Daijiworld Media Network- Guwahati

Guwahati, May 26: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday hit out at those who, in his words, “habitually threaten” India’s Siliguri corridor — popularly known as the 'Chicken's Neck' — asserting that Bangladesh itself has two similarly narrow and strategically vulnerable corridors.

In a sharp retort to recent remarks by Bangladesh interim leader Muhammad Yunus, Sarma shared a geographical map on social media platform X, pointing out the topographical weaknesses of India’s eastern neighbour. "Those who issue strategic threats about India's Chicken Neck should not forget that Bangladesh has two such necks — and they are far more fragile," the Assam CM stated.

The Siliguri corridor, which connects the northeastern states with the rest of India, has long been considered a sensitive link in India’s strategic infrastructure. At its narrowest, the corridor is just about 20 km wide, flanked by Nepal and Bhutan on one side and Bangladesh on the other.

CM Sarma identified Bangladesh’s first vulnerable stretch as the North Bangladesh Corridor, an 80-kilometre narrow passage between Dakhin Dinajpur and South West Garo Hills. “Any disruption here can completely isolate the entire Rangpur division from the rest of Bangladesh,” he explained.

The second is the Chittagong Corridor, a 28-kilometre strip from South Tripura to the Bay of Bengal. “This is even narrower than India’s Chicken Neck and serves as the only land connection between Bangladesh’s economic hub Chittagong and its political capital Dhaka,” Sarma said.

Sarma clarified that he was not indulging in provocation but was merely presenting “geographical facts that some tend to forget.”

The row stems from Yunus's controversial statement in March during his China visit, where he described Bangladesh as the “guardian of the ocean” for India’s landlocked northeast. He also invited Beijing to explore strategic influence in the region — a remark that sparked widespread outrage in India.

Terming Yunus’s remarks as “offensive and strongly condemnable”, Sarma had earlier accused certain “internal elements” of dangerously suggesting the severance of the Siliguri corridor to isolate the Northeast from mainland India.

“Such provocative statements reflect deeper strategic intentions and historical agendas. We must treat them with utmost seriousness,” he warned.

The BJP leader also underscored the urgent need for India to strengthen its connectivity to the Northeast through alternative routes, including advanced road and railway networks that can circumvent the sensitive Chicken’s Neck. “Engineering challenges are real, but they can be overcome with determination and innovation,” he asserted.

The Chicken’s Neck remains India’s critical lifeline to the Seven Sister states — Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. Any threat to it, experts say, is a threat to the territorial integrity and security of the entire region.

In the current geopolitical climate, Sarma’s statements add to India’s broader push to enhance strategic resilience in the northeastern frontier — a region often overlooked but now increasingly significant in the Indo-Pacific equation.