Siliguri Corridor: Security, connectivity, and challenges

The Corridor emerged from various historical border-making events in the Indian subcontinent, following Partition in 1947. It was further shaped by India’s internal border demarcation adjustments under the Bihar and West Bengal (Transfer of Territories) Act, 1956, which transferred a strip of land from Bihar to West Bengal, and subsequently, by the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. Earlier, multiple territorial changes due to wars in British India such as the Anglo-Gorkha war, the Duar War and the treaties of Sugauli and Punakha had hinted at the Corridor’s geographical significance. After Independence, this land passage became vital for the free movement of people and goods to and from Nepal under the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950. It also became the lifeline connecting India’s Northeast with the rest of the country.

The Corridor, about 20 km in width and 60 km in length, is wedged between neighbours Nepal and Bhutan to the north and Bangladesh to the south. Two significant transboundary rivers, Mahananda and Teesta, run along the Corridor. China is not very far off. Given this geographical context, the security of the Corridor is crucial. While constructive cross-border engagements have enhanced the significance of the Corridor for trade and mobility in and around the Northeast, open trans-border access has also multiplied illegal activities in the region. Human and drug trafficking, pumping fake currency into India’s economy, and safe international transit for various agents and underground groups that are hostile to India’s national security, have made it an Achilles heel for India. Bangladesh’s creation in 1971 triggered a massive demographic change in and around the Corridor. In fact, having porous borders with Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, has put this so-called “chicken’s neck” under perpetual threat.

Shah, in his address, informed that in 2024 alone, the SSB arrested 4,000 smugglers and traffickers and seized 16,000 kg of narcotics around the area. Such illegal activities are likely to reproduce it, as a site of security threats, making the Northeast more vulnerable. The evolving political complexity in Bangladesh too makes it precarious. Recent evidence of activity of the global terror group Ansarullah Bangla Team around this Corridor has alarmed India’s security forces. Suspected members of the group have also been arrested from West Bengal and Assam.

In the past 10 years of the Act East Policy and before the Manipur violence took off, the Northeast was fast emerging as a growth multiplier, with enhanced infrastructure, connectivity and investments. The Siliguri Corridor, with its proximity to Chumbi Valley, a tri-junction of India, Bhutan, and China, acted as India’s gateway to Southeast Asia. In the changed scenario, however, the dangers may outweigh the advantages unless utmost care is taken. In this context, even century-old political aspirations in the neighbouring Darjeeling hills and Duars areas of West Bengal cannot be overlooked.

With the Corridor coming under fresh external challenges, there is an urgent need to adopt robust security measures. In this context, the Home Minister has rightly emphasised the role of SSB in safeguarding Siliguri Corridor from external threats, to ensure the full realisation of its potential for regional growth and stability. Along with strengthened security, soft measures like fostering cultural integration remain crucial. In the evolving neighbourhood context, the future of the Siliguri Corridor will have a role to play in maintaining India’s strategic defence and national security interests.

The writers are professors at Special Centre for the Study of North East India, Jawaharlal Nehru University