Claim
In November 1960 in the Lok Sabha, then Prime Minister Nehru responded to questions about the 80-20 water split by saying members were showing a narrow mindset and that India was giving the water to establish peace.
“लोकसभा के अंदर तत्कालीन प्रधानमंत्री पंडित नेहरू ने कहा क्या हमारे हर कदम पर आकर पार्लियामेंट में पूछना पड़ेगा? आप लोग इस तरह के सवाल उठाकर संकीर्ण मानसिकता को दिखा रहे हैं... शांति स्थापित करने के लिए हम पानी दे रहे हैं।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
The claim's substance is verified: in the Lok Sabha debate of 30 November 1960 on the Indus Waters Treaty (which allocated roughly 80% of the waters to Pakistan), Nehru responded to critics — including Congress MPs — by calling their approach 'exceedingly narrow-minded,' questioned the practicality of referring such agreements to Parliament, and said India had 'purchased peace' through the settlement. The anchor's Hindi rendering is a paraphrase rather than a verbatim quotation of Nehru's English remarks, but each element (dismissal of parliamentary questioning, the narrow-mindedness charge, and giving water/money for peace) corresponds to Nehru's recorded statements.
Evidence
- https://theprint.in/feature/around-town/nehru-worried-about-indus-waters-treaty-he-signed-it-to-buy-peace-with-pakistan/2636426/ Confirms Nehru told the Lok Sabha on 30 November 1960: 'We purchased a settlement, if you like; we purchased peace to that extent — and it is good for both countries,' defending the Indus Waters Treaty against critics. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.opindia.com/2025/08/jawaharlal-nehru-indus-water-treaty-pakistan-1960-parliament-approval/ Quotes Nehru in the same debate saying 'I do not think it is possible for any kind of these complicated agreements to be dealt with, when we have to refer to Parliament,' and describing MPs' criticism as showing 'an exceedingly narrow-minded approach' and 'a complete absence of any perspective.' ✓ reachable · archived
- https://kashmirvision.in/2025/05/16/indus-water-treaty-a-lopsided-agreement/ Describes the 30 November 1960 Lok Sabha debate in which Congress MPs criticized the treaty and Nehru described the critics as 'narrow-minded,' defending the agreement as the product of long negotiation mediated by the World Bank. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Waters_Treaty Confirms the roughly 80-20 water allocation: Pakistan received the three western rivers (~135 MAF, ~80% of flow) and India the three eastern rivers (~33 MAF, ~20%). ✓ reachable · archived