How Tibet the Forbidden Land was Explored

The Power Game In the 19th century a great power game was on in Central Asia. China was weak, but Russia was expanding its influence in Central Asia. This alarmed the British who had colonized India. They wanted to checkmate Russian influence and at the same time create a buffer state in Tibet. For this it was important to explore Tibet and create maps for the British.

Secret Surveyors for Tibet The British decided to send secret surveyors to Tibet who would physically map the area. Obviously they wanted to send people who could not be easily recognized. For this purpose they chose Indians to execute this work. We must remember that Tibet was a forbidden land and in case a man who was not a Tibetan was caught doing any illegal work, the danger for him was great. The British selected some educated local Indian’s from Utter Pradesh, a province adjacent to Tibet for this job. The British trained these Indians who later entered Tibet to study the topography and make exploration maps.

Chain Singh and Nain Singh: First Explorers One of the most famous of these was Chain Singh, a school master from Utter Pradesh. Another well-known Indian explorer was Nain Singh. These brave Indians went deep into Tibet and brought back invaluable information which was correlated by the British and the first maps of Tibet were got ready. It must be remembered that Tibet at that time was a forbidden land and mostly unexplored. The travels of Chain Singh and Nain singh are what stuff legends are made off. These intrepid travelers traveled the length and breadth of Tibet and made maps of the areas. Their travels took many years and helped the British immensely. Both of them traveled in the guise of a Tibetan monk. They were instrumental in getting the first maps of Tibet ready for times to come.

YoungHusband Expedition On instructions of the British government the then British leadership drew up plans to ensure that Tibet would be a buffer state. But obviously the Dalai Lama would not listen to the British representative in Lhasa. The British as is their wont decided to launch a military expedition against Tibet. This was the genesis of General YoungHusband’s military march to Lhasa in 1903-04. The maps prepared by Chain Singh and Nain Singh came in handy for this expedition. Chain Singh and Nain Singh were well compensated by the British with land grants and titles. Their descendants still live in the Indian state of Utteranchal. One can't think of a more romantic tale than the adventures of Nain Singh and Chain Singh