Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in a recent statement warned Bangladesh that if Bangladesh attacks India’s Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken’s neck, India will respond by attacking both the Chicken necks of Bangladesh. Himanta Biswa Sarma is talking about the two vulnerable points in Bangladesh similar to Siliguri’s Corridor in India – the Chittagong corridor and Rangpur division corridor.
The Chittagong Corridor is a narrow strip of land that connects Chittagong to Bangladesh. While Rangpur corridor is the strip of land that separates Meghalaya’s Southwest Garo Hills and South Dinajpur in Bangladesh. As per reports, Chief Adviser of the Bangladesh interim regime, Mohammed Yunus suggested choking of the Siliguri Corridor with the help of China. Himanta Biswa Sarma was referring to the fact that there has been reports that China has been helping Bangladesh rebuild a World War II airbase at just 100 km away from India’s Siliguri Corridor.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also emphasized India’s military power post Operation Sindoor and remarked that Bangladesh should take birth four times before thinking about attacking India.
Yunus government in Bangladesh is also co-ordinating with the UN and proposed a Rakhine Corridor without consulting its military and other political parties. The proposal was criticized in Bangladesh while the Bangladeshi army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman issued a stern warning to the Yunus government calling the Corridor a “Bloody Corridor”. He said, “The Bangladesh Army will never be involved in any activity that is harmful to sovereignty. Nor will anyone be allowed to do so,”. General Waker also warned Yunus government to hold elections by December as the interim regime in Bangladesh has been delaying elections due to one reason or the other.
It is worth noting that Yunus government released hundreds of Islamists radical prisoners and 300 Bangladesh Rifles Mutineers who were convicted of murdering officers in 2009 uprising. This has angered the Bangladesh Army and put the interim government under scrutiny.
Release of Islamist prisoners was backed by the Islamist fundamentalist group called HIzb-ut-Tahrir. Younis government is supposedly coordinating with other radical groups in Bangladesh as well. Attempts were also made by Younis Military Adviser Lt General Kamrul Hasan to remove Army Chief Waker with the help of UN.
In a recent millitary meeting, General Waker said, “The right to shape the nation’s future belongs to an elected government.” adding “Violence and chaos in the name of mass mobilization will no longer be tolerated,”.
There has been consistent rise in influence of radical forces in Bangladesh ever since the Yunus government came to power following the ousting of Sheikh Hasina. Banning of the Awami league, resurrection and growth of Jamaaat-e-Islami point out that there is an ongoing shift in political ideology happening in Bangladesh. Is Bangladesh moving towards Islamic rule ? Can General Waker save Bangladesh from another political crisis ? While India monitors the development in Bangladesh closely, the will of the Bangladeshi people remains to be seen.
