The Nepalese Chamber of Commerce, Lhasa opened in 1943, the first ever organization of businesses formed by

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

ese traders based in the Tibetan capital. The

Newar Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisatio ...

merchants conducted trade between

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...

and

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

transporting goods over the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

by mule caravan. The

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

worked to promote trade and coordinated among its members to set uniform prices for their merchandise besides lobbying with the government for business-friendly policy.

History

The first president of the chamber of commerce was Gyan Ratna Tuladhar and the secretary was

Purna Kaji Tamrakar Purna Kaji Tamrakar ( ne, पूर्णकाजी ताम्रकार) (1920 - 2009) was a Nepalese merchant, author and journalist who worked to develop Nepal Bhasa at the time when writers were being persecuted by the government. Pages ...

. The Nepalese Chamber of Commerce, Lhasa closed down after a year. It was revived in 1947 with

Triratna Man Tuladhar Triratna Man Tuladhar ( ne, त्रिरत्नमान तुलाधर) (1905-1986) was one of the largest Nepalese traders in traditional Tibet and the president of the Nepalese Chamber of Commerce, Lhasa in the 1940s. Early life Tr ...

, of the business house of Chhusingsyar, as president.

Kathmandu office

An office of the Nepalese Chamber of Commerce, Lhasa was opened in Kathmandu in 1952. The chamber gave a reception to welcome Chinese Premier

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

during his first visit to Nepal in 1957. In 1960, during Premier Zhou Enlai's second visit, the chamber held a reception programme in his honor on April 26. The Nepalese Chamber of Commerce, Lhasa and its Kathmandu office shut down in the mid-1960s when the traditional trade came to an end after the trade route through

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 ...

was closed by the

Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tib ...

References

{{Reflist

History

Kathmandu office

See also

References

Further reading