The ‘Siliguri Corridor’ or the proverbial ‘chicken’s neck’ is a strategic chokepoint and features prominently in India’s national security calculus. In geographic terms, the Corridor connects the State of West Bengal with the northeastern states i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura also referred to as the ‘Seven Sisters’. It is nearly 170 kilometers long and 60 kilometers wide, and is barely 20 to 22 kilometers at the narrowest section. The Indian Army considers it the ‘Achilles heel’ and has announced plans to reinforce defences to preclude any forays from the north from Nepal, Bhutan and China through the strategic Chumbi Valley in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), and by Bangladesh, which straddles along the Corridor in the south.

Domestic political developments had forced Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down, flee to India and seek refuge. Among other issues, Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, during his visit to China (first visit overseas), called out India’s northeastern states as landlocked and without “access to the ocean. We [Bangladesh] are the only guardians of the ocean in this region. This opens up huge possibilities,” Further, Yunus offered that his country can be an “extension of the Chinese economy—building, producing, and marketing goods for China and the world,”; New Delhi “demanded a retraction” of Yunus’s statement on the grounds that he was meddling in India’s internal matters given that Arunachal Pradesh, one of the ‘Seven Sister’ is claimed by China. India’s concerns were further aggravated by anti-India statements made by Hasnat Abdullah, the leader of National Citizen Party (NCP) threatening that India’s northeastern “will be separated from India,”

New Delhi is also provoked by Bangladesh plans to restore the Lalmonirhat air base (just 135 kilometers from the Siliguri Corridor) that has been inactive for decades. The Bangladesh military has clarified that the base would be only for civil aviation purposes and “support national needs, including the Aviation and Aerospace University.” He assured that there was “no information about Chinese involvement” and that “no foreign entity will be allowed to operate it in a way that harms our security or national interest.”

However, the Indian military planners see this development as India’s strategic vulnerability allowing Bangladesh Air Force to maintain continuous watch over Indian Army’s movements and operations, as well as intelligence gathering that could be shared with China. Apparently, Chinese officials and a Pakistani firm may have visited the site and is seen as a major geopolitical flashpoint. This presents complex security challenges for India’s eastern theatre particularly against China which has now upgraded military infrastructure in Chumbi Valley.

Amid above developments, the Indian response is notable. According to reports, three new military garrisons (Bamuni (near Dhubri in Assam), Kishanganj in Bihar, and Chopra in West Bengal) are planned to ensure a “multi-layered security cover” and “enhance our [Indian Army] quick mobility, logistics, and real-time intelligence integration, ” Alluding to the Chicken’s Neck, the Indian Army chief has noted that “it is our strongest region because our entire force deployed in West Bengal, Sikkim and the Northeast can be mobilised there together.”

India is also seen putting pressure on Bangladesh vis a viz the Siliguri Corridor. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chief Minister of Assam, in his May 2025 post on ‘X’ (previously Twitter) has identified ‘two chicken necks’ in Bangladesh; first the “80 km long ‘North Bangladesh Corridor from Dakhin Dinajpur to the South West Garo Hills’, which if cut off would sever the  Rangpur Division from Bangladesh”; and second “28 km Chittagong Corridor, from South Tripura to the waters of the Bay of Bengal. This corridor, smaller than India’s chicken neck…is the only link between Bangladesh’s economic capital and political capital.”

At another level, India is also concerned about the growing military bonhomie between Bangladesh and Pakistan. A number of initiatives at the behest of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, ostensibly to counter India’s hegemony, have added to New Delhi’s suspicions. There are visible signs of reset in military ties between Bangladesh and Pakistan marked by high-level contacts and potential sale of military hardware by the latter particularly the JF-17 Thunder fighter jets (jointly developed with China) and "fast-tracked delivery of Super Mushshak trainer aircraft, along with a complete training and long-term support ecosystem," Similarly, high level naval interactions including a ship visit by Pakistan Navy (PNS SAIF to Chattogram) has taken place.

Bangladesh’s growing military cooperation with Turkey can also potentially add to the complexity of India security predicaments. Their bilateral defence cooperation (ammunition production, technical support to build patrol boat, supply of advanced drones and training defence and security personnel) is noteworthy.

Finally, by all accounts, the anti-India sentiments are at their peak in Bangladesh and New Delhi is carefully watching the diplomatic frictions-tensions and military developments in Bangladesh.

Dr. Vijay Sakhuja is former Director National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi and is associated with Kalinga International Foundation, New Delhi.