Mike Sangma
If Operation Sindoor has taught us anything at all, it is that a war breaks out when least expected. Just about a month back, no one expected Pakistani terrorists to kill 26 tourists (25 Indian, one Nepali) in India and the subsequent Indian onslaught on the Pakistan air bases and terror hubs. Within the last 3 years, the world has seen the Ukraine-Russia war, Hamas-Israel conflict, Israel-Iran lobbing missiles at each other. None of these were expected but war raged nonetheless.
What if India is forced to take over certain portion(s) of Bangladesh for strategic reason? Given the current geopolitical headwinds, i.e. China meddling in the subcontinent, nothing is impossible. The Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus’ anti-India stance by cozying up to China and Pakistan has been upsetting India to no ends and is testing India’s strategic restrain. And if the big push comes to shove, Garo Hills could become the new gateway of Northeast to the rest of India. For the country, it opens up a new possibility and enhances India’s strategic dept vis-a-vis China.
Imagine Indian forces just cutting off less than a 100 kilometres stretch and connect border towns of Hili in West Bengal and Mahendraganj in the South West Garo Hills District of Meghalaya. This would solve India’s strategic vulnerability of Siliguri Corridor, popularly called India’s Chicken’s Neck. (See Map 1). It would also extend the Chicken’s Neck by almost 300 km (See Map 2).
I am not a military expert on how the Indian Defence forces should do it but I know for a fact that India has enough military assets at Hasimara in West Bengal and Assam to make it happen. I have traveled Delhi-Assam route few times by road and its painful and almost 36 hours long journey. I have stopped at Hasimara to pick all sorts of assorted tea leaves from gardens of West Bengal during these trips. I have also traveled to Mahendraganj, a neglected little border town in Meghalaya. I have been with the BSF in these areas and seen how places like Dhubri in Assam, where the Indo-Bangla border shapes according to the flow of the mighty Brahmaputra River. Here, today’s border becomes tomorrow’s river front. If Yunus goats India enough, most of India’s strategic dilemma could be taken care of with just one military stroke. While bilateral agreement could have connected Hili-Mahendraganj in good times, given anti-India atmosphere in Bangladesh, that possibility may have fundamentally changed.
One may ask if that is possible? If Bangladesh’s Yunus has the audacity to view the region as landlocked and repeatedly utter anti-India nonsense in China and in Nepal even after the Operation Sindoor, then something serious is brewing in Bangladesh’s strategic calculus. If everyone including the US, China and Pakistan is playing a geopolitical game and Bangladesh trying hard to be the referee, why should India be the Do-gooder Monk? As per some reports, Dhaka is planning to revive, with Chinese assistance, the old British-era airbase at Lalmonirhat (See Map 3). Anything Chinese in the neighborhood is not good for India, period.
India likes to brag about not conquering or coveting other countries. That is partially false. Post Independence, India took over Sikkim in 1975 and pushed out the Portuguese from Goa, Daman and Diu in 1961 through a military operation. Operation Sindoor has set a clear precedent, India no longer will exercise strategic restrain if the country’s national security interest is at stake.
From Meghalaya’s perspective, linking Mahendraganj and Hilli will be a paradigm shift for the state as it will be become shortest connection between West Bengal and Meghalaya and the rest of the Northeast. It could bring an economic prosperity which it deserves. It would also correct some of the historical mistakes from the creation of Bangladesh, where huge Garo population were left out. And therefore, there is a need to sensitise the people for any eventuality. As per 2011 census, Mahendraganj has over 4.6 lakh population with Garos, Bengali Muslims, Hindus and Hajongs as the main ethnic groups. If the possibility becomes a reality, there would be a massive demographic change where the Bengali Muslims from this region (from Bangladesh) could become the dominant force. But please keep in mind that there are also Garo population in the region especially in Ranpur region in Bangladesh. To counter some of these demographic imbalance, ethnic minorities including Garos from Mymensingh and Sylhet could be encouraged in the newly acquired strategic landmass. The integration may be painful and difficult but not impossible. My timeframe is less than 50 years. Within this period, the teething problem would be sorted. Look at Sikkim and Goa, today they are some of the most progressive states in India.
Now the biggest elephant in the room. With increasingly radicalised Bangladeshi Muslim population, won’t India and Meghalaya, Assam and West Bengal bear the brunt? Yes, it would initially. But I believe the biggest antidote for Islamic radicalisation is economic development and secular education. Look at Jammu and Kashmir, post abrogation of Article 370, there has been a remarkable shift in the outlook of the local population and visible economic progress.
On the larger issue of Islamic terror causing much of the pain to the world, Islam has to reform from within if it is to survive as viable global religion. No one is going to do it for you. Christianity reformed itself. Budhism, Jainism and Sikhism were in a way a reformation of Hinduism. The left and the liberals co-opting Islam for historical reasons in the West is coming to an end. There is an increasing push back of Islam in the West. If Islam refuses to reform, others would intervene. That is what exactly is happening in Gaza and Syria. Operation Sindoor just gave a warning shot to Islamist Pakistan. And pain of outside intervention is much more because they will not do it out of kindness.
So, do Hili and Mahendraganj require military interlinking? I believe India does not need any Bangladeshi land nor wants any Bangladeshi citizens. We are better off without them. But if the current regime of Muhammad Yunus does not reconsider its anti-India rhetoric and play the Chinese Checker, India is not a saint either. If India can cross the rubicon and throw Pakistan’s nuclear bluff in the dustbin, I believe it is a prize worth paying if India is to strengthen its strategic department. Trust me, a bigger war with China is on the horizon and it may be sooner than expected. If China’s Siliguri Corridor/Chicken’s Neck bluff is to be called out, India needs some serous maneuvering from Hili to Mahendraganj.
Mike Sangma is a Delhi based former journalist and media professional. He writes on various social issues and is also keen observer of economic and geopolitical issues. He is a post graduate alumni of Indian Institute of Mass Communication and holds MBA from Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
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(The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of Hub News)
