Gartok

The rise of Gartok as the seat of Lhasa's authority in western Tibet occurred after the Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War (1681–1684). Prior to this, the Gar Valley was part of Guge, which was either independent or under the control of Ladakh. In 1630, Ladakh had annexed the entire kingdom of Guge, including the Gar Valley. Through the war, Central Tibet, based in Lhasa, challenged Ladakh's supremacy.

During the war, the large army of Galdan Chhewang, Tibet's general, is said to have encamped in the Gar Valley.[18] The first clash with Ladakhi forces took place near the confluence of the Gartang and Sengge Zangbo, with the locations Langmar and Rala mentioned in the sources.[19]

After the end of the war, Galdan Chhewang organised the administration of the new province Ngari, and appointed Lozang Péma (Wylie: blo bzang pad ma) as governor (gzim dpon) before returning to Lhasa.[20][lower-alpha 4] The Tibetan government appointed prefects (rdzoṅ sdod) to the traditional districts of Purang, Tsaparang and Tashigang.[22] But eventually Tashigang lost its importance, and Gartok took its place. Lhasa-appointed governors for the whole of Ngari, called Garpons, took their seat at Gartok.

Commercially, Gartok had the advantage of being equidistant between the Changthang, whose shepherds brought pashmina wool for sale, and their buyers in Ladakh and Bashahr.

William Moorcroft was the first British official to set foot in western Tibet. He arrived in Daba in 1812, along with another adventurer Hearshey, disguised as an Indian gosain merchant. He was hoping to find Central Asian horses for East India Company's stud as well as any other profitable merchandise such as the pashmina wool. The officials in Daba sent him on to Gartok. The Garpon received them civilly and agreed to sell the goods they wanted. He was later punished by Lhasa with three years imprisonment, for permitting foreigners into the country.[23]

The prohibition against foreigners did not apply to customary traders from Indian borderlands. However the sale of pashmina wool was limited to Ladakhis, as per the Treaty of Tingmosgang of 1684.[23] Some wool did make it to Bashahr, which was an ally of Tibet during the Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War, as well as Zanskar (along with its territories of Lahul and Spiti), which was part of the family of west Tibetan kingdoms. The British tried to exploit these connections later for acquiring pashmina wool.

In 1817, after the Anglo-Nepalese War, W. J. Webb, the East Indian Company's surveyor of Kumaon and Garhwal, also made efforts to enter Tibet for the purpose of surveying. He earned the trust of the Tibetan officials and was permitted limited entry, beyond which the officials said permission would be needed from Lhasa and Peking.[24]

Following the Younghusband Expedition to Tibet, the Convention of Lhasa was signed in 1904 between Tibet and the British Empire. As per the Convention, Gartok, together with Yatung and Gyantse, were to have trade marts for traders from British India, as well as British trade agents who would supervise the trade and resolve any issues. A British party under Captain C. H. D. Ryder, returned from Lhasa to India via Gartok, to ascertain its suitability as a trade agency. They found only a few dozen people in winter quarters, their houses being in the midst of a bare plain. They spent only one day at Gartok and found it deserted at that time of the year.[14][25]

The British Empire elected to appoint a native Indian trade agent at Gartok, the first being Thakur Jai Chand. Jai Chand found the conditions harsh, living in "extreme isolation and discomfort" in a three-room mud hut, along with a medical assistant and a clerk. Having no authority and access to the region's leaders, Jai Chand was able to achieve little. The medical dispensary was however said to have been utilised to some extent.[25] By 1907, it was clear that Gartok trade agency was a "dead end", but the British continued to maintain it in order to assert their treaty rights.[26] Scholar Alex McKay remarks that Purang would have been the right place for a trade agency, being the trading and administrative centre. However, Gartok was chosen due to lack of knowledge at the time of the Younghusband expedition.[27]

In 1950, as the People's Republic of China sent forces to Lhasa in order to annex Tibet, it also sent a small force from Khotan in Xinjiang to Western Tibet, taking its people by surprise.[28] According to Indian intelligence, the force travelled via the Keriya Pass to Gartok via a tedious route, arriving there in June 1951.[29] Chinese accounts seem to corroborate this information. In October 1951, the Chinese started to explore the possibility of opening a road route between Xinjiang and Rudok (through Keriya La).[29] In late 1952, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment based at Gartok garrisoned Rudok with 150 men and 800 camels.[30] The Indian trade agent at Gartok was denied permission to visit trade marts at Rudok.[31] By 1953, the Chinese had a motorable jeep track between Xinjiang and Rudok.[29]

In 1954, the Indian government and the Chinese government negotiated a new trade agreement, whereby India continued to maintain the three trade agencies, and China obtained the reciprocal right to operate trade agencies in India (which were in Delhi, Calcutta and Kalimpong).[32] China declined to allow trade between Ladakh and Rudok, bringing to an end a centuries-old trading relationship.[33] Instead, the "customary route" via Demchok and Tashigang was the only one allowed.[34]

Sometime around this, China also appears to have changed course regarding the road from Xinjiang to Western Tibet, and chosen a route from Karghilik passing through the Karakash Valley and the Indian-claimed Aksai Chin region. The Indian trade agent was told by Chinese officials in September 1955 that they were constructing a Xinjiang–Gartok road via Rudok. In March 1957, the road was announced to have been completed.[35] The Chinese action led to the Sino-Indian border dispute and the eventual war between the two countries.