Bangladesh’s two ‘chicken necks’ far more vulnerable: Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday (May 25) attacked Bangladesh again, saying “those who habitually threaten India on the Chicken Neck’s corridor” should remember that Bangladesh itself has “two chicken necks that are far more vulnerable”.

Sarma’s remarks were made a few weeks after Bangladesh’s interim government’s chief adviser Muhammad Yunus referred to India’s northeast region being landlocked due to the chicken neck, usually known as the Siliguri Corridor.

Yunus had positioned Bangladesh as the “only guardian of the ocean” for this region.

Sarma’s tweet

The Assam chief minister in a post on X on Sunday reminded Bangladesh of its own “vulnerability” due to its two chicken necks.

He wrote, “To those who habitually threaten India on the “Chicken Neck Corridor”, should note these facts as well: Bangladesh has two of its own ‘chicken necks’. Both are far more vulnerable.”

“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.

Also Read: Yunus invites China into Bangladesh, saying 7 Indian states are ‘landlocked’

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 said he was only presenting geographical facts that “some may tend to forget”.

“Just like India’s Siliguri Corridor, our neighbouring country is also embedded with two narrow corridors of theirs,” concluded Sarma.

‘India’s military strength’

Himanta Sarma told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday ((May 21) that if India has one chicken’s neck, Bangladesh has two.

He said if Bangladesh attacks India’s chicken neck, India would attack both of Bangladesh’s chicken necks.

Also Read: ‘Offensive, dangerous’: Indian leaders slam Md Yunus’ 'guardian of ocean’ remark

Sarma reminded the neighbouring country of India’s military strength, referring to Operation Sindoor during which India attacked terror camps and military bases in Pakistan.

“Bangladesh has to be reborn 14 times before attacking India,” said Sarma.

Yunus’s statement in March

Muhammad Yunus in late March this year had claimed that Bangladesh was the “sole guardian of the ocean (the Bay of Bengal) since India’s northeastern states were landlocked.

He had told China, during his trip there, that this opened up a huge possibility, and urged China to build on its economic influence in Bangladesh.

Also Read: Dhaka power struggle: Scores level for Yunus, Waker so far; who’ll blink first?

The Assam chief minister had reacted strongly to this statement of Yunus, and had called it “offensive and strongly condemnable”.

Sarma had said that even internal elements in India had made threats about the northeast states’ vulnerability of being isolated physically from the mainland, and had insisted that it was imperative to develop more robust railway and road networks both underneath and around the Chicken Neck’s corridor in Siliguri.

India’s ‘Chicken Neck’

The Siliguri Corridor is called a chicken’s neck because of its geographical shape. It has Bangladesh on the south and Bhutan and Nepal on the north.

All land transport from India’s mainland to the northeast region by road or rail has to pass through this corridor.

The corridor is only 20 kms wide at its narrowest point.