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A man obsessed with mountains, always looking for an adventure and also the scope to expand British control. This was the life of Francis Younghusband who tilted the Anglo-Tibetan treaty in the empire's favour.
Born on 31st May 1863
The perilous Himalayas and the Hindukush with their rugged terrain and harsh climates have historically been points of trade and defensive outposts. For centuries, countries with these mighty mountains at their borders have sat comfortably, knowing that they have the best natural defence possible. While today, treks in the region are seen as an adventure sport, things were a lot different just more than a century ago.
Within these snow-capped peaks, lay a vast swath of land covered in ice- unwelcoming and undiscovered. It was painstaking to chart out this territory and draw it accurately on maps for easy navigations.
While local populations had untangled the mystery to some extent, proper demarcation and cartography about this area were almost non-existent.
There was a man who could not resist the call of the wild and charm of the mountains. He led expeditions, documented things extensively and travelled to some of the most hazardous places on Earth. This man was Francis Younghusband, born on 31 May 1863 in the Punjab Province of British India.
Francis was an army brat; his entire family served for the British Imperial Army and he followed suit. It was on his leave that he undertook his first expedition. On the surface, this was a purely geographic endeavour but actually, it was an attempt to get an estimate of Russia’s military strength. Killing two birds with the same stone topped with motives of self-interest was a classic British rule and Younghusband also played by it.
On their way back home through the Himalayas, his crew even found a route from the oasis city of Kashgar to India via the Mustagh Pass.
Francis walked and analysed the heart of some of the first human settlements and three of the greatest empires in history when he crossed the Karakoram, Hindukush and Pamir. For this historic deed, he became the youngest person ever to be elected as a member of the Royal Geographical Society.
Now a captain, he was sent on the difficult mission of controlling the Hunza traders who made it impossible to have safe and secure trade in the Yarkand river valley.
After some rick-rolling in the hills, Younghusband was made to jump the boat. Foreign Secretary Sir Mortimer Durand from the Intelligence Department transferred him to the Indian Political Service. An explorer turned secret agent? Sounds like a perfect cocktail for a thriller. Fate again took him to the Hunza, where his job was to stop their raids into Kashmir. Just like a perfect climax to a fast-paced thriller, Francis was trapped alone in a seemingly welcoming village that was a lair for thieves.
The mystery was to see who was causing trouble to the trade and he soon realized that the truth was complicated.
Revenge, diplomacy and secret alliances surrounded all the players- local ruler Safdar Ali, Russians and the Cossacks. Francis Younghusband played his cards shrewdly. He made friends with Ali and the Cossacks only to turn his back on them.
This was a game of the profitable tea trade and the British were ready to push any limits to win it.
Seeing his quick wit, he was sent on many missions in Kashmir, China and Tibet. The colonial explorer even wrote of the exquisiteness of Kashmir in his book Kashmir (no points for creativity) after working there.
Alongside climbing mountains, Younghusband was also climbing the stairs of success. Already the youngest fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, he soon became its president and then the chairman of the Mount Everest Committee.
An adventurer by heart, he was also drawn towards spirituality and had great faith in cosmic powers. A fan of the ways of the universe, Francis delved into multiple philosophical inquiries.
One fine day in 1942, he addressed a meeting of the World Congress of Faiths in Birmingham. An oration that was to end with applause, ended with him having a cardiac arrest that ended his life a few days later.
Francis Younghusband was an interesting man who led an interesting life. In many ways, he was an explorer who had a keen eye for nature and a deep connection with the environment. But at the end of the day, he was the face of colonization for whom every step was a way towards English domination.
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