This Article First Appeared In Scroll On Apr 11, 2023
Acontemporary Indian traveller to the fabled Silk Route city of Bukhara is more than likely to be reminded by locals about the time when traders from the Indian subcontinent called the city home. For centuries, they came from places such as Multan, Shikarpur and Peshawar.
From the Emirate of Bukhara, they could enjoy easy access to Urgench, Khiva, Samarkand, Tashkent, Ferghana, among other places. It was a freedom that suited commerce and continued well after 1868, when the Russian Empire completed its conquest of Bukhara and the emirate became a protectorate of the tsar.