[Kathmandu and Delhi rarely realise this: the region divided politically by River Kali since 1816 is still connected by communities, shared cultures and trade.]
All the rivers originating from the
receding glaciers below these peaks or ridges merge into River Kali. It becomes
Sharada after Baramdev (Tanakpur) and Ghaghra after converging with Karnali at
Brahamghat (also known as Saryu in Ayodhya region) and finally merges with
Ganga at Revelganj in Bihar.
The mountain passes allow humans
and animals to cross over at many places between the catchments of Karnali,
Kali and Sutlej rivers. In Nepal, rivers are also passes, as we see at Hilsa
along Karnali. In Uttarakhand, no river comes from Tibet, so only high passes
connect the region with Tibet. The bugyals or meadows of Chhiplakot,
Chhiyalekh, Khaptad and many in Nampha and Tinker valleys are still wild and
beautiful.
2. Ethnic Past
Homo sapiens reached here in waves
of ethnic groups. First came the Kols/Negroids (the shilpkars/Dalits of Kumaon
and Nepal), then came Khasas/Kassites (loosely the Caucasians who constitute a
large part of the Himalayan population), and then the Mongoloids
(Shaukas/Bhotiyas in Kumaon and Byansi in Nepal; and also the Banraji in the
upper reaches and Tharus in the foothills). All of them may have mixed with
communities from earlier waves and other groups. They came from the east and
west of the region, the Tibetan plateau and the Indian subcontinent in medieval
and later periods.
Those who migrated during and after
the medieval period are more visible in some regions. Yet, these more vocal
migrants could not fully suppress the quieter sections of the earlier Himalayan
habitants. The conflict, interaction, compromise and assimilation of different
groups is what has created the current face of this society. It is to be noted
that the rivers or mountain ridges were never the border lines between two
principalities or communities of the Himalayas. They have been interdependent
and this process evolved naturally. Even with Tibet, the main Himalayan
watershed was never the border line, although China managed to do this with
neighbouring Himalayan nations after 1949.
No Himalayan kingdom was able to
last for long. Most of them were later medieval or modern constructs. The rise
of the Greater Gorkha Empire (1750-1815) made possible what is today Nepal. It
is said that Nepal was never under colonial rule but the truth is that it was
colonised by the British in powerful ways, just like many Indian states. The
process continued even after the British left. From politics to economics, this
nation was continuously compelled to follow the path created by others.
Neither the intermingling of the
ethnic groups nor the interaction over millennia could dissolve the original
expressions of those communities who came here. The expressions remained alive
in the forms of human faces, languages, vocabulary, proverbs, folklore, folk
gods, food habits, clothes, ornaments, architecture, seeds and indigenous
science and technology.
3. Society
If we visualise a social map of the
region, we find the same communities on both sides of Kali. From the foothills
to the higher Himalayas, the composition looks loosely like this: Tharus
(around Tanakpur-Khatima and Mahendra Nagar/Kanchanpur); caste or stratified
societies of Brahmins/Bahuns/Thakurs/Thakuris and Shilpkars (in Kali Kumaon,
Sor-Pithoragarh and Baitadi-Dandeldhura); Khasa communities, the only
aborigines Banrajis and Rangs/Byansis (in Dharchula and Darchula).
During Malla, Bum, Chand and Gorkha
rule, migrations and marriages across the two sides were a matter of course.
Many families belonging to different communities did this. Brahmins, Shilpkars
and Thakurs migrated from the east side of Kali to the west.
The families who migrated from
Kumaon to Nepal were known as Kumai. They spread to many places, travelling to
Kathmandu Valley and beyond, all the way up to Sikkim. A few Buddhists,
Muslims, Sikhs, including some Khampa settlers and nature worshippers, are part
of this society. Due to trade in colonial times and later with the idea of a
double border in Dharchula after 1960, both sides of Baluakot (Kuchyar),
Jauljibi, Jhulaghat and Tanakpur-Banbasa/Mahendra Nagar saw an influx of
‘outsiders’. This is the reason for the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and
occupational diversity here.
4. Economic Diversity
A lot of economic diversity can be
seen in this region. Till a few decades back, there were hunter-gatherers
(Banrajis/Rajis) living here. They have come out of their splendid isolation of
centuries, but they are still removed from others. They make wooden vessels,
harvest honey, work as masons or fishers and number less than 1,000 in Kumaon
and around 2,400 in Nepal. Among other communities, animal husbandry,
transhumance and settled agriculture have continued. The Shaukas
(Joharis-Rangs-Byansis) have been emerging from this way of life and multiple
reasons have contributed to this shift. With the closure of Indo-Tibetan trade,
age-old economic activities came to an end. In 1967, Shaukas, Banrajis, Tharus,
Boksas (all four mostly found in Kumaon) and Jaunsaris of Uttarakhand were
given Scheduled Tribe status and this led to opportunities in government
employment.
