Siliguri Corridor

Corridor connecting Northeast India to the rest of India

For other uses of "Chicken's Neck", see Chicken's Neck (disambiguation).

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (December 2019)

|

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Siliguri Corridor" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Siliguri Corridor is the strip of Indian territory within the red highlighted circle. AH2 of the Asian Highway goes through the Siliguri Corridor. Dimensions of the corridor. Distances in kilometers.

The Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken's Neck, is a stretch of land around the city of Siliguri in West Bengal, India.[1][2] 20–22 kilometres (12–14 mi) at the narrowest section, this geo-political and geo-economical corridor connects the seven states of northeast India to the rest of India.[1] The countries of Nepal and Bangladesh lie on each side of the corridor and the Kingdom of Bhutan lies at the northern end of the corridor. The Kingdom of Sikkim formerly lay on the northern side of the corridor, until its merger with India in 1975.

The city of Siliguri, in the state of West Bengal, is the major city in this area and the central transfer point in eastern South Asia that connects Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sikkim, Darjeeling, and Northeast India to one another.

## History

[edit]

The partition of India led to the formation of the Siliguri Corridor through the creation of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after the partition of Bengal (into East Bengal and West Bengal) in 1947–1948.[3]

The Kingdom of Sikkim formerly lay on the northern side of the corridor, until its union with India in 1975 via a publicly held referendum.[4][5] This gave India a buffer to the north of the Siliguri Corridor and consolidated India's control over the western side of the Chumbi Valley.

## Location and dimensions

[edit]

The dimensions of the corridor are a matter of interpretation.[6] Descriptions give it an area of 170 by 60 km (106 by 37 mi) with the narrowest section being 20–22 km (12–14 mi).[1][2] Kamal Jit Singh places the length at 200 km (120 mi) with a width of 17 to 60 km (11 to 37 mi), giving it an area of approximately 12,200 km2 (4,700 sq mi).[6] Another description places its dimensions as approximately 200 km (120 mi) in length and 20 to 60 km (12 to 37 mi) wide, also giving it an area of approximately 12,200 km2 (4,700 sq mi).[7]

The corridor is located between Bangladesh to the south-west, Nepal on the northwest, and proximate to Bhutan in the north.[8] Between Sikkim and Bhutan lies the Chumbi Valley Tibetan territory.[9] The southern end of the Dolam plateau or Doklam triboundary area slopes into the corridor.[10] At the narrowest stretch, the corridor is generally formed by the Mechi River in the east; Nepal's Bhadrapur lies on the banks of the river.[11] Further north the Mechi Bridge connects Mechinagar.[12][13]

## Current situation

[edit]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2017)

|

### Connectivity and logistics

[edit]

India has embarked on a slew of projects, such as the construction of India-China Border Roads and Advance Landing Ground (ALGs), Northeastern India connectivity and Look-East transnational connectivity projects including BIMSTEC and BBIN to create multiple alternatives to Silliguri corridor, including through Bangladesh and the sea.

All land transportation between the rest of India and its far northeastern states uses this corridor. The route has a major broad gauge railway line. Electrification of this double-track corridor is in progress with assistance from Central Organization for Railway Electrification (CORE). Additionally, the old metre gauge line (recently converted to a 1.676 metres (5 ft 6.0 in) broad-gauge line) connects Siliguri Junction with Islampur in North Dinajpur district of West Bengal, via Bagdogra (the only airport of national interest in the corridor) and the bordering towns of Adhikari, Galgalia, Thakurganj, Naxalbari and Taiabpur with Nepal. National Highway 10 connects Siliguri to Guwahati in Assam.[14]

There is no free-trade agreement between Bangladesh and India. The Tetulia Corridor, an alternative to the Siliguri Corridor, is proposed under Article VIII of the India–Bangladesh Trade Agreement 1980, which states that "The two governments agree to make mutually beneficial arrangements for the use of their waterways, railways and roadways for commerce between the two countries and for passage of goods between two places in one country through the territory of the other".[citation needed] However, the proposal is still in the initial stages of negotiation.

