Bhutan's early history is steeped in
mythology
and remains obscure. It may have been inhabited as early as 2000 BC and
there is a legend that it was ruled or controlled by a Cooch-Behar
king, Sangaldip, around the 7th century B.C.,
[1] but not much was known until the introduction of
Tibetan Buddhism in the 9th century, when turmoil in
Tibet forced many
monks to flee to Bhutan. In the 12th century, the
Drukpa Kagyupa
school was established and remains the dominant form of Buddhism in
Bhutan today. The country's political history is intimately tied to its
religious history and the relations among the various monastic schools
and monasteries.
[2]
Bhutan are the only countries which have been
independent throughout their history,
never conquered, occupied, or governed by an outside power
(notwithstanding occasional [nominal] tributary status). Although there
has been speculation that it was under the
Kamarupa Kingdom or the
Tibetan Empire
in the 7th to 9th centuries, firm evidence is lacking. From the time
historical records are clear, Bhutan has continuously and successfully
defended its sovereignty.
[3]
The consolidation of Bhutan occurred in 1616 when
Ngawanag Namgyal, a
lama from western Tibet known as the
Zhabdrung Rinpoche, defeated three Tibetan invasions, subjugated rival religious schools, codified the
Tsa Yig,
an intricate and comprehensive system of law, and established himself
as ruler over a system of ecclesiastical and civil administrators. After
his death, infighting and civil war eroded the power of the Zhabdrung
for the next 200 years when in 1885,
Ugyen Wangchuck was able to consolidate power and cultivated closer ties with the
British in
India.
[2]
In 1907, Ugyen Wangchuck was elected as the hereditary ruler of
Bhutan, crowned on December 17, 1907, and installed as the head of state
Druk Gyalpo (
Dragon King). In 1910, King Ugyen and the British signed the
Treaty of Punakha
which provided that British India would not interfere in the internal
affairs of Bhutan if the country accepted external advice in its
external relations. When Ugyen Wangchuck died in 1926, his son
Jigme Wangchuck
became the next ruler, and when India gained independence in 1947, the
new Indian Government recognized Bhutan as an independent country. In
1949, India and Bhutan signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which
provided that India would not interfere in Bhutan's internal affairs but
would be guided by India in its foreign policy. Succeeded in 1952 by
his son
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutan began to slowly emerge from its isolation and began a program of planned development. Bhutan became a member of the
United Nations in 1971, and the
National Assembly was established and a new code of law, as well as the
Royal Bhutanese Army and the
High Court.
[2]
In 1972,
Jigme Singye Wangchuck
ascended the throne at age 20. He emphasized modern education,
decentralization of governance, the development of hydroelectricity and
tourism and improvements in rural developments. He was perhaps best
known internationally for his overarching development philosophy of "
gross national happiness."
It recognizes that there are many dimensions to development and that
economic goals alone are not sufficient. Satisfied with Bhutan's
transitioning democratization process, he abdicated in December 2006
rather than wait until the promulgation of the new constitution in 2008.
His son,
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, became King upon his abdication
Origins and early settlement, AD 600–1600
Although knowledge of prehistoric Bhutan has yet to emerge through
archaeological study, stone tools and weapons, remnants of large stone
structures, and megaliths that may have been used for boundary markers
or rituals provide evidence of civilization as early as 2000 BC. The
absence of neolithic mythological legends argues against earlier
inhabitation. A more certain prehistoric period has been theorized by
historians as that of the state of
Lhomon (literally, southern darkness) or
Monyul (dark land, a reference to the
Monpa
aboriginal peoples of Bhutan), possibly a part of Tibet that was then
beyond the pale of Buddhist teachings. Monyul is thought to have existed
between 500 BC. and AD 600. The names
Lhomon Tsendenjong (southern Mon sandalwood country) and
Lhomon Khashi
(southern Mon country of four approaches), found in ancient Bhutanese
and Tibetan chronicles, may also have credence and have been used by
some Bhutanese scholars when referring to their homeland. Variations of
the
Sanskrit
words Bhota-ant (end of Bhot) or Bhu-uttan (meaning highlands) have
been suggested by historians as origins of the name Bhutan, which came
into common foreign use in the late nineteenth century and is used in
Bhutan only in English-language official correspondence. The traditional
name of the country since the seventeenth century has been
Drukyul—country of the
Drukpa, the Dragon people, or the Land of the Thunder Dragon, a reference to the country's dominant Buddhist sect.
