ABSTRACT
In september 1814 William moorcroft (1770-1825), the east India company veterinary surgeon and explorer, reported a meeting with khwajah ahmed ali, the Patna representative of a kashmiri commercial house with agents and depots in dhaka, kathmandu, lhasa and Xining as well as kashmir itself.1 The topics that they discussed were highly sensitive. The company had recently declared war on the gorkha rulers of nepal, and ahmed ali was a potential source of vital information on the most viable military and transport routes between the nepal border and kathmandu. he seemed willing to share this information in the hope of future reward, but at the same time was afraid of reprisals from the nepalis and even from his fellow kashmiris.
