New Delhi, Aug. 28 -- The geopolitical wilderness of the Wakhan Corridor is a mirror image of the 19th century imperial contest that gave rise to it. This thin corridor of Afghan land running between the Hindu Kush mountains and the border with China, that was drawn up just to stop the Russian and British nations from having contiguous territory, has become a geographical barrier that has kept the once-vibrant Silk Road communities away from regional trade and development.

This arbitrary imperial venture, wrought in the capitals of Europe and Russia with little attention to existing human communities, would end up affecting the lives of thousands and shutting off regions from regional trade routes for more than 100 years.

In contemporar...