### Security

[edit]

India has a number of forces stationed on the borders, the Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police man the border with China; Sashastra Seema Bal are deployed along the border with Nepal and Bhutan and Border Security Force for Bangladesh.[6] The strip is also patrolled by the Indian Army, the Assam Rifles, and state police forces including the West Bengal Police.[6] The security threat posed by the corridor decreased following the creation of Bangladesh in 1971.[15] Internal threats to the corridor are numerous.[15] Militant groups known to have used the corridor include United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).[7]

The threat of a Chinese advance is still considered by Indian planners.[15] A Chinese military advance of less than 130 km (81 mi) would cut off Bhutan, part of West Bengal and all of North-East India, an area containing almost 50 million people. This situation arose during the war between India and China in 1962.[9] The security threat to this corridor was heightened during the 2017 Doklam incident.[16] The probability of China cutting off seven states in northeast India has been questioned.[17]

## In popular culture

[edit]

Humphrey Hawksley, in his 2000 novel Dragon Fire, briefly authors a situation where China cuts off India's land route to its northeastern territories.[7] Assassin's Mace (2011) by Brigadier Bob Butalia also involves such a situation involving Doklam and Jaldhaka River.[6]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Singh, Mayank (7 November 2021). "Army steps up efforts to safeguard Siliguri Corridor". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
2. ^ a b Singh, Mohinder Pal (9 October 2019). "What if China wrings India's 'Chicken's Neck' – the Siliguri corridor? Here are some countermeasures". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022 - via USI India.
3. ^ Atig Ghosh, The Importance of Being Siliguri (2018), p. 136.
4. ^ "Sikkim Votes On Indian Merger". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. 15 April 1975. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
5. ^ "Sikkim Voters OK Merger With India". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 16 April 1975. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
6. ^ a b c d e Singh, Lt Gen (Retd) KJ (9 July 2017). "India ready, theoretically: 'Threats' to Siliguri Corridor war-gamed". Tribune India. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
7. ^ a b c Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2001). "The Shiliguri Corridor: Question Mark on Security". South Asia Terrorism Portal. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
8. ^ Marcus Franda, "Bangladesh, The First Decades", South Asian Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 1982, p-126
9. ^ a b Partha S. Ghosh, "Cooperation and Conflict in South Asia", UPL, Dhaka, 1989, p-43
10. ^ Myers, Steven Lee; Barry, Ellen; Fisher, Max (26 July 2017). "How India and China Have Come to the Brink Over a Remote Mountain Pass". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
11. ^ Dixit, Kanak Mani (1 August 2002). "Chicken's Neck". Himal Southasian. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
12. ^ "Approval of MoU between India & Nepal for laying down implementation arrangement for construction of new Bridge over Mechi River at Indo-Nepal border". Business Standard India. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
13. ^ Khanal, Radha (26 November 2020). "Asian Highway now connected with Nepal". The Annapurna Express. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
14. ^ Gokhale, Nitin A. (13 July 1998). "Chicken's Neck, All choked up". Outlook. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
15. ^ a b c Joshi, Manoj (10 July 2017). "Chink In The Checker's Board". ORF/ Outlook. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018.
16. ^ Singh, D. K. (11 August 2018). "This is the first official account of the India-China face-off in Doklam". ThePrint. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
17. ^ Asthana, Alok (1 August 2017). "Does It Make Military Sense for India to Mount the Barricades at Doklam?". The Wire. Retrieved 22 January 2022.

