Siliguri Corridor on High Alert: How India Is Fortifying Its Most Vulnerable Lifeline in a Shifting Asian Power Order
Siliguri Corridor in the Crosshairs: How India Is Fortifying Its Most Vulnerable Lifeline Amid a Shifting Asian Power Order
By News24Media, Defence & Geopolitics Correspondent
The Lifeline Under Pressure
Just outside the bustling city of Siliguri, where the plains of Bengal squeeze into a sliver of land framed by Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and China, lies one of the most consequential pieces of geography in South Asia. The Siliguri Corridor, often called the “Chicken’s Neck,” measures barely 22 km at its narrowest point—a fragile bridge connecting mainland India to the entire Northeast, including the sensitive tri-junctions near Tibet and Myanmar.
For decades, Indian planners have feared that a determined adversary—whether through military thrust, sabotage, or stand-off missiles—could snap this thin connector and isolate over 45 million Indian citizens east of it. Now, as the post-Hasina political transition in Bangladesh fuels anxieties in New Delhi and Chinese activity inches closer to India’s eastern flank, the Siliguri Corridor is back at the centre of India’s national security imagination.
Nut-Graf: A Chokepoint Reborn in a New Geopolitical Age
Indian military assessments, reviewed by defence analysts in 2024–25, indicate a decisive shift from reactive defence to proactive, layered dominance in and around the Siliguri Corridor. New forward garrisons across Assam, Bihar, and North Bengal, upgraded airbases, reinforced integrated commands, and heightened multi-agency monitoring signal a strategic redesign of the eastern theatre.
At the same time, Indian officials say that Bangladesh’s internal upheaval—and the interim leadership’s perceived tilt towards China and Pakistan—has fundamentally altered New Delhi’s threat calculus. In the emerging scenario, India sees not just the risk to its own “neck,” but also the strategic vulnerabilities of Bangladesh’s Rangpur and Chittagong corridors, creating a new paradigm of mirrored risks in the region.
I. The Geography of Vulnerability
Why the Siliguri Corridor Matters
The 60-km stretch between Islampur and Siliguri is, in strategic terms, India’s Achilles’ heel. It accommodates:
- National Highway 10 and 27,
- Broad-gauge railway links,
- Telecom and fuel pipelines,
- Critical logistics arteries feed the Northeast, Bhutan, and, to a lesser extent, the Indian military posture toward China’s Chumbi Valley.
During the 1962 Sino-Indian War and again during the 2017 Doklam stand-off, the corridor’s fragility triggered alarm across India’s security establishment.
Defence analysts state that in the current era of hypersonic weapons, precision fires, drones, and cyber warfare, the corridor’s vulnerability is no longer just physical but multi-domain.
II. New Indian Fortifications: Three Garrisons and a “Spine of Steel”
A Tri-State Arc of Bases
Between 2023 and late 2025, India quietly operationalised three new garrisons forming a triangular defensive grid around the Siliguri Corridor:
- Lachit Borphukan Station (near Dhubri, Assam)
- Designed to monitor the India–Bangladesh frontier and the Brahmaputra basin.
- Hosts surveillance drones, riverine patrol units, and rapid-response infantry.
- Kishanganj Garrison (Bihar)
- Strategically located to counter infiltration routes emerging from North Bangladesh and Nepal.
- Houses mobile artillery, special forces detachments, and air-defence elements.
- Chopra Forward Base (North Bengal)
- Closest to the Siliguri Corridor bottleneck.
- Provides overlapping ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) coverage and serves as a logistics hub for 33 Corps.
Senior officers describe these bases as providing “mutually reinforcing fields of surveillance and fire”—effectively blanketing the region with multi-layered coverage.
Tri-Shakti Corps: India’s Eastern Spearhead
The 33 Corps, headquartered at Sukna, is the backbone of India’s eastern posture. By 2025, it had integrated:
- Rafale fighters from Hasimara,
- BrahMos Block-III cruise missiles with mountain-strike capability,
- S-400 batteries for long-range air defence,
- Akash and MRSAM units for medium-range protection,
- Enhanced special forces presence across the Tawang–Sikkim–North Bengal arc.
Exercises and Wargames: Teesta Prahar & Beyond
The Corps conducted Exercise Teesta Prahar (2023–24, 2025) simulating integrated air–ground combat across the Siliguri Corridor plains and Sikkim heights. Other tri-service drills tested:
- Rapid mobilisation during airspace denial,
- Drone-swarm neutralisation,
- Precision fires for corridor protection,
- Inter-state logistics under contested conditions.
Analysts say India’s approach has shifted from “holding operations” to a forward-leaning posture of dominance, ensuring adversaries cannot threaten the corridor without immediate escalation costs.
Reviving Airbases in the Northeast
Several reports in Indian and foreign media indicate renewed interest in reviving dormant airstrips in:
- Tripura,
- Arunachal Pradesh,
- Parts of Meghalaya.
These airfields are considered “redundancy nodes” to support the Siliguri corridor defence if Hasimara or Bagdogra come under attack.
III. Bangladesh’s Own ‘Chicken Necks’: Rangpur and Chittagong
The Rangpur Corridor
Indian strategists point out that Bangladesh has a narrow corridor of its own near Rangpur, with a narrowest width of approximately 80–90 km between:
- India’s Meghalaya (South West Garo Hills) and
- West Bengal (South Dinajpur).
