Balbir Singh Seechewal urges PM Modi, Jaishankar to revive Silk Route for trade

Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Singh Seechewal has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, asking the Centre to take steps to restore the historic Silk Route and open up trade with Asian and European countries.

In his letter, Seechewal pointed to the ongoing US-Iran and Russia-Ukraine conflicts, which he said have hit economies around the world. He noted that there is no clear sign of either war ending soon or of peace returning in the near term.

Given that uncertainty, he argued, India needs to look at alternative arrangements and trade routes rather than wait for conditions to stabilise. Reviving the old overland corridor is one such option he put forward.

The MP framed the proposal around agriculture. India's economy leans heavily on farming, he said, and a working Silk Route would let farmers move produce to markets across Europe more easily. He also said the recently concluded India-European Union trade agreement makes the route more relevant than before.

The benefits, in his view, would be felt most in northern India, and especially in Punjab. If the Wagah border were reopened, he said, Punjab's farmers could sell potatoes directly in Lahore and other Asian markets, cutting out long detours.

Seechewal also said people in Punjab strongly want better relations with Pakistan, and that both the Wagah border and the Kartarpur Corridor should reopen without further delay. The letter is an appeal from a lawmaker; no response from the government has been reported so far.

For readers watching trade and farm incomes, the idea is a reminder that geopolitics and border policy shape what a farmer in Punjab can earn. Whether it gains traction will depend on diplomacy, which remains the harder part of any route revival.

Source: The Tribune

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