India bolsters 'chicken's neck' defences amid Pakistan's engagement with Bangladesh

In a quiet but unmistakable show of resolve, India has unveiled three new military garrisons along its volatile border with Bangladesh, fortifying a frontier amid Delhi's concerns of growing engagement of Pakistan with Bangladesh.

The outposts, positioned at Bamuni near Dhubri , Kishenganj , and Chopra are now fully operational and are seen as force multiplier for the Indian Army and Border Security Force, designed to plug perceived gaps in the 4,096-kilometer Indo-Bangladeshi boundary and ensure swift countermeasures to any incursion.

The move comes at a precarious moment. The Siliguri Corridor, a slender 22-kilometer-wide strip of land in northern West Bengal, derisively called the "Chicken's Neck" for its vulnerability, serves as India's sole terrestrial link to its eight northeastern states, home to over 45 million people and vast natural resources. Severing this artery would isolate the region, crippling military logistics and economic lifelines that ferry billions in goods annually.

New Delhi has ramped up fortifications here with the new garrisons as part of a broader border modernization drive.

The timing is no coincidence. Just weeks ago, Bangladesh's interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel laureate elevated to power after student-led protests toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, hosted Pakistan's top military brass in Dhaka. General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, chairman of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, met Yunus at his Jamuna residence to firm up ties, and focus on connectivity. But in India, these meetings will be seen more than diplomatic niceties. If reports are to be believed, more such Rawalpindi Dhaka engagements are in the offing.