Hoshiarpur Traders of Ladakh

Raj Kumar Sethi

Raj Kumar Sethi’s grandfather, Shri Lahori Lal Sethi, came to Ladakh in the 1930s from Hoshiarpur in Punjab “to look for greener pastures.” At that time, the only non-local businessmen in Leh were from Hoshiarpur and Himachal Pradesh. His grandfather arrived in Ladakh with one of the Hoshiarpur traders who were already settled in Ladakh. His father, Shri Omkarnath Singh, later joined his grandfather. In Ladakh, Raj Kumar Sethi’s family was known as the Lahorimals. The family owned property in both Leh and Kargil until the 1970s. While they still own their ancestral property in Leh, the property in Kargil has since been transferred to someone in Kargil town..

In 1947, rumours spread that Pakistan was going to overtake Ladakh, prompting many traders to leave. Raj Kumar’s father returned to Hoshiarpur, where he set up a cloth business. In 1951, he returned to Ladakh to restart his old business, and later, in 1955, his mother joined him. Three of his four sisters were born in Ladakh. In 1966-67, they bought their current palatial house in Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi.

Raj Kumar was 17 years old when he first came to Ladakh in 1969. After finishing his Higher Secondary School, his parents decided to send him to Ladakh to take care of the family business. In those days, there were no commercial airlines to Ladakh. The only way to reach Ladakh was through the Srinagar route or by taking an army airplane from Chandigarh. The journey from Srinagar to Leh would take three weeks on khachchar (mule) and horses, and his elder brother often used this route.

To fly on an army aircraft, one had to get permission from officials in Udhampur and then wait for flight dates in Chandigarh. Raj Kumar distinctly remembers the 31st of May, 1969, when he landed at Spituk Airport. The airport was nothing more than an empty field, with no one in sight. From a distance, Raj Kumar could see a Jeep at the base of Spituk Gompa. After leaving his attache, which was safe since there was nobody to steal it at the remote airstrip, Raj Kumar walked to the Jeep. The driver, Ghani, worked for the DC office and had come to drop off some VIPs. He requested Ghani if he could take him to Leh Shaher. After the VIPs had taken off, Ghani offered Raj Kumar a lift. They drove to Balkhang Chowk, where a large protest was taking place in the market. Incidentally, this protest that Raj Kumar witnessed on his very first day in Ladakh was a very important event in the post-independence history of Ladakh, which would be covered separately. From there, crossing the protestors, Raj Kumar walked the short two-minute distance to his house and shop.

While the food habits remained the same as he lived with his parents, Raj Kumar had to make an effort to understand Ladakhi, especially when customers from distant villages came to the shop. Many didn’t understand Hindi, but soon enough, Raj Kumar started making friends.

During that time, the Ohris were among the most popular families from Hoshiarpur settled in Leh. Their firm, Shaadi Lal Dwarka Nath, served as a one-stop shop for all the needs of the Ladakhi community. Locals affectionately referred to them as Lala Shaadilal. Even today, many elderly Ladakhis recall buying items from Lala Shaadilal’s Hatti. Sometime in the second half of the 20th century, one branch of the Ohris moved to Mumbai. It is believed that they gifted their property in Ladakh to Pandit Bihari Lal and his brother Hridya Ram, who worked for them. The brothers later sold the property to some Kashmiris. Pandit Bihari Lal’s sons migrated to Himachal Pradesh in the 1980s, while Hridya Ram’s son, Krishan Kumar, remained in Ladakh until the 1990s. In Hoshiarpur, there is a Sethio-ka Mohalla (Sethi’s neighborhood). According to Raj Kumar, his father and he met Shaadilal Ohri and his son Dwarkanath Ohri there.

In those days, shopkeepers in Ladakh didn’t specialize in any particular goods. They sold everything that could be used in Ladakh, particularly daily essentials. Back in his shop, Raj Kumar traded in hardware, footwear, clothing, chai, dye colors,  rations, and other items. He even sold glasses used for windows, which came in only two sizes back then: 10 by 12 and 8 by 12 inches. Green tea and dye was sourced from Amritsar. Pre-independence, Amritsar was the trading capital of North India, with Delhi's importance emerging later. Some traders also transported opium from Amritsar to Central Asia. While they continued sourcing clothes and chai from Amritsar, soon groceries were obtained from Srinagar, which had begun developing into a commercial hub. Wholesalers extended credit, and traders like Raj Kumar conducted FOA (Forward on Account) transactions. According to Raj Kumar, there wasn’t much profit for the traders, and whatever they earned during the five months of summer was exhausted during the winter months when business was slow. Additionally, the general population was poor, and people had very limited money.  

Since phones were not popular, traders wrote letters to their suppliers in Srinagar, and goods would arrive accordingly. The volume of business was also small. Raj Kumar recalls that making Rs 250-300 a day was considered very good, and if business reached Rs 1,000, it was cause for celebration. Cashew nuts cost Rs 16 per kg, turmeric was Rs 2 per kg, and chili powder was Rs 2.25. Only solid salt from the plains was sold. For a long time, Raj Kumar and other traders struggled to sell salt because the MRP was Rs 2 per kg, while transportation costs from Delhi via Amritsar were Rs 1. The local administration insisted that traders could not sell above the MRP. The best quality Ladakhi tea used to cost Rs 8 per kg, which now costs over Rs 300. Raj Kumar also witnessed Ladakhis paying for groceries with pashmina. A large portion of their earnings came from Yarkandi and Kashgari traders who visited Leh in caravans after crossing the Karakoram Pass and traded with them. Business boomed for the Lahorimal family, and soon they were one of the top business families in Ladakh. Over time, local entrepreneurs like Mr. Tashi from the Shali family emerged as leading businessmen, along with Trilok Chand,  and Riaz Ahmed. They all sold similar goods.

