Indus river

Also called: Sindhu, Indus · Topic: Drainage System of India: Rivers, Basins and Patterns · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 1 "Geographical Diversity of India"; Class 7, Ch 8 "How the Land Becomes Sacred"; Class 11, Ch 3 "Drainage System"

Meaning

The Indus river (also called the Sindhu) is a Himalayan river. It rises near the Bokhar Chu glacier in the Kailash range of Tibet. It flows north-west through Ladakh and Pakistan, and it ends in the Arabian Sea, east of Karachi. It is 2,880 km long, and 1,114 km of that is in India.

It matters because its basin (all the land that drains into a river and its tributaries) is one of the largest in the world. The basin feeds the canal systems of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Its water is shared with Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, which India put in abeyance in April 2025 [5].

Explanation

Source and upper course: an antecedent river

• Source: near the Bokhar Chu glacier (31°15'N, 81°40'E), at 4,164 m, in the Kailash range of Tibet (China).
• Local name: Singi Khamban, which means "Lion's mouth".
• Direction: it flows north-west through Ladakh and Baltistan.
• The Ladakh range lies to its north.

• The Zaskar range lies to its south.

• Gorge near Gilgit: the river cuts across the Ladakh range and makes a deep gorge near Gilgit.

• Why the gorge formed: the Indus is an antecedent river (a river that is older than the mountains it crosses).
• The river was flowing before the Himalaya rose.
• The mountains rose slowly, and the river kept cutting down through them at the same time.

• The result is a deep, steep-sided gorge.

• Entry into Pakistan: near Chilas, in the Dardistan region.

• In India: it flows only through Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
• Leaving the hills: it comes down from the mountains at Attock in Pakistan.

Tributaries: three groups

• Upper Himalayan tributaries: the Shyok, Gilgit, Zaskar, Hunza, Nubra, Shigar, Gasting and Dras. They come from the Karakoram and the Ladakh–Zaskar ranges.
• Shyok: rises from the Rimo glacier near the Karakoram range. It receives the Nubra and joins the Indus in Baltistan.

• Galwan: a tributary of the Shyok. It flows through the Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh, close to the India–China border (the Line of Actual Control).

• Right-bank (western) tributaries:

• The Kabul river comes from Afghanistan and joins the Indus at Attock.

• The Khurram, Tochi, Gomal, Viboa and Sangar rise in the Sulaiman range.

• Left-bank (eastern) tributary: the Panjnad.

• Panjnad means "five rivers". From west to east they are the Jhelum → Chenab → Ravi → Beas → Satluj. These five rivers give Punjab its name.
• Together they join the Indus a little above Mithankot.
• The Chenab is the largest tributary of the Indus. It forms where the Chandra and Bhaga meet at Tandi, near Keylong in Himachal Pradesh.
• The Beas is the only Panjnad river that lies wholly in India. It meets the Satluj at Harike.

Bank	Main tributaries	Where they come from
Right (west)	Kabul, Khurram, Tochi, Gomal, Viboa, Sangar	Afghanistan; Sulaiman range
Left (east)	Panjnad (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj)	Himalaya (Pir Panjal, Lahul, Kullu, Tibet)
Upper Himalayan	Shyok, Nubra, Gilgit, Hunza, Zaskar, Shigar, Gasting, Dras	Karakoram and Ladakh–Zaskar ranges

Basin size and water use in India

Measure	Total	Share in India
Basin area	11,65,000 sq km	3,21,289 sq km
Length	2,880 km	1,114 km

• Average water resource potential in the Indian part: 73,310 MCM (million cubic metres) [2].
• Usable surface water: 46,000 MCM [2].
• Live storage (the water a dam can store and release for use): 16,222 MCM from completed projects. Projects still being built add 100 MCM, for a total of 16,322 MCM [2].
• How much is already used: about 87% of usable surface water and about 71% of groundwater [2].
• Monitoring: the CWC runs 26 hydrological observation stations in the basin but has 0 flood-forecasting stations there [2].

Indus Waters Treaty, 1960

• What it is: a 1960 agreement between India and Pakistan, made with World Bank help. It decides how the six rivers of the Indus system are shared [4].
• Eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Satluj): India has full use of them.

• Western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab): they go to Pakistan. India is allowed limited non-consumptive use (using water without using it up).

