Western Himalaya and Tibet- A Narrative of a Journey Through the Mountains of Northern India During the Year 1847-48 (An Old and Rare Book)

Introduction Much of our early knowledge of the history and geography of the Western Himalaya originates in the works by three Border Commissioners, whose scientific work surpasses by far in importance their work as Border Commissioners. These three gentlemen were Capt. Alexander Cunningham, Lt. Henry Stra chey and Dr. Thomas Thomson. They travelled widely in the Western Himalaya during 1847 and 1848, and each of them contributed greatly to contemporary knowledge of the area through published works.

The reasons for their despatch to Ladakh and the Tibetan frontier are found in the Treaty of Lahore of March 1846 between the British Government in India and Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu. Article 2 of this Treaty mentioned that "The Eastern boundary....shall be laid down by the Commissioners appointed by the British Government and Maharajah Gulab Singh.

Following the signing of the treaty, the British appointed their own two officials to demarcate the border, P. A. Vans Agnew and Alexander Cunningham. They proceeded to the Tibetan frontier to verify the traditional boundaries and determine the boundaries of the territories included in the Treaty of Lahore. These two officials travelled from Simla to Tshomoriri lake during the summer of 1846, and established a boundary between Tibet on the one side and Lahoul and Spiti on the other. However, * Writing this Introduction in Kathmandu, I have not had access to original sources, but have relied on the follow ing three studies: (a) Dorothy Woodman: Himalayan Frontiers. A political review of British, Chinese, Indian and Russian rivalries. 423 pp. London, 1909. (b) Chaman Lal Datta: Ladakh And Western Himalayan Politics. The Dogra conquest of Ladakh, Baltistan and West Tibet and reactions of other power. 239 pp. New Delhi, 1973. (c) John Keay: When Men And Mountains Meet. The Explorers of the Western Himalayas 1870-75, 270 pp. London, 1977.

**Contents and Sample Pages**