Abstract
Professor Surendra Gopal is famous for his research works on Indian traders in the Caspian region and elsewhere in West Asia. In the volume under review, he has expanded the scope of his discussion by discussing the presence of Indian business communities from Iran to Southeast Asia, with special reference to Iran, Russia and the Pamirs. This is a finely written and researched volume, and if I find anything missing here is that he has forgotten to include the later research works of Stephen Dale (Indian Merchants and Eurasian Trade, 1600–1750, 1994) and Scott Levi (The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and Its Trade, 2002). Another thing to which attention may be drawn here is that this trade was not the product of the pre-modern period alone. That is something deeply rooted in protohistory and ancient history. The Indian trade network in the Indian ‘borderlands’ from Iran, Caspian and Russia to the Pamirs, Tibet and Myanmar has operated with varying intensity throughout history as an integral component of the subcontinent’s interaction with her borderlands in terms of geography, political history, trade and religion. I had been aware of the presence of Indian traders in this vast region in the form of scanty historical references and scantier archaeological remains but have been taken almost unawares by the extensive documentation of Indian trade as far as Astrakhan, Moscow and even St. Petersburg in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The first chapter deals with the Indian mercantile diaspora in West Asia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The main contention here is that after establishing a strong base in Iran, the Indian merchants went to the Caucasus region and from there to the Tsarist kingdom of Russia. The Tsars recognised the pivotal position of the Indians in Russo-Persian trade and depending on the situation offered them concessions as well as protection, at least in the seventeenth century. According to Gopal (p. 22), an Indian takeover of the Iranian and Azerbaijani economy had begun in the second half of the seventeenth century. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, the significance of the Indian traders in Russia had dwindled to insignificance, although their significance remained undiminished in Iran. The generic name of Indian traders in the early phase was ‘Multanis’, whereas in the later phase they were known generically as ‘Shikarpuris’. Mocha, the port of Yemen, was popular with Indians throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The second chapter is on the Indian traders in Yemen in the seventeenth century. There is a section on ‘Imams, Indians, Europeans and coffee’ in which he shows that Indian, Iranian and Arab merchants supplied coffee to Iran and the adjoining countries, a business which was joined soon by the English and the Dutch. The Indian traders in Yemen came from all over the Indian west coast.
The third chapter is about India–Iran trade in the fifteenth century, the major exports from India being textiles, indigo, saffron, spices, medicinal herbs, etc. The Indian imports of the period were horses, asafoetida and dried fruits. India also exported slaves, a major source being the prisoners of war during the wars of the Sultanate.
The fourth chapter is about the Indian traders in Persia in the seventeenth century. Among other things, 25,000–30,000 camel loads of cotton were exported from India to Iran in 1639 alone, and the Indian traders were present in considerable strength in Isfahan. Their presence was noted in smaller places as well. The fifth chapter deals with the Indian traders in Iran in the eighteenth century when the fall of the Safavids and the Mughals had considerably lessened the importance of this trade. After Nadir Shah’s invasion of Delhi, he wanted artisans, stonecutters, masons, carpenters and goldsmiths to arrive in Iran from India. Various buildings in such places as Meshed were embellished by them. Indians in Iran also conducted business in collaboration with the Armenians. The sixth chapter is about the Indians in Iran in the late eighteenth century after the rule of Nadir Shah. According to the contemporary sources, there were about 100 Hindu merchants in Herat, and in Baku in Azerbaijan, there was a whole caravanserai full of Multani, that is, Indian, merchants.
The seventh chapter is about the Indian traders in Russia in the seventeenth century. Their presence in Astrakhan at the mouth of the Volga is noted in 1615–16. Russia was interested in opening a direct route of commerce with India. In 1642, there were three Indians trying to sell horses in Moscow. They purchased these horses from the Kalmuk tribals near Astrakhan. It has been acknowledged by historians that ‘Indian traders played an important role in the economic life of Russia in the seventeenth century’ (p. 125). The eighth chapter deals with the Indian traders in Russia in the eighteenth century when they were sending goods also to the interior of Russia. ‘In 1724 Indians exported goods worth 97.7 thousand roubles while the Russian merchants sent goods worth 43.3 thousand roubles’ (p. 131). When the Russian authorities were interested in founding the city of Orenburg in their quest to find a direct route of trade to India, an Indian trader of Astrakhan, Marwari Barayev, was contacted to help in the process. He was also given money in advance to achieve the aim. Unfortunately, the Astrakhan governor did not like it and on some pretext Barayev was put in jail and was dropped out of the historical record.
The ninth chapter is devoted specifically to ‘the business organization of Indian merchants in Russia in the seventeenth century’. One Indian, Sutur, is specifically mentioned.
Sutur’s trading operations extended far and wide, inside Russia and abroad. In Persia he was trading in the cities of Kazbin, Isfahan and Tabriz. In Central Asia he visited the cities of Khiva and Urgench. In the Caucasus he was connected with the cities of Derbent and Shirvan. In Moscow when he found Persian competition keen, he moved to the city of Yaroslav, In short, his activities were spread all over the area, around the Caspian Sea irrespective of its political affiliation. (p. 147)
The tenth chapter dwells on Marwari Barayev alone, his rise and downfall in Russia in the eighteenth century. The eleventh chapter deals with the Indian diaspora in Southeast Asia in the seventeenth century and is to some extent a departure from the overland trade which Gopal has so long been discussing. The concluding chapter deals with the Indians around the Pamirs in about 1800 AD. This chapter suggests that evidence of ancient Indian impact which Marc Aurel Stein found all over the Tarim Basin was the product of a long historical scenario.