• Run-of-river hydropower is the main non-consumptive use. Flowing water turns the turbines and then goes back into the river. There is no large storage dam.

• Indian run-of-river projects on the western rivers:
• Kishanganga, on the Kishanganga (Neelum), a tributary of the Jhelum.
• Ratle, on the Chenab.

• Pakal Dul, on the Marusudar, a tributary of the Chenab.

• Treaty in abeyance (on hold):

• 22 April 2025: a terror attack at Pahalgam (J&K) killed 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen [5].
• 23 April 2025: the Cabinet Committee on Security decided to hold the IWT in abeyance with immediate effect [5].
• It stays on hold until Pakistan "credibly and irrevocably" stops supporting cross-border terrorism [5].

Where it occurs

• Tibet (China): the source is near the Bokhar Chu glacier in the Kailash range.
• India: the river flows through Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
• Indian part of the basin, by state (CWC):
• Jammu and Kashmir (including Ladakh): 1,93,762 sq km
• Himachal Pradesh: 51,356 sq km
• Punjab: 50,304 sq km
• Rajasthan: 15,814 sq km
• Haryana: 9,939 sq km

• Chandigarh: 114 sq km [2]

• Pakistan: the river passes through Baltistan and the gorge near Gilgit. It enters Pakistan near Chilas (in Dardistan), leaves the hills at Attock where the Kabul joins it, and receives the Panjnad above Mithankot. It reaches the Arabian Sea east of Karachi.

• Afghanistan: the source of the Kabul river, a right-bank tributary.
• Major works on its tributaries in India:
• The Chenab Rail Bridge on the USBRL stands 359 m above the riverbed. It is the world's highest railway arch bridge, and it opened in June 2025 [3].
• The Harike barrage (Beas–Satluj meeting point) feeds the Indira Gandhi Canal, which irrigates the Thar desert.
• The Bhakra Nangal project is on the Satluj.

Don't confuse with

• Satluj: it rises at Rakas Tal near Mansarovar, where it is called Langchen Khambab. The Indus rises near the Bokhar Chu glacier, where it is called Singi Khamban. Both are antecedent rivers.
• Panjnad: this name covers only the five eastern tributaries (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj). The Indus itself is not one of the five.
• Chenab as "largest": the Chenab is the largest tributary of the Indus. It is not the main river.
• Eastern vs western rivers (IWT): India has full use of the Ravi, Beas and Satluj. The Indus, Jhelum and Chenab are western rivers, where India gets only limited non-consumptive use [4].

Prelims Hooks

• The Indus rises near the Bokhar Chu glacier (Kailash range, Tibet) at 4,164 m. Its local name there is Singi Khamban.
• Length is 2,880 km in total and 1,114 km in India. In India it flows only through Ladakh and J&K.
• The Kabul joins on the right bank at Attock. The Panjnad joins on the left bank above Mithankot.
• Shyok rises from the Rimo glacier. Its tributaries are the Nubra and the Galwan.
• Largest state share of the Indian Indus basin: J&K (1,93,762 sq km), then Himachal Pradesh [2].
• Trap: Kishanganga, Ratle and Pakal Dul are on the western rivers, not the eastern ones [4].

Mains Points

• Antecedent drainage and gorges (GS-I): the Indus is older than the Himalaya.
• As the ranges rose, the river kept cutting down. This made the deep gorge near Gilgit.

• Gorges like this are good sites for hydropower, but the slopes are steep and landslides are common.

• Water stress (GS-III): about 87% of usable surface water and about 71% of groundwater in the Indian Indus basin are already used [2].

• This makes the Punjab–Haryana–Rajasthan canal systems (Bhakra Nangal, Indira Gandhi Canal) very important.

• The 2025 Punjab floods on the Satluj, Beas and Ravi showed another weakness: the basin has no CWC flood-forecasting station [2]. Better forecasting and rules for releasing dam water are needed.

• IWT and strategic water use (GS-II/III): with the treaty in abeyance since April 2025 [5], India can move faster on its run-of-river projects on the western rivers.

• Problems remain: high cost, fragile Himalayan geology and very little storage.

Related concepts

• Shyok river
• Panjnad
• Jhelum river
• Chenab river
• Ravi river
• Beas river
• Satluj river

Read more

• The Indus system