While the rest of the subcontinent
has been ruined by monopolistic seed companies, I found in the valleys of
Karnali and Seti the atharanaza system. In this system, 18 or more varieties of
grains, pulses, oil seeds, fruits, vegetables, tobacco and sugarcane are
produced according to traditional agricultural practices. The villages
immediately along the Kali River also use the system. Also used sometimes is
Izaran/khil, a kind of jhoom agriculture. The natural organic agricultural
diversity is unique in this region.
The cheura (butter nut) tree, which
gives fruit, oil, honey and fodder, is found in this area. The musk deer and
himchitua still wander in the higher reaches, while the Asian elephant and
Bengal tiger stalk the foothills. A unique fish living in Kali and its
tributaries is the mahaseer. In recent decades, yarsh gunba/keedajadi
(Cordyceps sinensis) has been found in the higher regions on both sides. While
it has given some impetus to the regional economy, it also leads to conflicts.
Handicrafts and the produce of
cottage industries based on wool, leather, wood and bamboo are frequently
bartered. Till 1960, the trade with Tibet was an important economic activity
practiced with transhumance and nomadic movement between winter and summer
settlements. During colonial times, the army began recruiting from here. The
Shaukas were not interested in veering away from their traditional occupations
(transhumance, agriculture, cottage industries and trade) and the old territory
between the foothills and Tibet. But after China occupied Tibet, they started
thinking about other jobs. Education and reservation helped them in their
transition.
Nepal never came under colonial
rule, but colonial rule deeply impacted Nepal. Linked to it is the story of the
recruitment in the British army from Nepal and Uttarakhand. As the Nepal War
(1814-’15) wound down, officers of the East India Company were left impressed
by the bravery of Nepali soldiers, even though they lost the war (especially at
Malaun and Khalanga). The British decided to raise an army of mountain people
by establishing the 1st King George V’s Own Gurkha Rifles in the second decade
of 19th century. This made military and economic history: it started the
process of the Gorkhas becoming “global soldiers” serving in many countries.
Economic activities came to the
region one by one. Some were transformed with time and some were lost. The
barter system between communities along Kali evolved naturally through
migration, transborder romance and marriages, and cultural-religious systems.
Pastoral life and animal husbandry
are interwoven with agriculture, cottage industry, transport and trade. Indian,
Nepali and Tibetan traders have been exchanging goods seasonally. They even procure
some goods specifically for clients in Tibet and India. With the focus on
Indo-Tibet trade, at times we tend to forget the barter trade between Nepal and
Kumaon, which saw the introduction of monetary currency during the colonial
period. Kumaoni gur (jaggery) and Nepali ghee (clarified butter) were major
items of trade. Wool, yak tails, medicinal herbs, Humli yaks and Jumli horses
were other important items. Several local jobs on both sides were part of an
interdependent economy.
Outmigration is another aspect of
mobility and economy. In Kumaon, Nepali labour force plays an important role.
They can be found in construction, transport and tourism sectors, and as
guards, cooks, drivers, mechanics, helpers and managers in agriculture and
horticulture sectors. The people of India remember their helpful role on
pilgrimage routes as well as in the reconstruction of Kedarnath, which was
devastated in the 2013 floods. It is interesting to note that government
schemes such as Jawahar Rozgar Yojana and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act have helped Nepali labourers too as people of
Uttarakhand have begun leaving manual labour, partly due to education and
migration.
5. Cultural Mosaic
For ages, the Himalayas have been
an amphitheatre for micro cultures that have been blending with one another,
forming a rainbow of cultural commonalities. People have moved across its
innumerable passes in small caravans and settled down. The result of those
movements is the present-day society.
The culture of this area is
multi-layered. Before 1816, it was one region, with common folk goddesses, gods
and heroes. Those ties are still around. People from Nepal come to Kanar Devi
and Pancheshwar temples and fairs in Kumaon, while people from Kumaon visit
Tripura Sundari, Nigalsaini, Ugratara Devi and Mallikarjun temples and fairs in
Nepal. Nepal and Kumaon have numerous temples of Lata/Lataul
(Dhansaini/Badhabe), Mallikarjun (Uku/Askot), Malaynath, and Baital. The
tradition of Gaura Meshar came to the other side from Nepal.
