The Gilgit game is a book
about the exploration of Dardistan and of its virgin lands, by
the hands of the British Empire.
Dards were neither Indians,
nor Tibetan nor of Turkish stock of Central Asia. Dardistan had various regions
governed by different rulers. Strategically it had and still has an importance
as many routes through this land are conducive for trade, business and military
purposes. The British saw this area as a vacuum. For them this vacuum could
either be a threat and in that case defense was the priority.
The British and Russians wanted
Dardistan to be part of their empires and for both of them it was a bone
of contention now. John Keay, author of the book at many instances presents the
reader with the exact text which the old travelers had recorded during their
stay in the region.
This gives one an insight to
the geographical discoveries which were treated as top secret by the British
Empire. Military expeditions were bluffed as geographical expeditions; the
great game was being played in this part of the world as geographers and travelers
visited this region.
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