Bibliography

* Ghosh, Atig (2018). "The Importance of Being Siliguri. Border-Effect and the 'Untimely' City in North Bengal". In Neilson, Brett; Rossiter, Ned; Samaddar, Ranabir (eds.). Logistical Asia: The Labour of Making a World Region. Palgrave Macmillan, Springer. ISBN 9789811083334. LCCN 2018935185.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Gill, Prabhjote (16 December 2020). "After 55 years, India will inaugurate a new railway line with Bangladesh to save its 'Chicken's Neck' from China". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
* Sarkar, Debasis (3 September 2020). "Siliguri corridor continues to be preferred International antique trafficking route". The Economic Times. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
* Sinha, Avijit (8 November 2016). "Glare on vulnerability of Siliguri corridor". Telegraph India. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
* Study for modal shift of cargo passing through Siliguri Corridor destined for North-East and neighboring countries to IWT (PDF), Ernst & Young (EY). Inland Waterways Authority of India, August 2017
* Sabu, Jithin (November 2020), Field Diary – Siliguri Corridor (PDF), CUTS International (Consumer Unity & Trust Society)
* Bhattacharjee, Rupak (2015), Security Vulnerabilities of India's Siliguri Corridor and their Implications, Society for Policy Studies (SPS)
* Kumar, Brig Narender (January 2019), Internal Security Challenges to India: 2019 (PDF), vol. 163, CLAWS
* Meena, Rakesh Kumar; Bhattacharjee, Dhrubajyoti (2008). "Siliguri in Gorkhaland: A Political Nightmare for West Bengal?". Economic and Political Weekly. 43 (25): 15–16\. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 40277581.15-16&rft.date=2008&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40277581#id-name=JSTOR&rft.issn=0012-9976&rft.aulast=Meena&rft.aufirst=Rakesh+Kumar&rft.au=Bhattacharjee,+Dhrubajyoti&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40277581&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Siliguri+Corridor" class="Z3988">
* Scott, David (23 September 2008). "Sino-Indian Security Predicaments for the Twenty-First Century". Asian Security. 4 (3): 244–270\. doi:10.1080/14799850802306468. ISSN 1479-9855. S2CID 145149544.244-270&rft.date=2008-09-23&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145149544#id-name=S2CID&rft.issn=1479-9855&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080/14799850802306468&rft.aulast=Scott&rft.aufirst=David&rft_id=https://doi.org/10.1080%2F14799850802306468&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Siliguri+Corridor" class="Z3988">
* Middleton, Townsend (15 May 2020). "Connective Insecurities: Chokepoint Pragmatics at India's Chicken Neck". Ethnos. 88 (2): 204–225\. doi:10.1080/00141844.2019.1705369. ISSN 0014-1844. S2CID 219428673.204-225&rft.date=2020-05-15&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:219428673#id-name=S2CID&rft.issn=0014-1844&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080/00141844.2019.1705369&rft.aulast=Middleton&rft.aufirst=Townsend&rft_id=https://doi.org/10.1080/00141844.2019.1705369&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Siliguri+Corridor" class="Z3988">
* Malik, Hasan Yaser (December 2015). "Siliguri: A Geopolitical Manoeuvre Corridor in the Eastern Himalayan Region for China and India". Contemporary Chinese Political Economy and Strategic Relations. 1 (3): 699–720.699-720&rft.date=2015-12&rft.aulast=Malik&rft.aufirst=Hasan+Yaser&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Siliguri+Corridor" class="Z3988">

* v
* t
* e

State of West Bengal

Capital: Kolkata

State symbols|

* Emblem: Emblem of West Bengal
* Anthem: Banglar Mati Banglar Jol
* Animal: Fishing cat
* Bird: White-throated kingfisher
* Flower: Night-flowering jasmine (Shiuli)
* Tree: Devil's tree (Saptaparni)
* Fish: Ilish

History|

* Gauda Kingdom
* Shashanka
* Pala Empire
* Sena dynasty
* Mallabhum kingdom
* Cooch Behar State
* Sher Shah Suri
* Mughal Empire
* Nawabs of Bengal
* East India Company
* Battle of Plassey
* Bengal Presidency
* Great Bengal famine of 1770
* Indian Rebellion of 1857
* Bengal Renaissance
* Bardhaman Raj
* Nadia Raj
* Jhargram Raj
* Sovabazar Raj
* Partition of Bengal (1905)
* Revolutionary movement for Indian independence
* Anushilan Samiti
* Jugantar
* Bengal famine of 1943
* Direct Action Day
* Noakhali riots
* Partition of Bengal (1947)
* Bengali Language Movement (Manbhum)
* Bangladesh Liberation War
* Naxalite–Maoist insurgency

Geography|

* Bengal Basin
* Darjeeling Himalayan hill region
* Terai
* North Bengal plains
* Dooars
* Rarh region
* Sundarbans
* Western plateau and high lands
* Ganges Delta
* Climate
* Sandakphu (Highest point)
* Protected areas of West Bengal
* Rivers of West Bengal
* Ganga
* Damodar River
* Brahmaputra River
* Teesta River
* Hooghly River
* Khoai
* Tiger Hill, Darjeeling
* Siliguri Corridor

Governance|

* Chief Ministers
* Governor
* Legislative Assembly
* Human Rights Commission
* Political parties (All India Trinamool Congress
* Communist Party (Marxist)
* Indian National Congress
* Bharatiya Janata Party)
* Parliamentary constituencies
* Assembly constituencies
* CID West Bengal
* Kolkata Police