People from Tinker and other
adjoining villages go to Chhipra, where the original temple of Lohasur is
located. Jhhakris from both places used to visit Manasarovar and Kailas
annually. Chamu temples are both in Kumaon (Wadda, Chamdeval, Pancheshwar and
Thatgaon) and Nepal (Dhamkuri, Surad and Santola). Syangsei (Gabla) is the
prominent god of the Rangs. Raula Kedar in Nepal and Thal Kedar in Pithoragrah
are equally important and attractive. Manch (between Champawat and Tamli),
where dhuni (sacred flame) of Gorakhnath is still burning, is visited by
villagers from both sides.
Pilgrims from Nepal used to come to
the Chardhams of Uttarakhand on foot – the well-maintained Nepali dharmshalas
(rest houses) at Kedarnath and Badrinath tell their story. The temple at
Gangotri, which was swept away in a flood in June 1943, was built by the
Gorkhali military general Amar Singh Thapa before 1814. Pilgrims from
Uttarakhand used to go to Muktinath through the mountain paths of this area.
The ultimate pilgrimage was to Kailas
and Mansarovar from both sides. All along these routes, the local rulers,
communities and individuals built dharmshalas. The story of Jasuli Dantal in
Kumaoni and Chhanna Devi Tinkari in Nepal, who built dharmshalas, is well
known. In the region, the trade and pilgrimage seasons were the same. From
Tinker and Lipulekh passes traders used to go to Taklakot, from Limpiya Dhura,
Darma Dhura and Kungri-Bingri to Chakra and Gyanima.
The ballads of Sangram Karki are
sung on both sides, as are the stories of Gorill/Golu and Chhippal Devta. Golu
Devta is associated with rivers Gori and Kali. His story then moves to Gorill
Chaud in Champawat (the original temple), Chitai in Almora and Ghorakhal in
Nainital and to so many places, including Kandolia in Pauri Garhwal. Jhusia
Damai (1910-2005) was a bi-national singer, as was Bhanuram Sukoti (1938-2016).
Jhusia happened to be the chief bard of Tripura Sundari temple. Sher Singh
Rawat and Kabutari Devi (1939-2018) were influenced by Nepali music and
language. Lokratna Gumani (1791-1846) wrote in Sanskrit, Hindi, Kumauni and
Nepali. The same folk songs are sung on both sides of Kali with the same
musical instruments, among which the most precious is the hurka.
Musician Bulaki Ram (1900-1972)
taught classical music in Pithoragarh and Baku. Architect Laurie Baker
(1917-2007) studied the vernacular architecture of both regions, making many
trips to Nepal from Pithoragarh. Pranavanand (1896-1989) travelled to Kailas.
Narayan Swami (1908-1956) and Khaptad Baba, who stayed at Narayan Ashram and
Khaptad, are still fondly remembered by communities on both sides.
Victoria Cross winner Gaje Ghale
(1919-1997) lived in Almora after his retirement. Freedom fighter Ram Singh
Thakuri (1914-2002) was a double migrant. When Trilochan Pande, DD Sharma or
Prayag Joshi were travelling in search of folklore and languages west of the
Kali, Marc Gaborieau and Jayaraj Pant were making field trips for the same
cause on the other side. Henry Strachey and Richard Strachey and Arnold Heim
and August Gansser travelled not only to both sides of Kali, but also to
Western Tibet.
Gaura Meshar, Chaitol, Hill Jatra
and Holi are celebrated on both sides. The Holi of Kumaon and Achham may be
connected, but both have their distinctiveness. In Achham it is supposed to be
purely a folk performance, but in Kumaon it has three expressions: Khari Holi,
baithi/baithki Holi and Women’s Holi with thhetar. Humli jhya and Kangdali
festivals of the Rang community of Byans and Chaudans are associated with
medieval feudal suppression by Jumlee rulers. Chhipla Jaat is a predominantly
Khasa affair.
Among the common annual events are
Kanar Devi, Jauljibi, Taleshwar, Uku, Gokulya, Pancheshwar and Uttarayani
fairs. People cross sides to meet maitees (members of natal home) and other
relatives. Fairs feature songs, dances, homemade food and barter trade. At
times marriages are fixed at these fairs. Most homes in the villages along
river Kali and its catchments are either a mayaka (mother’s home) or a sasural
(in-laws’ home) for someone on the other side of the valley.
Most languages of Nepal (Eastern
Pahari) and Kumaon/Uttarakhand (Central and Western Pahari) belong to the
Indo-European family of languages. Also found here are the Austric (Raji
language) and Indo-Tibetan (Rang) or Nepali-Tibetan (Tinkari, Byansi)
linguistic families. Interestingly, the language of the Tharu community in
India and Nepal was influenced by Rajasthani and Awadhi.
