India, May 6 -- For years, a troubling narrative has echoed through political corridors and public discourse, that Punjab, a state grappling with acute water stress, is unwilling to share its waters with Haryana and is irresponsibly letting Indian river water flow into Pakistan. While politically expedient, this storyline is scientifically flawed and misleading. It obscures the hydrological realities, ecological fragility, and structural constraints shaped by outdated policies and international treaties.

Punjab is confronting an unprecedented water emergency. Once a key pillar of the Green Revolution, the state's agricultural success has come at an ecological cost. According to the Central Ground Water Board's 2022 report, 117 of Punjab'...