Ramnath Singh Fonia, M.Phil, Ph.d
There are four corridors which link India with ancient Silk Roads. ( one ) The road through high Tibetan tableland and down to the Ganges – to Sravasti. ( two ) The Road through valleys and mountains of western Nepal to the fertile valleys of the Ganges. ( three ) The Silk Roads through the Karakoram via Srinagar, Leh and Sangju Pass covering western Himalaya. ( four ) The road down the Ganges – Delhi to Chandraketugarh in West Bengal .
The present study focuses on the trade links of India with ancient Silk Roads through Karakoram Pass in western Himalaya with two flock aim – First, to understand the cultural geography and traditional club of the westerly Himalaya which has been changed beyond expectation ; Second, documentation of coarse archaeological sites and monuments along the silk trade road which covers huge geographic area from the surrounding areas in the Trans- Pamir, Xin-jiang, Ladakh Kashmir and Swat and covers vast straddle of clock and provide cultural continuity from pre-historic to historic period.
Reading: India | Silk Roads Programme
The western Himalayan region which extends from Chitral in the extreme west to the Uttrakhand Himalaya in the east consists series of big batch ranges i.e. Hind Kush, the Pamir the Karakoram, the Great Himalayas and behind it lies the Great postpone land of Tibet .
Ladakh situated on the upper Indus is the main center of important barter networks of both long distance trade wind and local trade .
indeed it is a meet space of several trade roads coming from Yarkand, Punjab and Kashmir. The six passes from Uttrakhand Himalaya and passes from Lahul and Spiti, meet the Leh-Lahasa road at Gartok. The physical stipulate of the western Himalayas clearly shows that the Himalayan economy was subject upon its trade with Central Asia and China .
The vegetation and fauna of the Western Himalaya forms natural resources which have been used by its inhabitants in different ways. thus the natural resources of the Himalayas besides acted as a meaningful storm in the development of stock breeding and farming product. The archaeological researches conducted in the region revealed that the Bactrian Camel, Yak, Horse, Wild Goat and Wild Buffalo have been domesticated since the early on phase of the Neolithic stage .
At the subsistence horizontal surface, the food grains grown in the lower Indus valley of the Indus River were exchanged with wool and salt from the Chang Thang region of Ladakh and western Tibet. Although no seals have been noticed in the area to witness the trade wind agreement between the trade collaborator of Tibet and Ladakh, as per local custom the primitive shape of barter agreement was known as Singchyad ( piece of wood ). It was normally a piece of wood or stone broken into two pieces marked with their identity retained by each party in order to be tallied to ensure the craft liaison. This was followed by some rituals to strengthen the kinship and besides to gain confidence as mark of reputation for honesty. Later, when the writing of craft items increased and besides within the consequence of development of long distance deal, it was recorded on written promissory note by giving details of transaction of deal .
The pashmina wool trade has besides formed a continuous old trade relationship between Tibet and Kashmir .
Fairs, festivals and periodic marts were the main centres of commercial assembly and market. To meet the common requirements a social indigence was felt to hold periodic fairs throughout the western Himalayan region .
The articles which found their way into central Asia through the passes of the Himalayas consisted of food grains, cotton, dyeing material, burlap bags, utensils, etc dry fruits, silk, orange yellow, shawl and works of arts from the western Himalayas and precious and semitrailer valued stones, herb, amber scatter, musk, salt, borax and pack animals from Tibet .
The meaning of Himalayan Trade with Central Asia through Karakoram pass not only lies in the items exchanged but besides in the use opportunities. It provided to many sections of skilled and amateurish Himalayan population ; it encouraged cultivation of crops in the cragged and rugged nation and besides provided large grazing grounds along the Indus, Sutlej and Ganga and rivulets and shelters near hot springs for sheep raise. Trade ensured the promotion of art, religion and family industries and besides created harmonious and cordial relationship among versatile communities. The Himalayan heritage besides helps the salute generation to recognise the mutuality of people, nature and environment .
The introduce site in the Himalayas marks an unprecedented passing from anything known in the past. however, in the past, economic and religious situations were identical much interrelated commerce, art and religion was close inter-linked and much of this represented a felicitous combination by which monuments of capital intensity flourished .
PAST EFFORTS AND ONGOING ACTIVITIES:
· Four corridors from India have been identified on preliminary basis .
· Uttarapatha or more normally known as Grand Trunk Road is one of the oldest and largest road of South Asia. An external conference on Transnational nomination and besides to support forwarding of cultural relation among respective SAARC countries is proposed to be held in India .
· The monuments and sites located along this road comprises of prehistoric village, Harappan sites, Buddhist Stupas & Monasteries, Temples, Forts, Tombs, Pavilions, Bridges, Gardens, Sarais ( halting places ), Kos minars ( mile stones ), Baolis ( wells ) etc. These remains survive till date and some of them have besides been excavated providing a cultural continuity from prehistoric to modern times .
· Some of the authoritative historical places lying on this road are Kabul, Peshawar, Attock, Lahore, Attari ( Wagha boundary line ), Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Ambala, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Delhi, Mathura, Agra Kanpur, Allahabad, Benaras, Sasaram, Patna, Dhanbad, Burdwan and Kolkata. All these places constantly contain relics in unlike forms associated with the development of culture in the context of trade and commerce. The range of cultural relics along the GT road is indeed huge .
· Some crucial school of art such as Taxila, Mathura, Sarnath and Sena flourished in this road. This road is besides known as path of sung .
· 12 sites from India which are historically of direct relevance and thematically related to Silk Roads have been selected for inclusion body in the Tentative number of the consecutive WH nominations- Vikramshila ( Antichak, Bihar ), Vaishli ( Bihar ), Kaushambi ( UP ), Kushinagar ( UP ), Sravasti ( UP ), Ahichchhatra ( Bareilly, UP ), Indraprastha ( Old fort Delhi ) Sanghol ( Ludhiana, Punjab ), Harwan ( Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir ), Arikamedu ( Pondicherry ), Kaveripattinam ( Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu ), Shuraparaka ( Nala Sopara, Mumbai, Maharashtra ) .
· Monument and sites along the Uttarapath or Grand Trunk Road are proposed in the probationary number of world Heritage list .
Fourth Coming Silk Roads Initiative:
· Project ‘ MAUSAM ’ was launched in 2014 with the objective – to create comprehensive database of coastal sites and UNESCO web platform on indian Ocean Maritime Silk Roads .
· Trans-national nomination of Maritime Road, listing of sites, intangible inheritance and dedication in the memory of World Heritage register .
· To establish a alone ‘ Cross Cultural Conventions approach ’ for UNESCO to be followed as a function model for sustainable development and sustainable tourism .
EXPECTATIONS:
· Reviving lost linkage with diverse countries .
· To connect new bridges of co-operation and cultural interaction .
· At national level, it is designed to link among several institutions at country and cardinal charge to create sustainable model for auspices and preservation of palpable and intangible heritage .
· At regional and local anesthetic level, outreach program through train and workshops, advocating for sites in identify states for dedication in World Heritage list .
The necessitate of the hour is to create favorable and sustainable conditions for expansion and proliferation of trade through the Silk Roads which shall go a long way in restoring its former aura .
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