Kalo Bhari (

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

: कालो भारी): is a type of forced labor in the era of the Namgyal dynasty in

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

where people were propelled to carry load of British consignment to the

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

via

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. Ethnologically Kalo Bhari is a

word which means black loads. It was very despotic system during Zamindari or the landlords reign in Sikkim where the citizens were subjected to all kinds of hardships.

Evolution of the Kalo Bhari system

The evolution of this practice was started in Sikkim after the contact with the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. The literary meaning of the term Kalo Bhari in Nepali is Black Load. KALO BHARI lack Loadwas the name given to a special consignment compactly packed in black tarpaulin. The British sold arms and ammunitions to Tibet. The terrain and the inclement weather condition made the trading difficult. The commodities to save them from rain and snow were wrapped in card boards and put inside gunny bags bedaubed with tar. The tar protected the commodities from outside rain, and it also hid the commodities within. The black colour gave the load its local name Kalo Bhari or black load.

References

History of taxation in India Legal codes South Asia Economy of British India Sikkim Sikkim monarchy Monarchs of Sikkim {{British-Empire-stub