---
title: "Sutlej River: Source, Course & Treaty Allocation"
description: "The Sutlej is the easternmost Indus tributary, allocated to India under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. Source, course, dams, and disputes explained for UPSC GS1."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/sutlej-river"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Sutlej is the longest of the five tributaries of the Indus, rising in Tibet near Lake Rakshastal and flowing through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab into Pakistan.
- Why is the Sutlej allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty?
- What makes the Sutlej an example of antecedent drainage?
- What is the Sutlej–Yamuna Link Canal dispute about?
- Does China control the Sutlej's headwaters, and does a treaty govern them?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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In November 2016, India's Ministry of Water Resources announced it would maximise use of the eastern rivers — the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi — within its Indus Waters Treaty entitlement, reviving the long-stalled Sutlej–Yamuna Link Canal as a policy priority.

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