Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday issued a pointed warning to Bangladesh, asserting that the neighbouring country has “two chicken necks” more vulnerable than India’s Siliguri Corridor, and cautioning against any attempts to threaten India’s sovereignty in the strategically sensitive region.
The statement, which marks an intensification of Sarma’s attacks on Bangladesh’s interim head Muhammad Yunus, comes in the wake of reports about Dhaka’s growing interest in the Siliguri Corridor and alleged Chinese involvement in reviving the Lalmonirhat wartime airbase near India’s vulnerable stretch.
“Bangladesh has two of its own ‘chicken necks’. Both are far more vulnerable. First is the 80 km North Bangladesh Corridor – from Dakshin Dinajpur to South West Garo Hills. Any disruption here can completely isolate the entire Rangpur division from the rest of Bangladesh,” Sarma stated on X.
“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,” he added.
Also read: Delhi alarmed as B'desh, China eye airbase near Siliguri corridor
Sarma drew a direct comparison to India’s 22–35 km-wide Siliguri Corridor – often dubbed the Chicken’s Neck – which connects the Northeastern states to the Indian mainland and is of immense strategic importance.
“We have one Chicken’s Neck. But Bangladesh has two chicken necks. If Bangladesh attacks our Chicken’s Neck, we will attack both the Chicken Necks of Bangladesh... the one in Meghalaya connecting Chittagong port in Bangladesh is even thinner than India's Chicken's Neck and is located just a stone's throw away,” Sarma told reporters during a press briefing.
He further remarked, “Just like India's Siliguri Corridor, our neighbouring country is also embedded with two narrow corridors of theirs.” The BJP leader asserted he was merely “presenting geographical facts that some may tend to forget”.
Sarma’s comments come days after Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel laureate serving as Bangladesh’s interim chief, made reference to India’s “landlocked” Northeast while visiting China, calling Bangladesh the “only guardian of the ocean” for the region. The statement has not gone unnoticed in New Delhi.
The Assam Chief Minister’s reaction signals India’s unease over possible strategic alignments involving China and Bangladesh in close proximity to the Siliguri stretch, with recent intelligence suggesting China’s possible role in helping Bangladesh revive a World War II-era airbase at Lalmonirhat – less than 100 kilometres from the corridor.
“We will not take threats lightly,” Sarma said, reiterating India's military prowess. He cited the example of Operation Sindoor, in which “India destroyed terror camps deep inside Pakistan and pounded 11 of its military bases.”
Issuing a stark warning, the Chief Minister added, “Bangladesh has to be reborn 14 times before attacking India.”
Also read: S-400, Rafale jets fortify India's Siliguri corridor
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