Internal Security

Border forces at Siliguri corridor

07 Aug 2023 5 mins Download PDF

Border forces at Siliguri corridor

Why in the News?

The border guarding forces of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) shall be deployed along the Siliguri corridor for safeguarding the strategic area during peacetime.

Siliguri corridor and its significance:

The Siliguri corridor is narrow stretch adjoining Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh measuring 170*60km with a narrowest stretch of around 20-22km attributing its name to ‘chicken’s neck’.
It acts as a crucial link between the Indian mainland and the Northeastern part of India.
It has major national highways, railway lines, pipelines and optical fiber communication lines among others.
Proximity to China’s Chumbi valley in the Tibet Autonomous region holds tremendous geopolitical importance apart from its geostrategic location.
The Doklam issue of 2017 and the present situation of heightened deployments of Chinese forces along the LAC (Line of Actual control) since May 2022, demands guarding of the sensitive Siliguri corridor.

Doklam standoff, 2017

The Doklam plateau situated high up in the Himalayas, served as a grazing area for Bhutanese herdsmen for centuries.
Post India-China war of 1962, the trijunction became a bone of contention.
China has repeatedly disputed the territorial claims of Bhutan over Doklam, as it considers Doklam plateau to be vital to fortify the dagger-shaped Chumbi valley.
China claims that the India-China-Bhutan trijunction is at Mt. Gipmochi, an area covering 89 sq. km in a region south of India and Bhutan’s claim of the location trijunction.
The Doklam standoff:
1. China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) moved into the plateau and razed stone bunkers constructed by the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) years ago.
2. This was an attempt by China to alter the status quo in the sensitive region, in spite of the 1998 agreement between the two countries to maintain status quo in the sensitive region.
3. The PLA armed with construction transit and road-building machinery started extending an entire road southward in Doklam, which was faced with firm resistance from the Bhutanese forces. However, the PLA troops resisted any reversal, prompting Bhutan to seek the help of India.
4. Operation juniper: Two days later, the Indian army consisting of 270 armed men intervened by crossing the Sikkim border and stopped the PLA thereby leading to a stand-off on June 18, 2017.

The Corridor contains Vulnerable Areas and Vulnerable Points (VAVPs) shall hereafter be guarded by the CAPF personnel- specifically the forces of
1. The Border Security Force (BSF)
2. Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)
3. The Indo- Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)

These forces have been historically guarding the borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and China.
The forces come under the administrative and operational jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).