A remark made by Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on the northeast Indian states has stirred up a political storm in the region with the Congress party alleging that India’s foreign policy has weakened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a video widely circulated on social media, Yunus said India’s seven northeast states are landlocked and Bangladesh is the only guardian of the ocean for all this region. Yunus, who was on a four-day visit to China last week, also invited Beijing to make an “extension” of its economy in the region.
This is disturbing
— Abhishek (@AbhishBanerj) March 31, 2025
Mohd Yunus says in Beijing that 7 states of India's north east have no sea access
Bangladesh is the "guardian of the sea" and invites China to make this area an "extension"
The so called democratic uprising in Bangladesh was always an attack against India pic.twitter.com/EoEQIIS8Gp
Yunus’s remarks were seen by many as a veiled threat to India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Senior Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said it was unfortunate that the country's foreign policy has "weakened" to such an extent that even Bangladesh, whose independence India had supported, has turned against it.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently wrote to Bangladesh on the occasion of its National Day, highlighting the 'strong ties' between the two nations. After that Muhammad Yunus's recent remarks about Northeast India and China are deeply concerning and unacceptable, as they undermine India's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Gogoi, the deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said.
It is unfortunate that India’s foreign policy has weakened to the point where even a nation whose independence India actively supported is now leaning toward strategic opposition.
— Gaurav Gogoi (@GauravGogoiAsm) April 1, 2025
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently wrote to Bangladesh on the occasion of its National Day,…
Leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance condemned Yunus’s remarks as "offensive and provocative"
"The statement made by Md Younis of Bangladesh, the so-called interim Government referring to the seven sister states of Northeast India as landlocked and positioning Bangladesh as their guardian of ocean access, is offensive and strongly condemnable," said Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The statement made by Md Younis of Bangladesh so called interim Government referring to the seven sister states of Northeast India as landlocked and positioning Bangladesh as their guardian of ocean access, is offensive and strongly condemnable. This remark underscores the…
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 1, 2025
Sarma called for exploring alternative routes connecting the northeast to the rest of India, bypassing the 'Chicken's Neck'.
What’s Chicken's Neck?
The Siliguri Corridor in West Bengal, having width of just over 20 km, is the only strip of land that connects the northeast to the rest of India. This narrow strip is sandwiched between Nepal and Bangladesh, with Bhutan and China a few hundred km away.
