Spiritual Hindu leader Sadhguru has weighed in on recent remarks from Bangladesh’s interim leadership and subsequent statements about India’s Siliguri corridor, saying the country should focus on strengthening the strategically crucial stretch linking the northeast to the rest of India.
Reacting to comments suggesting that access through the narrow corridor could be disrupted, Sadhguru said India should not have waited for such remarks to surface. He referred to statements made by Bangladesh interim chief Muhammad Yunus during a visit to China last year, where Yunus described India’s northeastern states as landlocked and dependent on Bangladesh for access to the ocean.
Sadhguru said the Siliguri corridor — often referred to as the “chicken’s neck” due to its narrow width — highlights a long-standing strategic vulnerability. “There is a part of our geography that is barely 22 km wide. This is not the way to build a nation,” he said, suggesting that the issue stemmed from decisions taken during the Partition.
He added that while India may not have had the authority to address the matter at the time of Independence, it had an opportunity later. “Perhaps in 1946-47, we lacked the authority, but by 1972, we had it and did not act,” he said.
Referring to renewed focus on the corridor, Sadhguru said it was time to strengthen the region. Using a metaphor, he said the “chicken’s neck” should be developed into an “elephant’s neck,” arguing that nations cannot remain fragile and must invest whatever is necessary to secure their strategic interests.
