Himanta Sarma’s ‘Nuclear’ Warning After Bangladesh Leader’s ‘Northeast’ Remarks

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday claimed that discussions have been taking place in Bangladesh over the past year about “separating the northeast” from India and merging it with Bangladesh. However, he asserted that such an idea was unrealistic given India’s global standing.

“For the past year, there has been repeated discussion in Bangladesh about separating the northeast from India and making it a part of Bangladesh. But India is a very big country, a nuclear nation and the fourth-largest economy in the world. How can Bangladesh even think about it?” Sarma said while speaking to the media.

The chief minister also criticised what he described as a “bad mindset” among people in Bangladesh and cautioned against extending excessive support to the neighbouring country.

“We shouldn’t help them too much and should teach them a lesson that we will not remain silent if they behave this way towards India,” he said.

Sarma’s remarks came in response to comments made by Hasnat Abdullah, a senior leader of Bangladesh’s newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP). According to news agency PTI, Abdullah on Monday said that Dhaka should consider “isolating” India’s northeastern states if New Delhi attempts to “destabilise” Bangladesh. He also reportedly suggested that Bangladesh could extend support to separatist elements in the region.

Abdullah allegedly cited the geographical vulnerability of India’s northeastern states, pointing to their dependence on the narrow Siliguri Corridor—often referred to as the ‘chicken’s neck’—which connects the region to the Indian mainland.

Earlier this year, Sarma had issued a warning to Bangladesh over comments targeting India’s Siliguri Corridor. In a post on X, he said Bangladesh itself has two similar narrow land corridors that are “far more vulnerable.”

“First is the 80-km North Bangladesh Corridor—from Dakshin Dinajpur to South West Garo Hills. Any disruption here can completely isolate the entire Rangpur division from the rest of Bangladesh,” Sarma had said.

He added that the second was the 28-km Chittagong Corridor, stretching from South Tripura to the Bay of Bengal. “This corridor, smaller than India’s chicken neck, is the only link between Bangladesh’s economic capital and political capital,” he said.

The remarks have added to rising tensions in rhetoric between political leaders in India and Bangladesh amid concerns over regional stability and security in the northeastern region.