City of the frontier: Trading the tales of yore

Peshawar has served as the hub of trade across Central Asian states for centuries.

PESHAWAR:

For centuries Peshawar was the main hub for the trans-Afghanistan caravan trade between the Central Asian states known as khanates, and the sub-continent. Little is left behind to mark the city’s standing in a trade route central to the region.

The almost palatial Sethi House which still stands within the walled city is one of the few structures which reflect the capital that poured into Peshawar through traders and businessmen.

There used to be several carvan sarai (a rest stop for caravans where they could also tether their animals for the night) in the city. These have all but disappeared with the passage of time. The few – one in Qissa Khwani and another speculated to be on the site of Gor Gathri) that remain – are no longer in their original form.

Since its early days, Peshawar was largely an agrarian district with fertile plains and an ample supply of water from the legendry Bara River, Budni River, and of course, Kabul River. This meant the denizens were not completely dependent on the caravan trade.

The city proper, however, was a trade-based economy, rich on the back of the Russian Ruble. Consequently, the birth of Soviet Russia bankrupted all traders, bringing the downfall of the mighty Sethian.

To a grinding halt

The rest of Peshawar also had to brace itself against the debilitating blow felt at the end of the caravan trade. With the communist revolution, production facilities in Central Asia were turned into collective workshops. Bukharan Jews – the main players in this caravan trade along with local traders – were also hit hard in the process, eliminating any chances of reviving  the trade of merchandise thousands of miles from production houses in Central Asia to markets in the sub-continent; all on the back of Bactrian camels.

But it was not the end of caravan trade which brought down the Sethian and made them a footnote in history. It was their over dependence on the Tsarist Russian currency, which eventually was reduced to worthless pieces of paper – paper which the trade tycoon had stored in their kothi, much like a vault in a rich bank.

For centuries the responsibility of transporting these goods rested on the shoulders of the Kabuli, Tajik and Shinwari people, who used their own camels for transportation. They were transporters-turned-traders who were great travellers and with an instinctive and native understanding of the regions of Central Asia, Afghanistan and India.

From Bokhara gold to British silks

The Gazetteer of Peshawar District, first published in 1897-98 (Sang-e-Meel, reprint 2004) mentions, “The main streams of external traffic are from Kabul and Bokhara. The most frequented route from the west up to 1881 was that which crosses the Tartara pass and issues into the plains at Michni, this pass being safer though more difficult than the Khaibar. When the Khaibar (Khyber) opened under arrangements with the tribes in 1881 practically all the trade came to this route until the Afridi outbreak in August 1897...The main trade of the district passes through the city of Peshawar.”

It went on to add, “The principal foreign markets with dealings with Peshawar are Kabul and Bokhara. From the former, raw silk, worsted, cochineal, jalap, asafoetida, saffron, resin, simples and fruits, both fresh and dried, are imported, principally for re-exportation to the Punjab and Hindustan, whence are received in return English pieces – goods like cambric, silks, indigo, sugar and spices.

Bokhara supplies gold sequins, gold and silver thread and lace, principally for re-exportation to Kashmir, whence the return trade was principally in shawls. Iron from Bajuar and skin coats are the only remaining items of importance coming from beyond the border.”

Evaluating Peshawar, the hub

The book further mentions: “The transactions of the Peshawar market, however, are nothing when compared with the stream of traffic from the direction of Kabul and Bokhara which passes on, not stopping in Peshawar, into the Punjab and Northern India.”

In fact, the British Indian administration organised an annual fair in September 1869 on bank of Budni River two miles out of the city.

The gross value of the articles brought for sale to the fair was estimated at Rs500,000 and registered sales stood at Rs317,667. The administration, however, was not happy with the success of the event.

In November and December of 1870, another fair was held and this time the sales dropped to Rs302,804. All attempts to regulate the trade and estimate its worth failed and the practice was abandoned.

The trade routes

When the British Army marched into Peshawar and took control, it established registration points for foreign trade at different points including Barj Hari Singh on Jamrud Road for Khyber Pass trade, at Darbangi for Tartara and Abkhana routes, at Bakshi Pul for the trade of Gandab, Miankili, Chingi and Pandiali routes and on Charsadda Road for Swat routes. For Malakand trade routes, a registration point was established at Chaba.

The most important trade with Bokhara was in gold and the British Indian administration estimated the value of gold import at Rs1.2 million per year – gold which was then supplied to Bombay.

However, the total value of trade registered at all the four registration points in the year 1895-96, as per the Gazetteer, stood at Rs3,054,093 in imports and Rs3,386,576 in exports.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Ali Jan, the head of Sarhad Conservation Network, said it was caravan trade which made Peshawar so culturally rich a city, placing it on the cross roads of civilizations.

“You can see in the old architecture of Peshawar the influence of many regions, including Central Asian, and it was all possible because of this trade which not only transported goods to the region but also cultural values. Most importantly stories and fables which gave Qissa Khwani its name – the bazaar of story tellers,” he said.

“Culture, food, clothing styles and goods reached through these caravan traders; we also finds the evidence the hawala was used in this business too,” he said. Gold, gems stones and carpets as well as Bara rice, spices and all kinds of goods were traded in Peshawar, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2014.