Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday cautioned those who frequently threaten India over its strategic Siliguri Corridor—commonly known as the ‘chicken neck’—by highlighting that Bangladesh has two similarly narrow and strategically significant land corridors which are “far more vulnerable.”
In a post on X, Sarma said, “Bangladesh has two of its own ‘chicken necks’ and both are ‘far more vulnerable.’”
He explained, “First is the 80 km North Bangladesh Corridor—from Dakhin Dinajpur to South West Garo Hills. Any disruption here, can completely isolate the entire Rangpur division from rest of Bangladesh.”
“Second is the 28 km Chittagong Corridor, from South Tripura till the Bay of Bengal. This corridor, smaller than India’s chicken neck, is the only link between Bangladesh’s economic capital and political capital,” Sarma added.
He emphasized that Bangladesh, like India, also has narrow geographic chokepoints, stating, ”I am only presenting geographical facts that some may tend to forget.”
India’s Siliguri Corridor, the so-called ‘chicken’s neck’, is a narrow 22–35 km strip that connects the northeastern states to the rest of the country.
Sarma’s comments come in response to recent remarks by Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, who had suggested that the landlocked nature of India’s northeastern states could be an opportunity for China to extend its economic influence in the region.
“The seven states of India… are a landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean,” Yunus had said, describing Bangladesh as the ”only guardian of the ocean” in the region.
Sarma had earlier condemned Yunus’ remarks as ”offensive and strongly condemnable”, and criticized what he described as a ”persistent vulnerability narrative associated with India’s strategic ‘Chicken’s Neck’ corridor.”
(With inputs from PTI)