Recently, India has deployed three additional garrison stations in the Siliguri area, known as the "Chicken Neck" area near Assam, which has aroused widespread discussion.

The main reason why India has stationed more troops in Siliguri is that its relations with neighboring Bangladesh are declining.

In 2024, the pro-India Bangladeshi leader Hasina was deposed and stepped down. Hasina fled to India. After that, the situation between India and Bangladesh continued to deteriorate.

The Siliguri area happens to be stuck on the border between China, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. In order to prevent unexpected situations, India began to send more troops to Siliguri and Assam in order to prevent Assam, which has separatist tendencies, from becoming independent from India under the influence of Bangladesh.

And this just allowed China to see the opportunity to regain the southern Tibet area controlled by India.

01Assam Independence Movement

Issues between India and Assam have long affected the stability of northeastern India. Assam is located in northeastern India, and northeastern India and the Indian peninsula are connected to India only through a narrow strip of Siliguri called the "Chicken's Neck" zone.

The seven states in northeastern India, including Assam, are also known as the "Seven Sisters". Due to their long distance from the main regions of India and the diverse and complex ethnic groups in the surrounding countries, the "Seven Sisters" have formed a unique composite culture that is different from Indian culture.

Among them, the Siliguri region is the only corridor connecting Assam and West Bengal. Assam’s strategic position is extremely important.

Before India and Bangladesh became independent, they both belonged to British India. However, after the partition of India and Pakistan and the independence of Bangladesh, the diverse ethnic groups in Assam became a factor of local instability.

But there is still room for redemption at this time. If India can treat Assam kindly, then Assam's important geographical location and rich resources will definitely become one of the most important states in India.

However, India despises Assam. Assam is rich in mineral resources, including oil, natural gas and coal, and has made important contributions to India's economic development.

India relied on Assam's resources for development, but did not repay Assam in time. Instead, it was the environmental problems caused by resource extraction, including pollution, land subsidence, environmental degradation caused by petroleum and coal mining, etc., as well as the income distribution issues caused by India's control of resources, that made Assam start to hate India.

The people of Assam once raised slogans such as "We will only give you blood, not oil" in the hope of fighting for better living conditions and more political chips for local residents. However, the Indian army has been rampant in Assam, and acts such as robbery and rape often occur.

Therefore, a large number of independent armed forces fighting against India have emerged in Assam. To this day, although most of the organizations have been wiped out by India, Assam's independence tendency has not diminished. This has led to India always being on guard against Assam. This is why India increased its troops in Assam when something happened in Bangladesh.

The issue in Assam may present us with an opportunity to regain the southern Tibet area actually controlled by India.

02Opportunities in China

After entering the 21st century, China's international status has continued to improve, and its influence in the northeastern region of India and its surrounding areas has continued to expand. In particular, the "Belt and Road" initiative has allowed Assam's neighboring countries such as Myanmar, Nepal, and Bangladesh to unite around China.

In this zone, China exerts influence in two aspects, economic and cultural.

On the economic front, China is building the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor in Myanmar, developing hydropower projects in Nepal, and investing in infrastructure in Bangladesh.

Through these cooperation, China's cheap goods can enter the Assam market, while India's shoddy goods cannot compete with China's high-quality and low-price goods. This will make Assam closer to China.

In terms of culture, China and India have deep exchanges with the southern Tibet region and Arunachal Pradesh, which has historical, linguistic and religious connections with Tibet.

Through economy and culture, China has built a zone of Chinese influence around Assam, which may inspire the independence movement in Assam.

Once Assam truly achieves independence, the "Seven Sisters" in Northeast India, which has complex ethnic composition and has been suppressed by India, may all become independent. In this way, China's Southern Tibet, which is actually controlled by Northeast India, will become an "enclave" that China can easily take back.

References:

1. Encyclopedia: Assam

2. Ifeng.com: If this corridor is cut off, will India be divided?

3. Eurasian Systemic Science Research Society: Northeast India, hanging on a thread, may be a new geopolitical flashpoint.