In the deep folds of South Asian geopolitics lies a fragile corridor, a lifeline for the Indian Union – the Siliguri Corridor, infamously termed the “Chicken’s Neck”. This slender, vulnerable strip of land—barely 22 km wide—connects mainland India to its seven northeastern states. It is not just geography that converges here, but also the overlapping anxieties of power, sovereignty, and subversion. As regional tensions simmer and political agitation in Bangladesh deepens, the strategic anxieties surrounding this corridor have become more than a cartographer’s concern—they have turned into real, volatile tremors across diplomatic tables.

At the core of this tectonic shift is Bangladesh, the land of martyrs and a nation forged in the blood of 1971, now hijacked by a clique of foreign-installed stooges. The illegitimate rise of Dr. Muhammad Yunus—the manipulator ‘Nobel laureate’ turned national usurper—has added kerosene to the already blistering flames of Indo-Bangladesh tension. Propped up by the CIA, ISI, and a web of dreaded domestic collaborators, Yunus's regime is not just unconstitutional; it is dangerous. It is an affront to the soul of Bangladesh and a direct threat to the balance of regional stability.

A Corridor of Vulnerability: India's Chicken’s Neck

To understand the tremors between the two neighbors, one must start with the fragile geostrategic lifeline of India. The Siliguri Corridor, situated in northern West Bengal, is a precarious bottleneck that holds together the Indian Union’s fragile northeast. Surrounded by Bangladesh to the south, Nepal to the west, and Bhutan to the north, the corridor is an exposed artery. It is not just a logistical necessity but a national security imperative for India.

The terrain—dense forests, scattered hills, and bustling trade roads—offers no natural defense. In times of conflict or hostility, a mere 20-kilometer-wide incision could sever India’s access to nearly 45 million people in its northeast. No Indian general, strategist, or diplomat can afford to look at this corridor with indifference.

This very geography explains India’s historic obsession with keeping Dhaka within its orbit. For decades, Bangladesh served as both a friendly buffer and a strategic hedge. But no longer.

From Ally to Adversary? The Rise of Yunus and the Fall of Trust

2024 marked a political catastrophe for the people of Bangladesh. The staged fall of Sheikh Hasina—a leader synonymous with stability, secularism, and progress—and the undemocratic rise of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, has turned the country into a foreign protectorate disguised as a democracy.

Dr. Yunus, long a darling of Western media and intelligence circles, came to power not by ballot but by betrayal, foreign meddling, and elite connivance. The CIA and ISI, bitter bedfellows of regional intrigue, found in Yunus the perfect puppet: a smooth-talking economist with a façade of philanthropy and an eagerness to please Western handlers. His unelected seizure of power, sanctified by rogue elements in the judiciary and media, has shattered the sovereignty of Bangladesh.

This political inversion has not gone unnoticed by New Delhi. For India, Yunus is an unpredictable agent—a man whose ties to Western intelligence and explicit tolerance of Islamist resurgence have unnerved the corridors of power in South Block. New Delhi’s once warm ties with Sheikh Hasina, rooted in counterterrorism cooperation, water-sharing diplomacy, and border management, have now been replaced with mistrust and strategic alertness.

Dhaka’s Turn Toward Danger

Under Yunus, Bangladesh has seen an alarming shift in its foreign policy posture. His administration has embraced anti-Indian rhetoric, rekindled ties with pro-Islamist elements long dormant, and welcomed overtures from China and Pakistan—two of both Bangladesh and India's key rivals. The Pakistani dire ISI’s fingerprints are everywhere, from the reactivation of Islamist madrasa networks to clandestine visits of Pakistani “cultural delegations.” The CIA’s quiet smiles are felt in the sudden infusion of Western NGO funds, reactivating civil society outfits that now parrot American soft-power goals under the guise of democracy.

In response, Indian military planners have dusted off old contingency blueprints. The idea of a potential two-front entanglement—Pakistan in the west and a hostile Bangladesh in the east—was once a nightmare consigned to Cold War theory. Under Yunus, that specter feels dangerously real.

Opening for China

It is no exaggeration to say that if Bangladesh were to fall further into the orbit of India’s adversaries, the Chicken’s Neck becomes a chokehold. In wartime, an adversarial Bangladesh could cut off India’s northeast with little provocation. Even peacetime sabotage—intelligence disruptions, smuggling of insurgent arms, or cross-border terrorist infiltration—could cripple India’s internal security.

More critically, Bangladesh’s newfound hostility offers China a strategic springboard. With its Belt and Road tentacles already probing South Asia, Beijing has long sought access to the Bay of Bengal. A puppet regime in Dhaka could offer port access, intelligence cooperation, or even dual-use infrastructure veiled as development projects. The Siliguri Corridor, in such a scenario, would not just be a vulnerability—it would be a noose.

Moral and Historical Betrayal

But this is not just a story of strategy. It is a story of moral betrayal. The people of Bangladesh, who fought a brutal liberation war in 1971 with Indian blood and arms beside them, have now been betrayed by a Trojan horse wearing a Nobel smile. Dr. Yunus represents not the dream of the martyred children of 1971, but the neocolonial designs of foreign powers who see in Bangladesh not a partner, but a pawn.

For India, the emotional bond with Bangladesh has always exceeded strategic calculus. It is the memory of shared sacrifice, the camaraderie of war, and the echoes of Mujib’s thunderous voice proclaiming freedom of Bangladesh in 1971. That bond is now under siege by a man who, in the name of global prestige and Western applause, has mortgaged the nation’s soul.

Resistance and Realignment

Yet all is not lost. Across Bangladesh, a new resistance is stirring. Students, freedom fighters, farmers, and true patriots are rejecting Yunus’s colonial agenda. Protests swell in Dhaka, in Chittagong, elsewhere across the country and in the silent hearts of those who remember the promises of 1971. The people of Bangladesh will not be ruled by whispers from Langley or backroom deals in Rawalpindi. They will rise, as they did before, for liberty, for sovereignty, and for dignity.

For India, the message is clear: engagement must be coupled with vigilance. The time for romantic idealism about eternal Bengali bonds is over. India must fortify the Chicken’s Neck, both militarily and diplomatically. It must build coalitions with democratic forces inside Bangladesh while remaining clear-eyed about the threats posed by foreign subversion.

India must also invest in alternative corridors—via Myanmar or through enhanced digital and aerial infrastructure—to ensure the northeast is never again held hostage by a single strip of land.

Between Fragility and Fire

The Siliguri Corridor may appear as a narrow landmass, but in its frailty lies the future of a region. Bangladesh, under the unlawful occupation of a foreign-sponsored puppet, teeters on the edge of becoming a platform for regional destabilization. But the story is not yet written in stone.

The people of Bangladesh must reclaim their republic. And India must prepare for all eventualities—diplomatic, military, and moral. The Chicken’s Neck cannot become a noose. And Bangladesh must never be allowed to become a backyard colony for those who neither bled for her freedom nor believe in her future.

(The author, based in Dhaka, was a freedom fighter to establish Bangladesh in 1971, and has served in leadership roles in major private sector enterprises     . Views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at khan815@gmail.com