Siliguri corridor: From chicken's neck to elephant's trunk

How did the Siliguri Corridor come to be known as Chicken’s Neck? While the answer to this question is unclear, a chicken’s neck can never be about 60 km long and nearly 20 km wide. Even before that debate could be settled, the Army has started calling it Elephant’s Trunk.

The rationale behind the labelling is obvious. But why assign the area the name of a bird or an animal when humans are in control of all living things on Earth? Native and country chicken breeds, whose populations are already dwindling, might have become curious about the nomenclature given to the gateway to the northeast India and the neighbouring countries. They could have held multiple meetings to get the nickname tweaked to Elephant’s Trunk. Who knows?

Following a degree of success, the indigenous chickens of the belt are probably experiencing a pleasure trill. They may, however, be unaware that tuskers aren’t too happy about the whole effort as the giants of the wild cherish the peace of the jungle.


With their habitats shrinking and numbers declining, the jumbos would have loved to stay in the thick forest, far away from the spotlight. This sudden exposure has put them under tremendous pressure to do their utmost to ensure the corridor retains its popularity through its original name — which is most likely a combination of sil (stone) and guri (place).