Rights groups|

* Matua Mahasangha
* Bangla Pokkho

Divisions and
districts|

| Burdwan division|

* Birbhum
* Hooghly
* Paschim Bardhaman
* Purba Bardhaman

|

Jalpaiguri division|

* Alipurduar
* Cooch Behar
* Darjeeling
* Jalpaiguri
* Kalimpong

Malda division|

* Berhampore (declared)
* Dakshin Dinajpur
* Jangipur (declared)
* Malda
* Murshidabad
* Uttar Dinajpur

Medinipur division|

* Bankura
* Bishnupur (declared)
* Jhargram
* Paschim Medinipur
* Purba Medinipur
* Purulia

Presidency division|

* Basirhat (declared)
* Howrah
* Ichamati (declared)
* Kolkata
* Nadia
* North 24 Parganas
* Ranaghat (declared)
* South 24 Parganas
* Sundarbans (declared)

Cities and
towns|

* Alipore
* Asansol
* Berhampore
* Balurghat
* Bankura
* Barasat
* Bardhaman
* Bishnupur
* Hugli-Chuchura
* Cooch Behar
* Darjeeling
* Durgapur
* Haldia
* Howrah
* Jalpaiguri
* Jaynagar Majilpur
* Jiaganj Azimganj
* Kalimpong
* Kharagpur
* Kolkata
* Krishnanagar
* Kurseong
* Malda
* Midnapore
* Murshidabad
* Purulia
* Raiganj
* Siliguri
* Siuri
* Tamluk
* List of cities in West Bengal by population
* Cities and towns by district

Culture|

* Bengal Renaissance
* Bengali calendars
* Patachitra
* Chalchitra
* Arts of West Bengal
* Baul
* Bhadu
* Gombhira
* Chhau dance
* Cuisine
* Bengali
* Rabindra Sangeet
* Rabindra Nritya Natya
* Holi
* Dol Purnima
* Prostitution in Kolkata
* Pohela Boishakh
* Durga Puja
* Bhai Dooj
* Raksha Bandhan
* Ratha Yatra
* Architecture of Bengal
* Bengal temples
* Bengali language
* Bengali literature
* Feluda
* Lalmohan Ganguly
* Professor Shonku
* Tarini Khuro
* Kakababu
* Kiriti Roy
* Pather Panchali (novel)
* Bengali cinema
* Jatra
* Ghosts in Bengali culture

GI products|

* Baluchari sari
* Banglar Rosogolla
* Banglar Muslin
* Bankura horse
* Bengal Patachitra
* Chhau mask
* Darjeeling tea
* Dhaniakhali Sari
* Dhokra
* Fazli (mango)
* Garad Saree
* Gobindobhog
* Himsagar
* Jaynagarer Moa
* Madurkathi
* Manasa chali
* Mihidana
* Nakshi kantha
* Santiniketan Leather Goods
* Shantipuri sari
* Sitabhog
* Sundarban Honey
* Tangail Saree
* Tulaipanji

Demographics|

* Bengali people
* Bihari people
* Economy of West Bengal
* Gurkha
* Adivasi
* Rajbanshi
* Anglo-Indian people
* Ethnic communities in Kolkata
* List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate
* Discrimination against Bengalis in India

People|

* Rabindranath Tagore
* Satyajit Ray
* Kazi Nazrul Islam
* Anil Kumar Gain
* Ritwik Ghatak
* Subhas Chandra Bose
* Jamini Roy
* Bidhan Chandra Roy
* Jyoti Basu
* Nandalal Bose
* Jagadish Chandra Bose
* Meghnad Saha
* Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
* Sarat Chandra Bose
* Jnanadanandini Devi
* Abanindranath Tagore
* Satyendranath Tagore
* Satyendranath Dutta
* Raja Ram Mohan Roy
* Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
* Rani Rashmoni
* Ramakrishna
* Swami Vivekananda
* Sarada Devi
* Dwarkanath Tagore
* Sukumar Ray
* Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury
* Michael Madhusudan Dutt
* Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
* Sister Nivedita
* Mother Teresa
* Amartya Sen
* Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
* Nihar Ranjan Gupta

Image gallery at Wikimedia Commons

26°35′N 88°15′E﻿ / ﻿26.583°N 88.250°E﻿ / 26.583; 88.250
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template