Himanta Biswa Sarma blames Nehru, Indira Gandhi for lack of strategic corridor in Northeast

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma cited Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi's "strategic failures" behind the Northeast not having a secure geographical corridor.

He alleged that despite opportunities, Jawaharlal Nehru failed to include Chittagong into India and Indira Gandhi was unable to negotiate a broader and more secure geographical corridor to the Northeast.

Speaking at the 10th Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog in New Delhi, he said before independence, Assam was a land of prosperity with a per capita income higher than the national average.

He said Assam enjoyed robust connectivity with the global economy - ”railway lines connected Dibrugarh to Chittagong in present day Bangladesh by 1904, and the Brahmaputra served as a vital waterway linking Assam to ports like Chittagong.

"The state was firmly positioned as a hub of international trade. However, the Partition of India in 1947 severed these arteries overnight. Assam was left with only a narrow and vulnerable lifeline - the Siliguri Chicken Neck - connecting it to the rest of India," Sarma said.

He said the Chittagong Hill Tracts, despite a population that was over 97 per cent non-Muslim, were awarded to East Pakistan even though on August 15, 1947, Chakma leaders hoisted the Indian flag in Rangamati, hoping to join India.

"However, the allocation of Chittagong to East Pakistan (Bangladesh) dashed those hopes. Despite their appeals, Pandit Nehru declined to intervene. His tacit acceptance of this decision dealt a significant and lasting blow to the Northeast's access to global trade," Sarma said.

Again in 1971, during the creation of Bangladesh, Indira Gandhi had a historic opportunity to negotiate a broader and more secure geographical corridor to the Northeast, he said.

"Despite her decisive leadership in securing Bangladesh's liberation, this moment too passed without seizing that strategic opportunity," he alleged.

He said these were pivotal junctures where bold leadership could have altered the trajectory of Assam and the Northeast. Instead, the region was let down by the political leadership of the time, he added.

Sarma said under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi now, Assam and other northeastern states are no longer considered the prisoners of history.

He said Assam is reclaiming its rightful role as a gateway to Southeast Asia reviving inland waterways, restoring connectivity and building infrastructure that will reposition the state as a dynamic economic frontier of 'Viksit Bharat'.

To truly unlock the region's promise, Sarma said, "We must implement dedicated transport and logistics corridors, revival of inland waterways and critical railway infrastructure, freight subsidies and long-haul incentives for industries, affordable and reliable power with appropriate cost equalisation mechanisms."

He further said that Assam and the Northeast are not peripheral - they are strategic, economic, and cultural frontiers.

"They are the gateways to Southeast Asia, rich in human capital and opportunity," he said.

"Let us correct the failures of past political vision with bold policy clarity today. Let us match the prime minister's commitment with institutional responsiveness, and replace inertia with action," he said.

During a visit to China in March, head of Bangladesh's interim government Muhammad Yunus had said, "The seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called the Seven Sisters. They are a landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean. We are the only guardian of the ocean for all this region."

"So this opens up a huge possibility. This could be an extension of the Chinese economy," Yunus had said.

His remarks triggered outrage among various sections of people, particularly in the Northeast.

Later, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said, "We, after all, have the longest coastline in the Bay of Bengal, of almost 6,500 km. India shares borders not only with five BIMSTEC members, connects most of them, but also provides much of the interface between the Indian sub-continent and ASEAN. Our Northeastern region in particular is emerging as a connectivity hub for the BIMSTEC, with a myriad network of roads, railways, waterways, grids and pipelines."