The
Karakoram Pass played a significant role in the flourishing trade on the Silk
Route between India-China and Central Asia. The pass was shut down and trade
stopped in 1949 when Xinjiang became a part of People’s Republic of China. Leh
was a busy cosmopolitan commercial town, with traders from Central Asia,
Kashgarh, Yarkand, Kabul, Tibet, Kashmir, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh who
stayed on for one or two months after their exhausting journey.
The
trade, through the Karakoram, influenced the dress, food and dance forms of
Ladakh. On the other side of the Pass, “Chini Bagh” at Kashgarh (the residence
of the British Joint Commissioner of Trade), “Gurdial Sarai” and “Kashmiri
Kucha” (street) at Yarkand, where Indian traders used to stay, still remind us
of the magnitude of commerce that took place. The Bactrian camel (double hump)
of Nubra valley is a relic from Xinjiang. A generation of people in Nubra still
speaks the Uyghur dialect. Food served in some of old streets of Leh has a
distinctly Central Asian flavour.
Central
And Popular
At
18,250 feet, Karakoram was one of the highest trade routes. Now, a motorable
road exists through Khardungla (18,680 feet) and Turumputila up to the base of
Saser Kangri. Thereafter, a track moves over to camp sites of Murgo (in
Yarkandi, also known as the gateway of death), Burtsa, Kazilangar, Deptsang la,
Daulat Beg Oldi (the Indo-Tibetan Border Police post named after a Xinjiang
caravan leader who was buried here) and finally to the Karakoram Pass. Notably,
the India-China boundary at the pass is not disputed; it is indicated by two
heaps of stones at a distance of 50 feet, one Indian, and the other Chinese. It
is an eight daytrek from the picturesque Nubra Valley to the Karakoram Pass. It
is not possible to get lost there — the trail of bones and skeletons of men and
animals constantly remind the weary traveller of the ruggedness of terrain and
weather. But in spite of those drawbacks, the Karakoram Pass remained popular
due to its centrality and affinity with Ladakhis. The Silk Route, through which
passed Chinese merchandise, notably silk to Rome, is a primary axis of
transportation through the heart of Asia. A number of auxiliary axes feed into
the Silk Route. An important feeder route from the lower Himalayas was from Hunza
via Sarikol into Xinjiang via the Mintaka Pass. This route is now a part of the
Northern Areas of Pakistan. Another more important route was via Karakoram from
the Leh-Nubra valley or Leh-Changla pass-Shyok Valley.
Modern
Link
Pakistan
has always enhanced its strategic power much more than its economic and
scientific potential by making full use of its geostrategic location. It was at
the 1955 Bandung Non-Aligned nations conference that President Ayub Khan and
Premier Chou en Lai met for the first time and later concluded, in 1963, the
historic Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement. Earlier, Pakistan Army engineers had
built a Indus Valley road to Gilgit. Later, Pakistan concluded an agreement
with China to transform this road into an allweather dual carriageway all the
way up to the Mintaka Pass.
Completed
in 1969, the Karakoram Highway pushes north through Islamabad, Gilgit and
crosses the Karakoram range through the 16,000ft Khunjerab Pass. The highway
abandoned the Mintaka Pass because of its proximity to Russia and the road is
now closer to and strengthens the Xinjiang-Aksai Chin Western Tibet road.
Approximately 10,000 Chinese and 15,000 Pakistani engineers and army troops
were employed in building the road with 80 bridges. The road was hailed by the
Londonbased Financial Times as “China’s new trade outlet to Africa and Middle
East” in the Pakistan Himalayas via a “modernized ancient silk route” (quoted
by Dawn , Karachi, April 30, 1971).
Cultural
Bridges
India
should negotiate with China to open the ancient trade route for mutual gain.
India enjoys historic popularity with the people of Central Asia and Xinjiang.
Most of the merchandise sold by Pakistani traders across the border in China is
of Indian origin. The economy of Ladakh, which has traditionally depended on
trade, would thrive with the opening of the Karakoram Pass. Ever suspicious of
links between militant Uyghurs and terrorist outfits in Pakistan, China would
have no such fears regarding Ladakh. There are immense possibilities for the
revival of an ancient Buddhist connection and for two-way tourism to ancient
Buddhist sites in Central Asia and India. Ladakh Buddhists long to visit the
“Thousand Buddhist caves” at Dunhuang in Xinjiang. The Karakoram Pass has also
been a traditional Haj route from Xinjiang. Pilgrims can take advantage of
direct Haj flights from Srinagar. As strong cultural bridges already exist, we
have to revive them by resuming trade through the pass.
Energy
Gateway
Karakoram
can also act as a gateway for hydrocarbon pipelines from Central Asia. The
planned Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan- India pipeline (TAPI) from the city
of Shymkent must pass through disturbed and insecure areas of Afghanistan and
Pakistan. Another pipeline from Kazakhstan, which would also pass through the
same territory, is being conceived. The security of the pipeline would always
be in doubt despite local government guarantees. The route from the Central
Asian countries via Xinjiang and the Karakoram Pass would be more secure. There
is another advantage, most of the hydrocarbon pipelines in Central Asia are on
an east-west axis. A pipeline through Karakoram, at least up to the pass, would
have an eastwest line. It would be economical and technologically easier. China
is already planning an oil pipeline connecting Gwadar Port with Xinjiang along
with the Karakoram Highway. India can make a beginning by proposing a
comparatively secure pipeline through Xinjiang and Karakoram. It would be a
good confidencebuilding step by both countries. It may be argued that the
economic viability of the Pass is not great, especially through the allweather
motorable roads over the Khunjerab Pass; through here, a truck from Kashgarh
can get to Karachi in five days for seven months in a year, compared to 12
through the Karakoram Pass. The author would argue that the opening of the
Karakoram Pass would hugely benefit the people of Ladakh and Xinjiang. Tibet,
as a source of merchandise, has not been successful as Chinese goods are
available from Nepal. The commercial potential of central Asian carpets, silk,
leather goods, dry fruits in India and the direct export of Indian goods to
Xinjiang would be very high. The popularity of Indian and Xinjiang goods and
the revival of ancient cultural links make a good case for opening the Karakoram
Pass for trade. Once done, development of infrastructure for traffic and energy
pipelines, and other benefits will follow.
कोई टिप्पणी नहीं:
एक टिप्पणी भेजें