Siliguri
Siliguri Corridor Why does China want to capture Siliguri Corridor? Why is this small area so important for India? How is the Indian Army protecting this place? Friends, Siliguri Corridor is located in West Bengal. It is 60 kilometers long and about 20 kilometers wide and is also known as the Chicken Neck of India. This corridor connects the North Eastern states of India to India and is also an important trade route. Besides, this region also acts as a gateway to South East Asia for India. Many countries are surrounding this region, which includes China as well as Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
And in today’s video, I am going to tell you why China is after capturing this Siliguri Corridor and why this area is so important for India. So let’s start the video. Friends, Siliguri Corridor or Chicken Neck is a narrow piece of land located in West Bengal. This corridor was built by the British for trade. With the help of these narrow routes, India was connected to the North East Frontier Agency. Its western part is between Nepal and Bangladesh. Chumbi Valley of Tibet is at a distance of 130 kilometers in this region and at the top of this valley is found the junction of India, China and Bhutan.
Which is called Doklam region. This corridor extends from Darjeeling Jalpaiguri to the Terai of West Bengal. There are Himalayan mountains on its north. Like Mount Kanchenjunga is situated on the India-Nepal border and two major rivers, Jaladhara and Teesta, originate from this mountain, which pass this corridor and join the Brahmaputra river. Due to this corridor being near the Terai of West Bengal, sandy soil is found here, whose texture is very loose, due to which it is very difficult to build railways and roads here.
There is heavy rainfall in the North East, due to which landslides and earthquakes are often seen here. There is a population of about 5 crores here and mostly Nepali and Bengali immigrants are found here. How important this Siliguri Corridor is for India, you can guess from the fact that if this small area is lost to India, then the seven North Eastern states of India, which we also know as Seven Sisters, will be lost. That too will completely go away from India’s control. If we look at it from the economic point of view, this corridor is a very important trade route between the North Eastern States and the mainland of India.
It is connected to the mainland by only one railway freight line in the North East and it passes through Siliguri. Apart from this, Darjeeling tea and timber further increase the importance of the economy of this place. If seen strategically, Siliguri Corridor works to connect the military station near LAC through railways and roadways. Like NH 58 is a highway that connects Siliguri to Guwahati in Assam and similarly NH 10 connects Siliguri to Gangtok in Sikkim, where the Army is located. NRS New Jalpaiguri Railway Station is located near Bangladesh.
It is connected to Guwahati by railway and from here to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh by roadways and is only 25 kilometers from the LAC. And Army Four Cap is located in Tawang. Quarters to NDRF and quarters to Army. Dimapur is connected to Nagaland and Dibrugarh in Assam and all the goods needed by these military corporations are transported through this corridor. As I told you earlier that this corridor shares border with Nepal, China, Bangladesh and Bhutan and hence all the railways and roadways near the border are connected to Siliguri Corridor, which plays an important role in maintaining the control of the army.
Let’s fulfill. Friends, Siliguri Corridor is located close to Tibet region of China and China has made many road and air strikes here. Through this corridor, India can keep an eye on Chinese activities and in case of war, we can raise our army and revolt here. While India wants to develop this region peacefully, China has made some developments here which raise controversies. The first of which is Doka La Issue. Doka La is the plateau where the borders of India, Bhutan and China meet. In the year 1994, there was a treaty between India and Bhutan in which it was decided that India would help its neighboring country Bhutan in foreign policies and defense matters.
After this, in 2007, another friendly treaty was signed on this matter which made China very angry. Friends, according to Bhutan there is a tri junction present here and because Dokala Pass comes under Sikkim. The Indian Army protects it. But China has not yet accepted this assertion. In 2017, China started road construction on this region and there was a plan to connect the Chinese territory Shandong to Doka La through this road because through this road China could easily send its troops here. Actually, in the name of road, China wants to shift the trijunction point from Doka La, which will make it easier for China to operate. But India strongly opposed it on June 2017 and organized its troops.
And took the situation under control. After this comes Arunachal Pradesh. So friends, China has made its territorial claim in Arunachal using this map. In 2015, China started the Jangmu Dam Project on the Brahmaputra River. The Brahmaputra river originates from Tibet and passes through North East and Brahmaputra is considered the lifeline of the North East region and this dam will have an impact on North East as well as Bangladesh. China’s Weekend Command is located in Chengdu which is very close to Arunachal Pradesh. Recently Likha Town in Tibet has been connected to Nyingchi Town by railway.
Ninth Town is located just 40 kilometers away from Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh and China is trying to destabilize the border region by connecting this railway line to Chengdu. In January 2021, it was revealed from satellite images that China has developed a new village on the India border which has about 101 houses. This village is in Upper Subansiri District which is an Indian territory. Along with this, China has started building infrastructure in many neighboring countries of India under the Belt and Road Initiative. Trans Himalayan Multi Dimensional Connectivity Network was announced between China and Nepal in 2018.
Many projects will be done inside it. Like China Nepal Railway Line will directly connect Kathmandu to Tibet and modern highway will be developed and built on the border in Nepal and also three North South Corridors Koshi, Gandak and Karnali are being built to develop transport infrastructure. After this, China has built a large port in Myanmar with a similar vision and has developed a naval facility on Coco Island near Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Through these, China wants to establish hegemonic assets in the Bay of Bengal and through the Young TV Road Project, China wants to build a route towards the Indian Ocean.
China has threatened the North East border by building corridor relations with Myanmar Army and in 2020, to improve its relations with Bangladesh, China gave duty free access to almost all Bangladeshi products and China restored Teesta River to Bangladesh. Has also offered to invest one billion dollars. But in this river restoration, many important comments or unplanned platforms will also be added, which will have a direct impact on the lower Indian state on the river bank. India has taken many steps to save this region. First of all, India has built two airbases on this corridor, Bagdogra and Hasimara.
These secure the western and eastern corners of the corridor and thus after railways and roadways, air ways will also provide additional security to the Siliguri corridor. In 2019, BRO has built a motorable road to connect Doka La region to a Bhim base and this road will reduce the travel time here from seven hours to 40 minutes. After this, on June 2021, a double line glass 70 modular bridge has been built in Doka La region and through all this, connectivity is being increased in Doka La region. Also, India has taken several steps to increase connectivity with neighboring countries.
The Tree Lateral Highway connects Moreh in Manipur to Thailand via Myanmar. It will be connected to Mai Road and ultimately this highway will be connected to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and will boost the economy of the North East. Japan has also fully helped India to stop Chinese education. They have helped India develop the North East and also enhanced India’s maritime security through the Chinese Port Blair Optical Fiber Project and Power Grid Project in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Let us tell you that South East Asia is infamous for its Golden Triangle. In this, crime and drug trafficking business runs simultaneously in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos and Indian states like Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh share borders with these countries. Due to which the promotion of drug trafficking here is a serious security threat, hence by further improving the security in Siliguri Corridor, this place can be further secured so that Indian drugs can never reach there. By improving its relations with multilateral organizations like BIMSTEC Quad and ASEAN, India can strengthen its stand in the Bay of Bengal as well as in South East Asia.
BIMSTEC, which is an organization of Bay of Bengal countries, provides a perfect platform for India to lead the security of that region. And India can negate the Chinese threat by building aggressive trade relations with ASEAN. Friends, if China captures the Siliguri Corridor, India will lose its seven states and that is why India is making all possible efforts to save its chicken neck from China. It can be said that to save it, India should find a long term border solution with China as soon as possible.
Anyway, see you again with the powerful explanation of the History.
