Nagaland minister Temjen Imna Along has issued a sharp warning to radical elements in Bangladesh who have recently revived rhetoric around India’s strategically vital Siliguri Corridor, commonly known as the Chicken’s Neck. His remarks come at a time when extremist voices across the border have sought to politicise the narrow land corridor that links mainland India to its northeastern states. Along cautioned that such statements underestimate both the resolve and the historical strength of the people of the Northeast.
Speaking in a strongly worded message, the Nagaland minister invoked figures from the Mahabharata to underline the region’s warrior legacy. Referring to Ghatotkach and Hidimba, he reminded critics that these legendary characters were believed to have origins in the Northeast. Hidimba, who married Bhima and was the mother of Ghatotkach, is traditionally associated with the Dimasa community of Assam and Nagaland. By invoking these figures, Temjen sought to emphasise that the people of the region were neither weak nor unfamiliar with defending their land.
In his remarks, Temjen made it clear that any attempt to undermine India’s territorial integrity would be met with firm resistance. He warned that those making provocative comments had not truly understood the strength or determination of the northeastern people. “If they have not seen Ghatotkach and Hidimba, they are welcome to see what we are capable of,” he said, adding that such threats would be a grave miscalculation.
The Chicken’s Neck, a narrow stretch of land barely 22 kilometres wide in parts, serves as the only land link between mainland India and its seven northeastern states. Flanked by Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and China, the corridor holds immense strategic importance for national security and connectivity. Any suggestion of disrupting this passage has long been viewed in New Delhi as a serious national security concern.
Temjen also pushed back against the very terminology of “Chicken’s Neck,” calling it a media-coined phrase that fails to reflect reality. He stressed that the Northeast is not a fragile appendage but an integral and inseparable part of India. “There is no Chicken’s Neck for us. We are strongly connected with India, and we are proud Indians,” he said, asserting the region’s deep-rooted sense of belonging to the nation.
His reference to “cutting throats” was not merely rhetorical. It drew from historical and cultural context. Until the mid-20th century, headhunting was a known practice among certain Naga tribes, rooted in ritual and belief systems rather than brutality for its own sake. Historians have noted that the practice carried spiritual meaning and was believed to invoke divine favour during times of conflict. Though long abandoned, the legacy continues to symbolise resilience and fearlessness in the region’s collective memory.
Temjen is not the first northeastern leader to issue a warning in response to provocative statements from across the border. Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had also responded sharply to similar remarks from Bangladesh. He pointed out that while India has one narrow corridor, Bangladesh itself has two equally vulnerable land stretches. Sarma warned that any attempt to threaten India’s connectivity would invite a proportionate response, noting that one of Bangladesh’s own strategic corridors near Meghalaya is even narrower and more exposed.
These comments followed controversial remarks by Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus during a visit to China, where he described India’s Northeast as landlocked and positioned Bangladesh as its “only guardian of the ocean.” The statement triggered strong reactions in India, particularly in the Northeast, where leaders viewed it as an attempt to assert geopolitical leverage.
Tensions were further inflamed by statements from Bangladeshi student leaders such as Hasnat Abdullah, associated with the National Citizen Party. Earlier this month, Abdullah threatened to isolate India’s northeastern states and even offered to shelter separatist elements if Bangladesh faced instability. Such remarks have heightened concerns in India over rising radical rhetoric and its implications for regional security.
Against this backdrop, Temjen Imna Along’s warning reflects a broader message from India’s Northeast: that the region is neither vulnerable nor passive, and any attempt to question its link with the rest of the country will be met with unity, resolve, and strength.
