Himanta Biswa Sarma's Stern Message To Bangladesh: 'Keep Your Eyes Off The Chicken's Neck'
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma warned Bangladesh against targeting India's Siliguri Corridor, citing national security and referencing provocative actions by Islamist group Saltanat-e-Bangla.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday issued a strong message to Bangladesh, warning against any attempt to threaten the Siliguri Corridor — the strategic “Chicken’s Neck” that connects India’s northeastern states to the rest of the country.
"No country should be under the impression that it can take over the Chicken's Neck. The world has seen India's military prowess during Operation Sindoor," Sarma declared, responding to growing concerns over provocative activities by a Dhaka-based Turkish Islamist group, ‘Saltanat-e-Bangla’. The group has recently circulated maps of a proposed ‘Greater Bangladesh’ that includes India’s eastern and northeastern regions.
The Chief Minister's statement comes amid heightened regional tensions, following comments made by Md Yunus during his recent visit to China. Yunus described India's seven northeastern states as a "landlocked region" with no access to the ocean and suggested that China should expand its economic footprint in Bangladesh.
In a direct response, Sarma warned of reciprocal consequences: "They (Bangladesh) have two ‘Chicken Necks’, India has one. If they attack ours, we will attack their two Chicken Necks."
Though Sarma did not explicitly identify the second corridor, he referenced Bangladesh's narrow strip connecting Chittagong Port to the mainland and another suspected corridor south of Rangpur division, near Meghalaya.
Geographically, the Indian Siliguri Corridor — often dubbed the “Chicken’s Neck” — is a narrow, 22-kilometer-wide land strip that connects the northeastern states with mainland India. In contrast, the land distance from Sabrum in southern Tripura to Mirsharai Upazila in Bangladesh, linking to the Chittagong Port, is approximately 40 kilometers. Another corridor, possibly the one Sarma hinted at, connects the Rangpur division in Bangladesh to the rest of the country through a 90-kilometer stretch near Meghalaya and West Bengal.
Sarma further clarified that references to the Chicken’s Neck are often made strategically: "We talk about our ‘Chicken's Neck’ so that we can get tunnels, other schemes from the central govt."
Top Headlines