Rang Lvu (Darmi, Byansi and
Tinkari), Kumaoni, Manihari Kumaoni (in Manihar Goth, Champawat and Tanakpur),
Doteli, Nepali, Tibetan, Urdu and Tharu are the dominant languages of the
region. Experts have found similarities between Kumaoni and Doteli languages.
Most of the people are at least trilingual and trans-boundary music and songs
are as natural as air. Oral language has been more powerful in the region than
written language.
6. Rajya and Samrajya
Chinese traveller Xuanzang wrote
about the plurality of kingdoms in this region. Till the emergence of three
Himalayan empires (Dogra, Gorkha and Ahom) in the 18th and 19th century,
smaller principalities were common in the Himalayas. Nepal had about 46 (24+22)
principalities before 1790. In Kumaon and Garhwal, there were more than 60
smaller kings before the consolidation by Chand and Panwar rulers. Plurality of
rulers was a feature of the local geography, which created the idea of local
autonomy and independence. In some frontier regions, people harboured the “idea
of not being governed”.
In terms of dynasties, the Katyuris
(after 7th century CE) created the first large kingdom in Uttarakhand and
Western Nepal. In 1191, Ashok Malla captured parts of the Katyuri territory.
Krachall Dev crushed the Katyuri rise in 1223 and continued ruling Kumaon. The
Askot Rajbars, who were the descendants of Katyuris, ruled both sides of Kali
for a long time. After Malls, some parts of Kumaon were occupied by Bums. The
rise of the Chands was a new beginning, as they also ruled Sorad and adjoining
parts of east of Kali. Later they shifted their capital to Almora and continued
ruling till the coming of Gorkha aggressors in 1790. Before the rise of the
Gorkhas, the key administrative centres were Sinja, Deepayal, Ajaymeru
(Devalhat), Champawat. Pithoragarh, Askot and Sirakot (Didihat).
The Rangs of Kumaon paid taxes to
three rulers: the Jumli, the Tibetan ruler and the Rajbar/Chand of Kumaon. The
Jumli used to attack trade parties and the villages of Byans and Chaudans. Tax
extortion was a favourite tool of theirs.
Around the time of the rise of the
Gorkha Kingdom around 1750, the East India Company was preparing for the War of
Plassey. The Gorkhas first consolidated Chaubisis and then Baisis. Their
arrival in Kumaon was not met with resistance. In 1803-’04 they attacked
Garhwal that had been devasted by an earthquake. They crossed the Sutlej and
reached Kangra around 1809. This was the climax of the short-lived Gorkha
Empire spread from Teesta in the east to Sutlej-Beans in the west.
The oppressive Gorkha rule is still
remembered as Gorkhyol in Kumaon, Gorkhyani in Garhwal and Gorakhshahi in
Himachal. The cruel tax and judicial systems and the trade of humans were key
aspects of this “military feudalism”. They could not recognise the constant eye
of the East India Company on the Himalayas. The Company feared an attack by
Napoleon on India. This was the cause why the Company became eager to get
Uttarakhand without occupying the rich kingdom of Awadh. The colonial power was
slowly engaging with or usurping and replacing the feudal kingdoms in India.
The Treaty of Sugauli (1816) was a
turning point in local history as for the first time, the Kali river became the
international border between Nepal and British Kumaon. It virtually divided the
people from the foothills to the Trans-Himalayas. The colonial power used the
local opposition to Gorkha rule to their advantage. They used the accounts of
different travellers to Uttarakhand before the Nepal war and made an assessment
about the resources of the region and volume of Trans-Himalayan trade.
The colonial rule changed the
political scene in the Himalayas. Where the East India Company could not
directly enter the region, it operated through treaties. The change that did
not happen in the Himalayas in 2,000 years occurred in 200 years of colonial
rule. Interestingly, the region west of river Kali came under colonial rule
with the feudal state of Askot, while east of Kali remained under Gorkha rule. In
this way, both the older feudal and new colonial systems came to operate along
the Kali valley. On the western side, some missionaries undertook health and
educational work with an eye on conversions, but they could not work on the
eastern side. Later, Narayan Swami’s work centred on education, health and
pilgrimage helped villagers of both sides. Trans-border co-existence was the
basic element of this relationship.
