رواق سيليگوري
رواق سيليگوري Siliguri Corridor، أو عنق الدجاجة/ هو امتداد ضيق من الأرض، يقع في ولاية غرب البنغال الهندية، ويربط الولايات الشمالية الشرقية للهند بباقي الهند، ويخنقه من جانبيه نـِپال وبنگلادش. وتقع مملكة بوتان على الجانب الشمالي للرواق.
مدينة سيليگوري، في ولاية غرب البنغال، هي المستوطنة الرئيسية في المنطقة والعقدة المركزية التي تربط بوتان ونـِپال وبنگلادش وسيكم، تلال دارجيلنگ وشمال شرق الهند وباقي الهند.
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التاريخ
خـُلِق رواق سيليگوري في 1947 بعد تقسيم البنغال بين الهند وپاكستان (ولاية پاكستان الشرقية السابقة، التي هي الآن بنگلادش المستقلة).
الأهمية
Although the Siliguri Corridor is an especially important and sensitive territory for India, its location has created a political reality that is also important for Bangladesh. The partition of India into India and Pakistan occurred as a result of hostility between the المؤتمر القومي الهندي and the Muslim League. From the very beginning, the relationship between these two new states was marked by hostilities and confrontations.
The formation of پاكستان الشرقية created a geographical barrier to the northeastern part of India. The narrow Siliguri Corridor, which at one point is less than 17 miles (27 km) wide, remained as the only bridge between the northeastern part of India and the rest of the country.
Wedged between Bangladesh to the south and west and الصين to the north, the region has no access to the sea closer than كلكتا, on the other side of the corridor.[1] Between Sikkim and Bhutan lies the Chumbi Valley, a dagger-like slice of Tibetan territory. A Chinese military advance of less than 80 miles (130 km) would cut off Bhutan, part of West Bengal and all of شمال شرق الهند, an area containing almost 50 million people. This situation arose during the الحرب بين الهند والصين في 1962.[2]
الوضع الحالي
As a sensitive area amidst three countries, the strip is heavily patrolled by the الجيش الهندي, the Assam Rifles, the Border Security Force and the West Bengal Police. In recent times, the area has become the focus of illegal crossings by Bangladeshi rebels and Nepali Maoist insurgents, both in search of refuge from their country. A flourishing narcotics and weapons traffic also takes place in this region.
All land transportation between mainland India and its far northeastern states uses this circuitous corridor, as there is no free-trade agreement between Bangladesh and India. The Tatulia Corridor, an alternative to the Siliguri Corridor, is proposed under Article VIII of the India–Bangladesh Trade Agreement 1980, which states that "The two governments agree to make mutually beneficial arrangements for the use of their waterways, railways and roadways for commerce between the two countries and for passage of goods between two places in one country through the territory of the other". However, the proposal is still in the initial stages of negotiation.
The route has a major broad gauge railway line. Electrification of this double-track corridor is in progress with assistance from CORE (Central Organization for Railway Electrification). Additionally, the old metre gauge line (recently converted to a 1.676 metres (5 ft 6.0 in) broad-gauge line) connects Siliguri Junction with Islampur in North Dinajpur District of West Bengal, via Bagdogra (the only airport of national interest in the corridor) and the bordering towns of Adhikari, Galgalia, Thakurganj, Naxalbari and Taiabpur with Nepal. National Highway 31 connects Siliguri to Guwahati in Assam, which is the most critical highway in the region, owing to insurgents operating in the vicinity.[3]
اقتراح منطقة التجارة الحرة
في 2002, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh studied a proposal to create a free trade zone in the area, which would enable all four countries to connect directly with each other without restrictions.[4]
الهامش
- ^ Marcus Franda, "Bangladesh, The First Decades", South Asian Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi,1982, p-126
- ^ Partha S. Ghosh, "Cooperation and Conflict in South Asia", UPL, Dhaka,1989,p-43
- ^ "Chicken's Neck, All choked up." Outlook. 13 July 1998. Accessed 27 February 2011.
- ^ "Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and India to set up FTA." Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry News & News. July–August 2002. Accessed 30 May 2008.