Hi there,
The stories of the caravans in the high altitude region of Ladakh picked up during the reign of the four Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir who being Maharaja Gulab Singh, Ranbir Singh, Partap Singh and Hari Sigh during the years 1834 to 1947 for about 113 years.
This vocation was mostly carried out by various European adventurers, explorer’s also Punjabi traders who were developing new markets in Ladakh, Yarkand and Changthang. The region provided pashmina and sheep wool which fed the industries of Kashmir valley and Dhariwal mills in Punjab.
The travel of these people inspired people in the Uighur region of Yarkand to bring their goods to Leh after traversing the extremely high plateau across the Karakoram passes. Some of these people also travelled through Ladakh to go the Haj via Mumbai.
Interestingly, Leh has several families of Uighur origin and the last pure Uighur man died few years ago his name was Akhon Sadir. Rest of the generations have assimilated in the Muslim community of Leh.
My friend and senior Dr. Shaukat of Najab Shah family of Leh once told me that their family was doing considerably well in the central Asian trade and also remembers his father going on family trade businesses based mainly in Kashghar.
He said their business had assumed the form of a multinational then. They owned factories in Kashghar during that period (1940-50). Presently Dr. Mohd Shaukat is a general practitioner of medicine and runs a clinic in Leh market.
Earlier he had worked in Tehran for about a decade and decided to return back due to advancing age of his father. He married a local Muslim girl and has two boys one of who had undertaken cinematography from FTII, (Film and television Institute of India) Pune.
The other story is that of Mr. Mohd Din Khan of the No No Khan family who told me that their ancestors too belonged to the ancient silk route city of Khashgar and appears to be really proud of his heritage!
Their family trade too flourished in Leh his mother Ama Deskit le belongs to a local Christian family in Leh. Today they run a hotel by the name of Khan Manzil. Din Khan worked in the Save the Children’s Fund as its Directors (North) and retired from it about a decade ago.
Even many Uighur families belonging to the tri-some region of Yarkand, Khotan and Kashghar came to Ladakh during 1959-61 they were Kazaks and Tajiks who had abandoned their region and ransacked many settlements on the way. They were selling a plump sheep for a loaf of local bread ‘Thaltak’ in Leh during their movement!
My grandfather owned a Uighur horse which a Kazak trader traded for an exquisite silver tea pot plated in gold, at that time he was the custom officer at Tangtse block of Changthang.
My grandmother would often repeat that the exquisite ‘Siler Pot’ would have belonged to a Monastery which the Kazak intruders had ransacked on their way to Ladakh. And she carried a superstitious feeling about its presence in the house?
Later, all these Kazaks continued their journey towards Kashmir from there to Delhi and later to Bombay and finally to Mecca by ship. During those days Turkey was very popular destination for such Muslim hoards and they were focused to reach there by any means.
During this period the caravans would bring ‘Opium’ which would be taken to these central Asian townships and further into the real ‘Silk route’ regions. There was ‘Charas’ (Opium) house in Leh until recent times as 1970s.
Fortunately, our people didn’t become addicted to opium though it being available? May be due to Buddhist culture and presence of Monasteries and Sangha of Monks!
Moral of the story is that we humans have been provided with innate sense of hard work and passion which has driven him to the present state of modernity. Yet we can only pray and wish that it will go on doing good things rather than doing evil? (concluded) Bye.