Punjab’s five rivers once carried dolphins through their streams. Records from the 1800s suggest that the Indus River Dolphin inhabited the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers - the waterways that connected the Himalayan foothills to the Arabian Sea.
During the 1900s, the habitat of those waterways changed drastically, the British Raj introduced new irrigation works, barrages, and canals which carried water away, and eventually the dolphins disappeared from stretched they used to inhabit.
The history of the dolphins follows the transformation of the rivers themselves: how water was redirected, how populations became separated, and how an animal native to Punjab became unfamiliar to many of its people.
However, this is a history with living survivors.
In the Beas, a small population remains.
An Animal of The River
The Indus River dolphin is a freshwater species that is native to the Indus River system. Its range extends south beyond Punjab into Sindh.
Although it is similar to the Ganges river dolphin, it is a distinct species.
Unlike ocean dolphins, it is an effectively blind animal and navigates the river waters through echolocation - using sounds and echos to identify its surroundings and prey. It also lives alone or in small groups, whereas ocean dolphins are social and live in large pods. Its food includes fish and freshwater prawns. It breathes air, returning to the surface between dives.
The Division of The Waterways
From the late 1800s, irrigation infrastructure increasingly separated the rivers into distinct sections. Barrages - gated structures built across rivers to regulate and divert water, created obstacles to dolphin movement while supplying canals.
The construction of Panjnad barrage in the early 1930s was particularly significant because it separated dolphins in the Punjab tributaries from those in the Indus main river. By 1940, barrages had already divided the five tributaries into at least seven sections.
This process began decades before Partition and continued through later water development. The dolphins’ decline therefore unfolded across successive political periods, as the river network became increasingly regulated.
The consequences went beyond physical barriers. Water diverted into canals left less flowing through some river channels, especially during the dry season. Dolphins could become isolated in stretches that no longer provided enough suitable habitat.
What Happened To The Dolphins?
Low river flow during the dry season, made worse by water diversion at irrigation barrages and canals was the main factor explaining why the numbers of the dolphins decreased.
Reduced water flow means less depth and space in the stream of water, it can make pollution or sediments more concentrated and bring dolphins into the same area of the river. This increases chances of being caught by fishermen, and makes it difficult for the dolphins to leave or reconnect with other populations.
The decline of dolphin populations happened unevenly, with populations declining from different sections at different times.
The Survivors in The Beas
In 2007 a surviving population of dolphins in the Beas river were found, but they were classified as endangered, with threats of fishnet entanglement, pollution, altered water flows, and other risks of being a significantly small population of animals.
Life Alongside the Dolphins
For the fishermen and river communities who lived near the banks, a dolphin was a recognisable sight. Fishermen knew of the river dolphin, as it fed on the same fish that they would catch. Dolphins could also get caught in nets, and tangled in/ ruin fishing gear, which often made them an obstacle for fishermen.
They were also occasionally hunted for their oil.
A Folktale Explaining Their Origins
The most popular folk tale explaining the dolphins origins in Punjab is that of a woman who would bring a sage an offering/ meal everyday, until one day she didnt. He struck her with his stick and cursed her, turning her into a blind dolphin. By forgetting her offering she was cursed to become a creature of the river. A related folk tale suggests that when the dolphin comes to surface to breathe, the sound is the woman’s cry.
To the dolphins of Punjab’s rivers, May the waters remember you and the Punjab you once inhabited,
In memory - TrishSaab. 