The Indus Waters Treaty is considered a key example of India–Pakistan cooperation, which had a critical influence on state-making in both countries. Indus Divided reveals the importance of the Indus Basin river system, and thus control over it, for Indian and Pakistani claims to sovereignty after South Asia’s partition in 1947. Based on new research in India, Pakistan, the United States and the United Kingdom, this book places the Indus dispute, for the first time, in the context of decolonization and Cold War–era development politics.
It examines the discord at local, national and international levels, arguing that we can only explain its importance and longevity in light of India and Pakistan’s state-building initiatives after independence.

《印度河流域条约》被认为是印巴合作的一个重要例子，它对两国的国家建立产生了重要影响。印度河分割》揭示了印度河流域河流系统的重要性，以及对它的控制权在1947年南亚分治后对印度和巴基斯坦主权要求的重要性。基于在印度、巴基斯坦、美国和英国的新研究，本书首次将印度河争端置于非殖民化和冷战时期的发展政治背景下。

本书从地方、国家和国际层面考察了这一矛盾，认为我们只能根据印度和巴基斯坦独立后的国家建设举措来解释其重要性和长期性。