Raj Kumar spent 44 years in Leh. During this time, he had a very successful business career. His last visit to Ladakh was in 2018. If not for his health, he would still go to his home in Leh and meet his friends there. His best friends from Leh include Nazir Khan, Dorjee Lakrook, Asgar Deen Darokhan, and Mateen Tak. He misses his friends dearly. After all these years, he now has to make new friends in Delhi, which is very difficult for him.

Salt, Rolex, Ladakh to Calcutta.

Rigzin Namgyal and Tashi Namgyal

Rigzin Namgyal, 89 as of 2021 from Sakti village in Ladakh, India, spent his early youth as a successful trader, undertaking biannual journeys, Yar-Gun—summer and winter trips—to Changthang and Tibet. Much of this time was dedicated to trading in western Tibet until the Chinese occupation disrupted traditional trade routes.

In summer, Rigzin Namgyal engaged in Yar-tsong or summer trade, traveling to distant regions including Rudok, Rawang, Thok, and Hundur. Rudok, a picturesque town with a monastery and a fort, was home to about 60 to 70 families. He and his companions carried goods like Phating, Chuli, Phey, rice, and eggs. To protect the eggs from breaking, the Ladakhi traders employed an innovative technique, carefully packing them in Pakphey (wheat flour). These items were exchanged for the prized Bal and Lena in Tibet. In winter, he frequently visited Maga, a vast grazing land near Rudok that provided pasture for horses from Sakti and Chemrey. Maga was expansive enough to support thousands of horses, yaks, and other livestock, and he fondly recalled seeing around a thousand Kyangs, along with yaks and Raluks, in that area.

During his journeys, Rigzin discovered several salt sources, particularly at Rajok Tso, where salt was harvested and dried in the sun. His travels in Tibet also took him to gold mines like Munak Thok, Rathok Thok, and Myanmo Thok, located about ten days east of Rudok. Although gold panning, as was common throughout the Himalayas, was not particularly lucrative, it provided a livelihood for many impoverished miners, who paid a tax known as ser-go-thal, amounting to 10 annas (with 16 annas equating to one rupee). Aba Rigzin continued his trading trips to Rudok until 1962, when the Chinese invasion disrupted the region.

In Ladakh, salt markets in Chemrey and Sakti were held twice a year, during the summer and autumn months. Buyers traveled from distant places like Shigar and Skardu in Baltistan. Rigzin Namgyal could easily distinguish Shigar Baltis from Skardu Baltis by their complexions, noting that Skardu Baltis generally had fairer skin. The Baltis traded items such as Phating and mulberries. The summer market was hosted in Dabung in Sakti village, where a Beakon office now stands, while the autumn market took place near Chemrey Monastery in fields known as Thaka Zukhan. The exchange rate for salt and barley fluctuated; standard quality salt was typically equivalent in quantity to barley, though poor-quality salt could require three battis (approximately 6 kg) for one batti of barley.

During this period, Hor traders entered Ladakh through the Changla Pass. Many Ladakhis in Sakti and Chemrey spoke the Hor language, enabling residents like Ajang Tsewang and Tokpo Skalzang to communicate with them. The Hor traders brought Phingpa, Kaleen, tea, and Chakman. They traveled with horses, camels, and donkeys, always on the lookout for grazing grounds for their animals. People in Sakti and Chemrey would trade local grass for the prized Central Asian items brought by the Hor traders, creating a vibrant trading opportunity for all. 

Rigzin’s friend, Tashi Namgyal, 84, as of 2021, reminisced about European explorers arriving in the Rong area with advanced equipment, drilling into rocks and building chain bridges across the Indus River, while locals carried their belongings in palkis.

In those days, government teaching positions were plentiful due to a shortage of educated Ladakhis. Rigzin Namgyal secured a role in the education department, teaching in various locations in Changthang, including Kyungyam, Hemya, and Shara. Between the late 1950s and early 1960s, while stationed as a government school teacher in Chushul, he witnessed significant events in Indian military history, including the return of Deputy Superintendent Karam Singh after the Hot Springs incident. Following the 1962 war with China, Aba Rigzin  travelled with the team tasked in a mission to retrieve the remains of the legendary Major Shaitan Singh and his men from Rezang La, becoming one of the first to reach the site of Major Shaitan Singh's martyrdom.

A notable episode in Rigzin's trading career involved a cheque for 6,000 tibetan currency from a business partner in Tibet. Unable to cash it in Leh due to foreign currency issues, he traveled all the way to Calcutta, where the only bank that could handle the transaction was located. After struggling to find a guarantor, a Nepali trader at the Mahabodhi Society where Aba Rigzin was staying offered assistance. While in Calcutta, Rigzin seized the opportunity to purchase expensive Rolex and Omega watches, along with Sheaffer and Parker pens, which were highly valued among the rich in Tibet. He also made trips to Amritsar and then to Kashmir to buy rice, which he transported for trade in Changthang.

The above interview was conducted in 2021.