Indo-Nepal Trade Relations : A Historical Analysis of Nepal’s Trade with the British India
By Shreeram Prasad Upadhyaya ISBN 81-957816-7-5 Paperback Rs. 695 Indian pp.287 plus 8 color plates

Dr. Shreeram Upadhyaya is Nepal’s prominent historian and educationist today.

Indo-Nepal Trade Relations celebrates Nepalese struggle against the British Raj’s callous moves of suppression and subjugation. It is a first comprehensive Nepalese attempt to explore the economic implications of the dark pages of Nepal’s history of trade with British India. Analytically examining the major aspects of Indo-Nepal trade relations, Dr. Upadhyaya, explores the mood of suspicion that shaped Nepalese attitude towards British India. The British Govt., explains Dr. Upadhyaya, was interested not just in Indo-Nepal trade but also secretly plotted to capture its supremacy over the Tibetan trade through Nepal. But the Nepalese resistance to the imperialist British moves sprang from the fact that commercial activities of the British Raj had ultimately established their colonial rule in India.

 A detailed analysis of the means of transport and communication, different trade routes and variety of commodities that passed through them provide a measure of growth that Indo-Nepal trade witnessed. Nepal enjoyed a favorable balance of trade on account of large exports. Dr. Upadhyaya largely focuses on the major issues of economic history such as commercial policies and monopolies volumes and exchange of commodities, commercial taxes, currency, market and prices of commodities, system of Barter and credit and payment of debt.

 The book is a must for economists, historians, policy-makers and scholars interested in knowing the history of Nepalese resistance against Imperialism.

Born at Siraha, Dr Shreeram Prasad Upadhyaya, is a distinguished historian of Nepal. He was educated first at Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu where he received his Master Degree in two different subjects: MA History and MEd in Education and Social Studies.  Later, he received his Doctoral Degree from the University of Delhi, Delhi, India for his research, Indo-Nepal Trade Relations 1858-1914. He is the author of more than one dozen books including Ancient and Medieval Nepal, Modern History of China and Japan, Socio-Economic and Administrative History of Nepal, History of Modern India and many other textbooks on Social Studies and Moral Sciences.       

Dr. Shreeram Prasad Upadhyaya has done research in both History and Education. Tribhuvan University has published his thesis on Education. Dr. Upadhyaya has experience of working as an adviser in the Secondary Education Project funded by DFID, UK and Asian Development Bank, Teacher Education Project (TEP) and Education Review Office funded by Government of Nepal and Finland.

Dr. Upadhyaya was Chairman of History Instruction Committee, Subject Committee, Faculty Board and Academic Council of Tribhuvan University, Acting Chairman and Member of University Service Commission, Mid-Western University. He was decorated with many national and international awards including Mahendra Vidhya Bhusan by Late King Birendra, National Talent Award by Acting Prime Minister of Nepal on behalf of Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal, Best Teacher Award and Long Service Award by Tribhuvan University and Peace Award by an International Organization, Universal Peace Federation, Thailand. He was also recently decorated by the President of Nepal.