We don’t have clarity about the
borders created by the colonial rulers. Take the tug-of-war over
Kalapani-Lipulekh, which India and Nepal have failed to solve. The question of
the origin of River Kali was taken superficially. Most experts and leaders did
not realise that Kali was there before and after the maps were drawn. Kuti
Yangti was the other river. Kali was flowing, more or less, north-south and
Kuti northwest-southeast before their confluence at Gunji. The road along Kali
leads to Lipulekh pass and Kuti to Lampiya dhura. The first pass opens in
Karnali valley, where their trade mart is located. The second leads to the
other mart in the Sutlej catchment.
Lipulekh has been used since
medieval times, when one of the Chand rulers, Baj Bahadur, went to Taklakot in
1670 CE and captured it to ensure safe passage for the trade through Lipulekh.
This trade continued through Gorkha and colonial rule. The two intimate
villages of Kumaon Byans, Chhangru and Tinker, were given to Nepal after the
Treaty of Sugauli, but till 1824 there was local opposition. The East India
Company, however, continued to follow the treaty. Its border was clear. When
Henry Strachey visited Chhangru and Tinker and met the villagers in 1846, he
realised that “an error had been committed by the Company officers. Both the
villages should have remained in Kumaon”.
The colonial rulers agreed and they
changed the border beyond Kalapni between 1850 and 1879. It was made East of
Kalapani towards the ridge which connects Tinker Lipu with Lipulekh. Here is
located the tri-juncture of India, Nepal and Tibet (China).
The post-Sugauli borders changed
many times depending on the relations of the colonial power with Nepali rulers.
During the 1857 uprising, the Nepali ruler Jung Bahadur helped the East India
Company and led the offensive against the rebels to Gorakhpur and Lucknow. He
was rewarded and even the adjoining part of Awadh region (Naya Desh) was given
to Nepal in appreciation of its role in crushing India’s First War of
Independence. He never asked for Kalapani.
7. The Post-1947 Scene
The post-Independence relations
between India and Nepal are well known. In 20th century, under the British and
under the government of independent India, the relations between both regions
remained warm. Kumaoni pastoralists were still taking their animals to Nepal
during the winters. Trade was smooth. Young men from Nepal got, and continue to
get, jobs and seasonal work on the other side. Many teachers from Kumaon served
in Nepal and some of them are dearly remembered. At a school in Bhopur
(Bajhang), the statue of its founding headmaster, Ram Dutt Awasthi (1907-1990),
is an example of this legacy. Students from Nepal started coming for studies to
Pithoragarh, Almora and Naintal in large numbers. Prime Minister Lokendra
Bahadur Chand and Ambassador Uddhav Dev Bhatt were among them.
Kali/Mahakali region remained
autonomous and independent for centuries. The territoriality and political
scene changed after 1816. Today we can say that here stand the two corners of
two South Asian nations –democratic and secular as per their constitutions –
but the same people live on both sides. The people in Kathmandu and Delhi
rarely realise this reality. Kali has divided this region politically since
1816 but the communities, cultures, shared heritage and economic
interdependence connect them. This connection must continue to be strong. If it
disappears, it will be a loss for both countries.
Today Nepal is a new democracy in
South Asia. It must learn and unlearn from Indian democracy, which is diluted
and escaping from its aims and constitutional promises. The corporate
domination, loot of resources, destruction and misuse of institutions, attack
on plurality and prime personalities, end of free press and finally the
onslaught on tribal communities, students and workers make it less than ideal.
We have seen the collapse of the Non-Aligned Movement and the sinking of the
idea of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
The Nepali tilt towards China is
more dangerous. Nepal has a socio-cultural bond with India, a natural affinity,
and a common heritage. The rulers of Nepal and India may have conflicts and
disagreements, but the two peoples can and should open a dialogue. This cannot
be possible with China. Nepali people must understand the nature of the new
capitalism, which will encroach from both sides.
Nepal should also save itself from
the destruction of forests, Himalayan landscapes, rivers and biodiversity.
Nepal must not damage Khaptad, as Aauli and Bedini have been damaged in
Uttarakhand, and should not let Muktinath become another Kedarnath. India and
Nepal must think together to prevent the construction of Pancheshwar dam from
damaging the pristine Kali river which flows through a region so ecologically
and socio-culturally rich. India and Nepal – and China too – should realise
that “war materials” can neither cope with climatic changes nor restore the
already destroyed wilderness in the Himalayas. The Indian State may not learn
from Nepal but Indians can. Especially how Nepal has maintained and managed its
socio-cultural-religious diversity evolving over centuries.
This is an edited version of
the Biddwat Prabachan, Madan Puraskar Guthi, Kathmandu, partly delivered
on October 19, 2020.
@ Scroll