India Clears Shillong Silchar Highway Bypassing Bangladesh
The Indian government has sanctioned the construction of a 166.8-kilometre high-speed highway between Shillong and Silchar, effectively bypassing Bangladesh in a move seen as both infrastructural and geopolitical recalibration.
The project, valued at ₹22,864 crore, is scheduled for completion by 2030. Designed as a four-lane expressway under National Highway 6, the corridor will run from Mawlyngkhung in Meghalaya to Panchgram in Assam. The new alignment will cut travel time from 8.5 hours to just 5, and more crucially, eliminate any dependence on Bangladeshi territory for movement between India’s mainland and its northeastern states. This decision follows recent diplomatic unease between India and Bangladesh, marked by trade frictions and assertive remarks from Dhaka. Bangladesh’s interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus described India’s Northeast as “landlocked” and reliant on Bangladesh for maritime transit, prompting strong responses from New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in turn, called for diplomatic restraint while reiterating India’s aim for independent connectivity solutions. At present, India relies heavily on the Siliguri Corridor—a vulnerable 22-km stretch known as the Chicken’s Neck—as its sole land link to the Northeast. With policy volatility clouding the reliability of cross-border routes, officials have underscored the urgency of developing internal alternatives.
The Shillong-Silchar highway will serve as a crucial domestic corridor and plug directly into the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project. This larger initiative links Kolkata to Mizoram via Myanmar through an integrated sea-river-road system, creating an inland-sea corridor independent of Bangladesh. “The project marks a turning point in India’s strategic planning for the Northeast. It strengthens self-reliant logistics and reduces exposure to foreign transit dependencies,” an official from the Ministry of External Affairs said. Strategically, Silchar is expected to emerge as a key logistics hub, connecting the Barak Valley to Tripura, Manipur, and Mizoram. The highway also aligns with India’s broader Act East Policy, which prioritises connectivity and trade with Southeast Asia. While previous administrations engaged in cross-border transit cooperation, the current strategy signals a pivot toward internal infrastructure resilience. The move is widely seen as a measured response to Dhaka’s shifting political posture and tightening control over transit frameworks.
India’s push for uninterrupted domestic corridors redefines how it approaches regional logistics, sovereignty, and diplomacy. With the Shillong-Silchar highway, the country appears determined to build a self-contained and secure gateway to its northeastern frontier—on its own terms.
