Across the New Silk Road: A journey through Uzbekistan
The author recounts a ten-day train journey through Uzbekistan, exploring the historical and cultural connections between Central and South Asia. The piece reflects on the region's geopolitical importance and the author's past professional work in border management.
Why it matters
Uzbekistan serves as a critical crossroads in Central Asia, and understanding its regional connectivity is vital for geopolitical analysis.
Flying from Delhi to Tashkent, the geography of the region unfolds with remarkable clarity. The Uzbekistan airlines aircraft passes over Peshawar, Pakistan, before the landscape rises sharply towards the formidable ranges of the Hindu Kush and the Pamirs. Then, almost abruptly, the mountains give way to an immense expanse of flat land stretching towards Central Asia. The flight ends in a hot, windswept Tashkent.
It is striking how close Central Asia is to northern India. Delhi and Tashkent are barely two and a half hours apart by air and this is roughly the same flying time between Delhi and Mumbai. Yet the mountains that once appeared to divide these regions have never truly kept them apart. For centuries, people, armies, merchants, ideas and religions have crossed these formidable barriers, creating connections between South and Central Asia that remain visible even today.
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