Opium Trade and Smuggling in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century Nepal

Abstract

Research on the Nepalese opium trade and its smuggling has been limited, with historians primarily focusing on the production and transportation of either Malwa or Bengal opium. This article examines trade and smuggling activities in and around Nepal’s southern Tarai region during the second half of the nineteenth century. These activities were likely facilitated by neighbouring territories through various channels established by petty merchants with strong connections across the Indo-Nepal border. Owing to its porous nature, Nepal became a conduit for smuggling numerous commodities, including opium. The article also explores the conditions of cultivators in this region, whose subsistence relied heavily on opium cultivation, at a time when prices set by the British government were low. Amidst these circumstances, cultivators found ways to smuggle opium through such merchants. Besides opium, the export of timber via rivers also found its way into British territory, where it was used to make opium chests for export to China. In contrast, British agents played a crucial role in controlling this ongoing trade and smuggling. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the British government faced setbacks in opium production in the Banaras and Bihar regions, which were partially offset by the importation of Nepalese opium. The import of Nepalese opium into British territory highlights the conditions faced by cultivators, revealing their reliance on opium cultivation and, to some extent, the treacherous game involved in the smuggling of opium outside British territory. The British government's policy regarding Nepalese opium focused on its import and on monitoring its smuggling into areas beyond its control.