What is India's greatest weakness in the world?

What is India's greatest weakness in the world?

 India's biggest weakness 

India is the second largest country in the world in terms of population, the fifth largest economy in terms of GDP, and the second largest army in the world in terms of size. India is counted among only 7 countries with nuclear capability. Due to these reasons, India is considered an important and influential country in the world. But do you know what India's biggest geographical weakness is that makes India insecure in terms of defense?

If you look at the map of India, you can see a narrow corridor or corridor between Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and China in the northeast of India. This narrow corridor connects central India with its eight northeastern states. This corridor is known as the Siliguri Corridor after the nearby city of Siliguri. This corridor is so narrow that at one point its width is only 17 to 20 km. If this corridor is somehow blocked or closed, India's land connectivity with these eight important states will be cut off. And these states have no way from the sea. Because to pass through the sea route, India will have to go through the Bay of Bengal and this route passes through Bangladesh or Burma. These eight states include Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, and Mizoram. The importance of these states can be estimated from the fact that the area of these states is huge. In terms of size, the total area of these eight states is equal to large countries like New Zealand or Great Britain. While the total population of these eight states consists of four and a half million people. Geographically, this narrow Siliguri Corridor is considered to be India's biggest defense weakness, so international experts call this corridor India's Chicken's Neck.

Now we tell you why Siliguri Corridor is the biggest weakness of India. India considers China as its biggest enemy. One of the main reasons for this is the McMahon Line border between the two countries, which China has never recognized as its border. Because China considers the state of Arunachal Pradesh under the control of India on the same border as its own. Arunachal Pradesh is one of the largest states among the 8 northeastern states of India. Occurring in the Himalayan mountains, the total area of this state is roughly equal to that of Austria or Jordan. A war has also taken place between the two countries in 1962 for the control of Arunachal Pradesh. In the war of 1962, China had a heavy side compared to India. In 1967, there have been clashes between China and India at Nathu Law and Chola on the border of the Indian state of Sikkim and the Chinese state of Tibet. The gulf of mistrust between the two countries is very deep based on their disputes. The forces of both countries have not only taken a defensive position against each other but also continue to conduct war exercises against each other. India's defense establishment is greatly threatened by China's presence in Tibet, just a kilometer from the Siliguri Corridor. China's National Army, or People's Liberation Army, is building fortifications near the Siliguri Corridor and increasing its offensive capabilities to capture Arunachal Pradesh from India. Before opening the Arunachal Pradesh front, China will have to first cut the supply line of the Indian Army in Arunachal Pradesh. Third Corps, Fourth Corps, and Thirty-Third Corps of the Indian Army. Present in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. These cores are supplied by Siliguri – Guwahati Road (NH-27), Siliguri – Gangtok Road (NH-10), and Siliguri – New Tinskiya train. This important road and rail network passes through the Siliguri Corridor. If there is a war between China and India, defending a narrow area like the Siliguri Corridor is a very difficult task and it is relatively easy to block and cut the supply line, so the Siliguri Corridor is a huge weakness of India that cannot be overcome. In this case, India may have to wash its hands of Arunachal Pradesh under its control.

Now we tell you what steps India has taken to strengthen the defense of the Siliguri Corridor. India has also increased its military reinforcements in the region because of any possible adventurism by China. In this context, India has also built two large airbases Bagdora and Hasimara in the same corridor to effectively respond to the Chinese attack. In this attempt to gain superiority over each other, the defense field, as well as international relations, are very important - if India manages to make Nepal and Bhutan their defense partners in case of a possible war, it will save the Siliguri Corridor. I can be judgmental. Because for India, in the case of a defense partnership with Nepal and Bhutan, the Siliguri Corridor will get strategic depth, that is, this area will become a little wider for defense. And in that case, it will be difficult for China to block it. To achieve the same goal, India has historically kept its two neighbors Bhutan and Nepal under its influence - both countries are extremely small in size and landlocked, and all their trade with the outside world is blocked. Only through India. The trade and industry of both countries have been entirely dependent on India, so India has been taking advantage of the weak geographical position of these countries and using them in its defense against China. Bhutan's border with China is also disputed. It is said that the enemy of an enemy is also a friend. Therefore, it is natural for Bhutan to rely on India to guarantee its defense

Stay tuned. Keeping them in front of the ground realities, India and Bhutan signed a very important agreement in 1949, under which Bhutan gave complete authority over its foreign policy and defense to India. In 2007, facing the demands of new times, Bhutan renewed the agreement with India and withdrew the foreign policy authority from India. However, India still has full responsibility for the defense of Bhutan. India's presence in Bhutan adjacent to the Siliguri Corridor strengthens the defense of the Siliguri Corridor and India-

But in recent times, China has taken several steps at the defense and international level to counter India's strategy of defending the Siliguri Corridor - Nepal is very unhappy with India's alleged increasing interference in Nepal's internal affairs, which China Has benefited from. One of the main reasons for this distance from Nepal is the alleged efforts of the Indian establishment to indoctrinate the Madhesi people in southern Nepal along the border of the Indian state of Bihar and UP. The Nepali government believes that the Madhishi people were pressured by India to amend the Nepalese constitution in 2015. For this purpose, the Nepali policymakers and government were forced to change the body by allegedly blocking oil, medicine, and other goods coming from India through the Madheshi people. According to experts, with this move by India, the distance between the two countries has increased and Nepal has started looking toward China instead of India. Taking advantage of this opportunity, China has started effective diplomacy with Nepal and to bring Nepal into its camp, President Xi Jinping signed 3.5 billion RMB worth of rail projects during his official visit in 2019. Nepal became part of China's One Belt One Road project. Apart from this, China made considerable investments in Nepal and signed twenty more projects in the fields of transport and energy. China has also started to develop ties and friendships with Bhutan, which worries Indian planners. To solve the border issues with Bhutan, China showed great wisdom and tried effective diplomacy with Bhutan. Persuades him to take the territory of Dokhalem in the southwest while giving 495 sq km of Pasarlingar and Jakarlingar in the North. It should be remembered that as a result of this exchange, Bhutan was supposed to have an area of more i.e. 495 sq km while China was supposed to have an area of less i.e. 269 sq km which apparently benefited Bhutan but behind this offer. China had a deep trick. Due to Indian pressure, Bhutan withdrew from this deal. The policymakers of India and China are fully aware of the strategic importance of Dokhalem and they know that the military status of this region is very high. According to military experts, Dokhalem and the adjacent Chumbi Valley in China are more important from a defense point of view than any other location in the Himalayas. Because this is the location that can be used as a launch pad in the future, only 100 Km away, the chicken neck of India can be snapped. In 2017, China expanded its road network into Tibet and began building a road to Doka La. The disputed area of Dok La is under the control of Bhutan and is close to the tri-junction point, the place where the borders of China, India, and Bhutan meet. According to China, it has rights to Dokala and Gumuchan hill, while India and Bhutan consider it part of Bhutan. If China's right to Duka La is accepted, the tri-junction point will be shifted south of the existing tri-junction point Batang La to Gumuchen, from where the Siliguri Corridor can be easily reached using roads within Sino-Western Bhutan via the Jumphiri Ridge. Maybe where it will face less resistance. According to the Indian army and intelligence officials, China is increasing its military strength in this region and Chumbi Valley and in the past few years, China has established new cantonments here. A blockade of the corridor will help in stopping the supply of the Indian Army to Arunachal Pradesh. As a result, China may take Arunachal Pradesh from Indian control.

Only time will tell who will be victorious in this long, suffocating, and nerve-wracking war between the two major economic and military powers of the region.