Indo-Tibetan Border Trade In Himachal Pradesh

Trade along the Indo-Tibetan border in Himachal Pradesh has a long history with the first state intervention in trade recorded over three hundred years ago. Colonial mercantile interests, the political interests of independent India and China, infrastructure, economic development and cultural transformations have all affected this trade and transformed communities living on either side of the border. A memorandum on the resumption of border trade between India and Chinese Tibet was signed at New Delhi on 13 December 1991, and Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh was one of the two designated trade routes. This article discusses the historical transformations in trade and in the lives of communities living along this border on the Indian side. The two major trade routes along Shipki La and the Kaurik Pass are described. Current practices, attitudes and aspirations of traders and villagers along these routes, and the quantum and quality of current and potential trade are analysed. Based on this, the potential impact of encouraging legal trade along these traditional routes and the impediments to improvement in trade are discussed.