Kintup

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Kintup

1849?-?

One of the better known and dedicated Indian "Pundit" explorers of the nineteenth century. When European travelers were banned from Tibet, Kintup trained as a geographer and slipped into the region in 1880 under a false identity. His mission was to explore the Tsangpo River, the possible source of the famed Brahmaputra River. He survived four years of enslavement and imprisonment while continuing to seek new geographical information. When he was eventually freed he returned to India, only to have his findings discounted. His disillusionment caused him to leave his country and no further record of his life is known.