Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s3.t6.3

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.