The Raja Who Sold the Himalayas: Colonial Timber Legacy
In the mid-19th century, an Englishman named Frederick Wilson arrived in the upper reaches of the Himalayas and struck a bargain that would reshape the region’s forests for generations. He secured a lease from the Raja of Tehri-Garhwal to exploit the timber-rich forests of the Bhagirathi Valley. What followed was the systematic felling of ancient…