[4]
Some scholars believe that during the early historical period the
inhabitants were fierce mountain aborigines, the Monpa, who were of
neither the Tibetan or
Mongol stock that later overran northern Bhutan. The people of Monyul practiced the shamanistic
Bön
religion, which emphasized worship of nature and the existence of good
and evil spirits. During the latter part of this period, historical
legends relate that the mighty king of Monyul invaded a southern region
known as the Duars, subduing the regions of modern
Assam,
West Bengal, and
Bihar in India.
[4]
Arrival of Buddhism
Buddhism was first introduced to Bhutan in the 7th century AD. Tibetan king
Songtsän Gampo[5] (reigned 627–49), a convert to Buddhism, ordered the construction of two Buddhist temples, at
Bumthang in central Bhutan and at Kyichu (near
Paro) in the
Paro Valley.
[6] Buddhism was propagated in earnest
[5] in 746
[7] under King Sindhu Rāja (
also Künjom;
[8] Sendha Gyab; Chakhar Gyalpo), an exiled
Indian king who had established a government in Bumthang at Chakhar Gutho Palace.
[9]:35 [10]:13
Buddhism replaced but did not eliminate the Bon religious practices
that had also been prevalent in Tibet until the late sixth century.
Instead, Buddhism absorbed Bon and its believers. As the country
developed in its many fertile valleys, Buddhism matured and became a
unifying element. It was Buddhist literature and chronicles that began
the recorded history of Bhutan.
[11]
In 747, a Buddhist saint,
Padmasambhava (known in Bhutan as
Guru Rimpoche
and sometimes referred to as the Second Buddha), came to Bhutan from
India at the invitation of one of the numerous local kings. After
reportedly subduing eight classes of demons and converting the king,
Guru Rimpoche moved on to Tibet. Upon his return from Tibet, he oversaw
the construction of new monasteries in the Paro Valley and set up his
headquarters in
Bumthang. According to tradition, he founded the
Nyingmapa sect—also known as the "old sect" or Red Hat sect—of
Mahayana Buddhism,
which became for a time the dominant religion of Bhutan. Guru Rimpoche
plays a great historical and religious role as the national patron saint
who revealed the
tantras—manuals
describing forms of devotion to natural energy—to Bhutan. Following the
guru's sojourn, Indian influence played a temporary role until
increasing Tibetan migrations brought new cultural and religious
contributions.
[11]
There was no central government during this period. Instead, small
independent monarchies began to develop by the early ninth century. Each
was ruled by a deb (king), some of whom claimed divine origins. The
kingdom of Bumthang was the most prominent among these small entities. At the same time, Tibetan Buddhist monks (lam in
Dzongkha,
Bhutan's official national language) had firmly rooted their religion
and culture in Bhutan, and members of joint Tibetan-Mongol military
expeditions settled in fertile valleys. By the eleventh century, all of
Bhutan was occupied by Tibetan-Mongol military forces.
[11]
Sectarian rivalry
By the tenth century, Bhutan's political development was heavily
influenced by its religious history. Following a period in which
Buddhism was in decline in
Tibet in the eleventh century, contention among a number of subsects emerged. The
Mongol
overlords of Tibet and Bhutan patronized a sequence of subsects until
their own political decline in the fourteenth century. By that time, the
Gelugpa
or Yellow Hat school had, after a period of anarchy in Tibet, become a
powerful force resulting in the flight to Bhutan of numerous monks of
various minor opposing sects. Among these monks was the founder of the
Lhapa subsect of the
Kargyupa
school, to whom is attributed the introduction of strategically built
dzong. Although the Lhapa subsect had been successfully challenged in
the twelfth century by another Kargyupa subsect—the
Drukpa—led by Tibetan monk
Phajo Drugom Shigpo,
it continued to proselytize until the seventeenth century. The Drukpa
spread throughout Bhutan and eventually became a dominant form of
religious practice. Between the twelfth century and the seventeenth
century, the two Kargyupa subsects vied with one another from their
respective dzong as the older form of Nyingmapa Buddhism was eclipsed.
