Indus waters. It provides wherewithal for 70 per cent of the population.

The Indus deserved to be recognised and respected as a great benefactor particularly for being the source of water, hydropower and the vast irrigation system — socio-economic backbone of the country.

Indus — The ‘Lion’ of Rivers

In Tibetan the Indus is known as Sengge Chu, ‘Lion River’, Yindu in Chinese and Sindhu ‘Lion of Rivers’ in Indian mythology.

In Pakistan it is called Sindh in Urdu. In NWFP and Sindh it is also known as Abasin and Mehran respectively.

Indus is not only one of the world’s largest rivers but also the second longest after the Nile in Egypt. It begins its long journey from Singikabad spring — the ‘Lion’s mouth’ at an altitude of 18,000 feet north of Kailash Parbat in the Himalayas in Tibet. It is a few kilometers north of Lake Mansarovar — the source of the River Sutlej. According to Hindu mythology:

“The four rivers that separated from this area were described as rising out of certain animals’ mouths, thereby ascribing the qualities to the river.  The Pakshu went westward in the beginning and then came out of a horse’s mouth to the east to be called the Brahmaputra. The Sita went southwards in the beginning and then came out of a lion’s mouth to the north to be called the river Sindhu. The Ganga came out of an elephant’s mouth and the Karnali from a peacock’s mouth.

The waters of the river Brahmaputra are cold and it is said that the one who drinks these waters would become sturdy as a horse. The waters of the Indus are warm and it is said that the one who drinks from it would become heroic like a lion. Does that explain why invaders to India always conquered after stopping to quench their thirst at the Indus?

“Legend has it that those who drink the waters of the Ganges would become as worthy as the elephant: with good memory, sense of gratitude, strong and auspicious. Similarly those who drink the waters of Karnali would become as beautiful as the peacock. It is said these four rivers circle seven times around Kailash Parbat, the divine residence of Lord Shiva, before gurgling down.” From its source the Indus rushes north west amidst the Great Himalaya and Karakoram mountain ranges as if to escape from the shadow of the world’s highest peak — Mount Everest.

Excerpted with permission from Save Water, Save Pakistan (WATER CRISIS) By Bashir A. Malik Ferozsons, Lahore ISBN 978-969-0-02265-3 256pp. Rs750