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In a move reflecting India’s evolving strategic posture in the Northeast, Lieutenant General R.C. Tiwari, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, laid the foundation stone of the Lachit Borphukan Military Station in Assam’s Dhubri district on November 6.
Named after the legendary Ahom commander, the station is the first Indian Army base in western Assam, located barely 40 km from the Bangladesh border and falling under the Tezpur-based IV Corps. The facility, designed to accommodate up to 1,500 personnel, strengthens the Army’s presence along a sector hitherto under limited direct control.
Strategic Recalibration in the Northeast
The development comes amid reports of China’s renewed interest in Bangladesh’s Lalmonirhat airbase, situated near India’s strategically sensitive Siliguri Corridor, the narrow link between the Northeast and the mainland.
Defence experts view the Dhubri station as part of a broader recalibration of India’s border defence architecture, enhancing intelligence, surveillance, and rapid response capabilities. Military experts noted that the facility would “sharpen both human and signal intelligence networks” along the border, helping pre-empt emerging threats.
Defence spokesperson Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said the station “will boost operational capabilities while reassuring local communities of a stronger security presence.”
From Ambiguity to Assertion
The Dhubri initiative coincides with India establishing three new operationally ready garrisons at Bamuni (Assam), Kishenganj (Bihar), and Chopra (West Bengal). Together, these positions form a strategic triangle around the Siliguri Corridor, providing multiple operational options and rapid mobilisation capacity.
A senior security official described the deployments as signalling “the end of India’s ambiguous responses” to actions undermining national security. “The message is clear, India will protect its sovereignty with confidence and clarity,” the official said.
Regional Undercurrents
Tensions have grown over Pakistan’s overtures to Bangladesh’s caretaker government, with intelligence reports suggesting increased interaction between the two. The unease deepened after an incident in Dhaka on October 25, when Bangladesh’s interim leader presented Pakistan’s Army chief with a publication depicting parts of India’s Northeast as a “Greater Bangladesh.”
“This pattern of symbolic and political provocation calls for vigilance,” an expert observed, adding that Pakistan’s engagement in the region warrants close scrutiny.
A Comprehensive Border Strategy
The creation of new garrisons and the Lachit Borphukan Military Station represent a composite border strategy, integrating assertive diplomacy, infrastructure modernisation, and forward deployment.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described the Dhubri station as “a testament to the synergy between the Armed Forces and the state government,” underscoring the dual goals of security and regional development.
With these initiatives, India is clearly signalling that its eastern frontier will no longer be viewed as a vulnerability but as a zone of strategic strength and readiness.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