Indian politicians—including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma—have highlighted this vulnerability, noting that any instability or hostile alignment in Rangpur would directly affect Dhaka’s northwestern connectivity.
The Chittagong Corridor
- Home to Bangladesh’s largest port and a major industrial chain.
- A vulnerable axis where a concentrated blockade or precision strike could isolate large parts of Southeast Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi analysts privately acknowledge that Chittagong’s exposure is “far greater” than Siliguri corridor, given how dependent the nation’s economy is on its maritime outlets.
IV. A New Geopolitical Triangle Near Siliguri: China, Pakistan & Post-Hasina Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s Political Shift
After the end of the Hasina era in 2024, the interim regime in Dhaka—seen by Indian officials as more accommodating to Beijing and Islamabad—has unsettled New Delhi.
Key developments worrying India:
- Increased Chinese outreach to northern Bangladesh, including reported interest in Lalmonirhat airstrip.
- Bangladesh is acquiring Chinese drones and exploring JF-17 platform compatibility in joint studies.
- Pakistan Army and ISI delegations are visiting sensitive districts like Rangpur and Dinajpur, according to regional media coverage and diplomatic sources.
Indian analysts say these movements suggest an emerging “triangular pressure formation” aimed at India’s eastern flank.
V. India’s Response: Preparing for “New Challenges from the Enemy”
Integrated Army–Air Force–Navy Planning
India is now treating the Siliguri Corridor as part of a wider Eastern Integrated Theatre, focused on:
- Cube-based ISR grids with drones, aerostats, and satellites,
- Long-range precision fires,
- Networked air defence,
- Rapid logistics via the Brahmaputra corridor and the upgraded North Bengal–Assam railway spine,
- Maritime support from the Eastern Naval Command in case of multi-front escalation.
High-Level Security Meetings and Internal Measures
Since 2024, multiple senior-level meetings in Siliguri have included:
- Army Eastern Command,
- BSF Frontier HQ,
- Intelligence Bureau,
- State police,
- Railway Protection Force.
Issues discussed include:
- Hybrid threat mitigation,
- Anti-sabotage patrols along rail lines,
- Voter-roll clean-up in border districts to counter infiltration networks,
- Pre-emptive identification of critical civilian bottlenecks,
- Expanded anti-drone units along the Bangladesh frontier.
Scenarios Indian Wargamers Are Preparing For
- A Two- or Three-Front Conflict
China in the north, Pakistan in the west, Bangladesh acting unpredictably, or exploited by external actors. - Hybrid Warfare Targeting the Corridor
Sabotage of rail lines, cyber disruptions, drone strikes, or precision missile attacks that shut down the Siliguri Corridor without a traditional invasion. - Temporary or Permanent Disruption of Land Connectivity
In such a scenario, India relies on:- Maritime supply chains to Northeast ports,
- Airbridges via Tripura and Assam,
- Riverine supply via Brahmaputra,
- Transit agreements with Bangladesh (currently uncertain).
VI. Competing Narratives: From ‘Chicken Neck’ to ‘Chicken with Two Necks’
Indian political rhetoric in 2024–25 has started to stress that Bangladesh’s vulnerabilities outweigh India’s, with two critical chokepoints—Rangpur and Chittagong—both exposed to external pressure.
This counter-narrative serves two purposes:
- Deterrence: signalling that any attempt to exploit the Siliguri Corridor could invite reciprocal pressure on Bangladesh.
- Strategic messaging: reminding adversaries that the geography of escalation is not one-sided.
Analysts describe this as India’s shift from “defensive anxiety” to “deterrent symmetry.”
VII. Voices from the Ground: Life Under the Shadow of Militarisation
Residents in North Bengal and Assam say the landscape has changed noticeably:
- More checkpoints,
- Increased drone activity over fields,
- Frequent troop movements,
- Early-morning artillery drills are audible across villages.
Traders in Jaigaon and Changrabandha report fluctuating cross-border commerce due to enhanced scrutiny. While some residents say the heightened military presence gives them “a sense of protection,” others express concern about living in what they call “the first target zone” if a conflict escalates.
Defence analysts caution that despite improvements, the corridor cannot be deemed “impregnable.” A miscalculation by any party—especially in a high-pressure environment involving three nuclear-armed neighbours—could endanger millions across the Northeast and North Bengal.
VIII. A Chokepoint in a Shifting World Order
The Siliguri Corridor’s renewed prominence is emblematic of a broader strategic transformation in South Asia. As China deepens its footprint in the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal, Pakistan recalibrates its outreach, and Bangladesh undergoes internal upheaval, India is transitioning from a reactive power to an assertive regional balancer.
Geography Still Matters—But So Do Alliances
In an age dominated by drones, satellites, and long-range missiles, some argue that chokepoints like Siliguri matter less. But as recent developments show, geography remains destiny—especially when adversaries are probing for weaknesses.
India’s message is clear:
The Chicken’s Neck is no longer a soft spot—it is the centrepiece of a hardened, multi-domain defensive architecture.
Yet in a region where narratives shift quickly, and alignments are fluid, the story of these corridors—Siliguri, Rangpur, and Chittagong—will continue to shape South Asia’s evolving security order.
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