Jag Bahadur Budha – Nepali Times – 9 April 2022
While it is unclear when and how salt was first introduced to Nepal’s culture and cuisine, what is clear is that Tibetan salt was once the foundation of our Himalayan economy and livelihood.
From the Walung, Lhomi, Bhote, Sherpa, Byasi Souka, Mugali, Nyinba, Dolpo, and Nisyangba, the ethnicities on Nepal’s Himalayan rimland from Taplejung in the east to Humla and Darchula in the far west have historically shared socio-cultural and religious ties with Tibet.
The relationship between the southern flanks of the Himalaya with the Tibetan plateau extended to trade at a time when agriculture and livestock were the main means of livelihood on both sides of the mountains. Before 1850, Nepal imported rock salt, wool, powdered gold, horses and yaks from Tibet, and exported grain, spices, knives, fabric, handicrafts and more.
In 1774, Prithivi Narayan Shah’s Gorkha expansion had led to the annexation of regions controlled by Darjeeling as well as the town of Bijaypur in the Limbuwan region which was then ruled by Sikkim.
This angered the Tibetans, effectively souring relations and bringing trade to a standstill. This caused a shortage of salt in Nepal, which traders would try to remedy by smuggling it through high Himalayan passes.
Nepal and Tibet fought wars in subsequent years over minting coins to trade disputes. But this did not affect the secret crossborder trade since the Nepal-Tibet border was so rugged and remote it could not be fully policed.
Nepal and Tibet finally signed a treaty in 1856 to officially resume cross-border trade, allowing free travel and trade to resume.