India To Dust Off 1971 War Air Base To Counter Bangladesh's China Turn

Bangladesh's reported plans to revive a World War II-era air base - Lalmonirhat in Rangpur division - with help from the Chinese has rung alarm bells in the upper echelons of the Indian administration.

The alarm bells are ringing because re-activating Lalmonirhat allows Beijing a military foothold literally on Delhi's doorstep; the base is less than 20km from the India-Bangladesh border.

They are also ringing because Lalmonirhat is less than 20km from the Siliguri Corridor - the 22km-wide stretch of land connecting the seven northeastern states to the rest of the country.

The Corridor, referred to as the 'chicken's neck', is bordered by Nepal to the west and Bhutan to the north. Relations with those two nations are stable; indeed, there are signs the Nepalese are looking to Gyanendra Shah to reclaim the 240-year-old Hindu monarchy abolished in 2018.

But there are red flags from the southern border.

If Beijing does fund the renovation of Lalmonirhat then expect the Chinese to have military assets - fighter jets, radars, surveillance equipment, etc. - stationed there as part of the deal.

The airport at Kailashahar in northern Tripura. 

These concerns have prompted India to fast-track the refurbishment of a three-decade-old civil airport in northern Tripura's Kailashahar region.

It will likely remain for civil use but, as with all other major airports in the northeast, on-ground facilities will be enhanced to allow Air Force fighter jets and planes to take-off, land, and refuel in times of war or in case of emergencies.

However, bringing the Kailashahar airport back to life won't just be about responding to Bangladesh's Lalmonirhat move. It will also be a 'friendly' reminder at a time when ties are strained following the fall of ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government in August 2024.

The overgrown runway at the shuttered Kailashahar airport

Sheikh Hasina was seen as a valuable ally, a reliable counter to the Chinese sniffing around northeast India. But there had been tension building within for years and all of that erupted in student-led protests over her government announced job and college quotas for war veterans.

She was deposed and an interim government set up under Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed Yunus, who has so far failed to announce an election and who has proven to be less friendly to New Delhi, and has even reached out to China and Pakistan, than was anticipated.

Under these circumstances, the Chinese helping the Bangladeshis restore an air force base within minutes of the Indian border, within minutes of the critical 'chicken's neck' is troubling.

A History Lesson

Tripura's Kailashahar airport was shut down in the 1990s but before the lights were turned off, the windows shuttered, and doors locked, it played a key role in the 1971 war against Pakistan.

Fifty-four years ago the first missions of Kilo Flight - the codename for a Bangladeshi resistance combat unit, operating under the control of the Indian Air Force - took off from this airport.

Kilo Flight was a hit-and-run strike group consisting of a Canadian-made DHC-3 Otter plane and the French-made Alouette II helicopter armed with rocket pods and machine guns.

A Bangladeh Air Force Alouette III Helicopter
Photo Credit: By Bangladesh Air Force, CC BY-SA 4.0

There was also a United States-origin DC-3 Dakota for logistical support.

And the Kilo Flight team later led the formation of the Bangladesh Air Force.

Why Is Kailashahar Important Otherwise

Restoring this airport is also a big step towards improving air connectivity in a state that has, realistically, only one major airport - the one in capital Agartala.

And, on May 26, 2025, a high-level delegation from the Airports Authority of India visited the long-abandoned airport and its surrounding areas to assess its current condition. The team later told reporters "further planning will done in consultation with the state government".

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