Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s3.t6: Shikarpuri Financiers
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s3.t6
- Language
- English
Shikarpuri Financiers
v1.c5.s3.t6.1
During the 18^th and 19^th centuries CE, merchants from the town of Shikarpur in Sindh (present-day Pakistan) played a very important role in the caravan trade between India and Central Asia. They were particularly important as financiers for this trade which played a significant role in binding together the economies of northwestern India, Afghanistan, southeastern Iran and several khanates of Central Asia. In this context, Shikarpuri traders were to be found in the bazaars and towns of Xinjiang as well.
v1.c5.s3.t6.2
Shikarpur in Sindh was not a place which could boast of its own agricultural products or manufactured goods. However, its strategic location on the trading routes between Central Asia and India gave it an advantage in trade. Shikarpuri traders were mainly Hindus who for several decades functioned under the patronage of the Durrani rulers of Afghanistan. They were known for their sophisticated banking systems, which included the issuing of bills of exchange (*hundis*) which lent a degree of security and stability to the trading activities across a wide arc of Central Asia.
v1.c5.s3.t6.3
Although never large in number, Shikarpuri traders could be found in many of the major oasis towns of Xinjiang. In towns like Yarkand, their number was large enough for them to be able to maintain their own resthouses which were known as "*Hindi serais*". Shikarpuri traders rarely settled down in Xinjiang, but would come for short trips without their families. They were known as very shrewd moneylenders who would lend small sums of money to a large number of people at high rates of interest. Their moneylending activities frequently brought them into conflict with the local people. Moneylending was also, strictly speaking, illegal according to local laws. However, the role the Shikarpuri merchants played in providing quick and easy credit was important to the bazaar economy and accounts for the fact that they were tolerated by both the authorities and the local populace. In the early decades of the 20^th century CE, their number in Xinjiang dwindled to almost nothing.
v1.c5.s3.t6.4
(*Madhavi Thampi*)