 "Bangladesh has '2 chicken necks', far more vulnerable, says Himanta Sarma")
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma responded sharply to remarks from the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh’s government Muhammad Yunus, who had recently highlighted the strategic vulnerability of India’s 'Chicken's Neck' corridor. Sarma pointed out that Bangladesh itself has two narrow land corridors that are “far more vulnerable” than India’s Siliguri corridor.
Taking to X, Sarma said, “Bangladesh has two of its own 'chicken necks' and both are far more vulnerable.”
The Assam CM said the first corridor is an 80-kilometre stretch known as the North Bangladesh Corridor, running from Dakshin Dinajpur to South West Garo Hills. “Any disruption here can completely isolate the entire Rangpur division from the rest of Bangladesh,” he said.
The second corridor, according to Sarma, is the 28-kilometre-long Chittagong Corridor, connecting South Tripura to 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, sharing a map of the routes.
“Just like India's Siliguri Corridor, our neighbouring country is also embedded with two narrow corridors of theirs,” Sarma said. “I am only presenting geographical facts that some may tend to forget.”
Muhammad Yunus's controversial remarks
Sarma’s comments come in the wake of remarks made by Muhammad Yunus during a visit to China in late March. Yunus had described India's northeastern region as landlocked and positioned Bangladesh as the "only guardian of the ocean".
“The seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called the seven sisters. They are a landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean,” Yunus said, suggesting that this presented a “massive opportunity” for Bangladesh to become an extension of the Chinese economy.
India’s Siliguri corridor: A strategic lifeline
The Siliguri corridor, often referred to as India's 'Chicken's Neck', is a narrow strip of land ranging from 22 to 35 kilometres in width. It connects the northeastern states to the rest of India and is bordered by Nepal and Bhutan to the north and Bangladesh to the south. All land-based transport to the northeast passes through this corridor, making it a critical strategic artery.
Himanta Sarma calls Yunus’s statement ‘offensive’
In an earlier post on April 1, Sarma had slammed Yunus’s comments as “offensive and strongly condemnable".
“The statement made by Md Younis of Bangladesh, the so-called interim Government referring to the seven sister states of Northeast India as landlocked and positioning Bangladesh as their guardian of ocean access, is offensive and strongly condemnable,” Sarma wrote.
He warned that such rhetoric feeds into the “persistent vulnerability narrative associated with India’s strategic ‘Chicken’s Neck’ corridor.”