The Chitral Triangle: Rise and decline of trans-montane central Asian trade 1895-1935

The discussion of socio-economic transformation in peripheral regions - among which remote high mountain areas occupy a prominent position - often centres around the project of modernisation and its impact on regional development, i.e. the introduction of motorised vehicle transport on tarred surface roads and subsequent growth-related effects in infrastructure extension and commercial enterprises. Consequently, according to this concept development efforts in these regions are initiated from outside. It takes external interventions to modernise backward and stagnant 'traditional' societies. The analysis of historical developments and transformations in the Inner Asia interface shows us that trans-mountainous trade links across the Hindukush have played varying roles prior to the closure of international boundaries and the introduction of modern traffic infrastructure. Trade via the Hindukush connected the southern foothills and lowlands of the subcontinent with the urban oases of central Asia. Certain principalities participated in long-distance exchange directly and indirectly as highland entrepots. In this context, the Chitral route in conjunction with the Wakhan route played an important role placing Chitral bazaar in the centre of gravity in a trade triangle. The effects of trans-montane trade via Chitral are investigated from the internal and external perspective. The composition of trade commodities, the local extraction of tolls from travellers and the provision of porterage for traders are presented on the basis of historical evidence from archival sources as well as colonial considerations related to international exchange and interface in trade patterns. Thus, the uneven structure of participation in trans-montane trade is emphasised on. Finally, under the changed circumstances of present-day central Asia, the prospects of future trade links along traditional lines are briefly highlighted.