[12]
Theocratic government, 1616–1907
Consolidation and defeat of Tibetan invasions, 1616–51
In the seventeenth century, a
theocratic government independent of
Tibetan
political influence was established, and premodern Bhutan emerged. The
theocratic government was founded by an expatriate Drukpa monk,
Ngawang Namgyal, who arrived in Bhutan in 1616 seeking freedom from the domination of the Gelugpa subsect led by the
Dalai Lama
(Ocean Lama) in Lhasa. After a series of victories over rival subsect
leaders and Tibetan invaders, Ngawang Namgyal took the title Zhabdrung
(At Whose Feet One Submits, or, in many Western sources, Dharma Raja),
becoming the temporal and spiritual leader of Bhutan. Considered the
first great historical figure of Bhutan, he united the leaders of
powerful Bhutanese families in a land called Drukyul. He promulgated a
code of law and built a network of impregnable dzong, a system that
helped bring local lords under centralized control and strengthened the
country against Tibetan invasions. Many dzong were extant in the late
twentieth century.
[13]
Circa 1627, during the first war with Tibet,
Portuguese Jesuits Estêvão Cacella and
João Cabral
were the first recorded Europeans to visit Bhutan on their way to
Tibet. They met with Ngawang Namgyal, presented him with firearms,
gunpowder and a
telescope, and offered him their services in the war against Tibet, but the Zhabdrung declined the offer.
[13] After a stay of nearly eight months Cacella wrote a long letter from the
Chagri Monastery reporting the travel. This is a rare report of the Zhabdrung remaining.
[14]
Tibetan armies invaded Bhutan around 1629, in 1631, and again in
1639, hoping to throttle Ngawang Namgyal's popularity before it spread
too far. In 1634 Ngawang Namgyal defeated
Karma Tenkyong's army in the
Battle of Five Lamas.
The invasions were thwarted, and the Drukpa subsect developed a strong
presence in western and central Bhutan, leaving Ngawang Namgyal supreme.
In recognition of the power he accrued, goodwill missions were sent to
Bhutan from
Cooch Behar in the Duars (present-day northeastern West Bengal), Nepal to the west, and
Ladakh in western Tibet. The ruler of Ladakh even gave a number of villages in his kingdom to Ngawang Namgyal.
Bhutan's troubles were not over, however. In 1643, a joint
Mongol-Tibetan force sought to destroy Nyingmapa refugees who had fled
to Bhutan,
Sikkim, and
Nepal. The Mongols had seized control of religious and civil power in Tibet in the 1630s and established
Gelugpa
as the state religion. Bhutanese rivals of Ngawang Namgyal encouraged
the Mongol intrusion, but the Mongol force was easily defeated in the
humid lowlands of southern Bhutan. Another Tibetan invasion in 1647 also
failed.
[13]
During
Ngawang Namgyal's rule, administration comprised a state monastic body with an elected head, the
Je Khenpo (lord abbot), and a theocratic civil government headed by the
Druk Desi (regent of Bhutan, also known as Deb Raja in Western sources). The Druk Desi was either a monk or a member of the
laity—by
the nineteenth century, usually the latter; he was elected for a
three-year term, initially by a monastic council and later by the State
Council (
Lhengye Tshokdu). The State Council was a central administrative organ that included regional rulers, the Zhabdrung's chamberlains, and the
Druk Desi.
In time, the Druk Desi came under the political control of the State
Council's most powerful faction of regional administrators. The
Zhabdrung was the head of state and the ultimate authority in religious and civil matters. The seat of government was at
Thimphu, the site of a thirteenth-century dzong, in the spring, summer, and fall. The winter capital was at
Punakha Dzong, a
dzong
established northeast of Thimphu in 1527. The kingdom was divided into
three regions (east, central, and west), each with an appointed
ponlop, or governor, holding a seat in a major dzong. Districts were headed by
dzongpon, or district officers, who had their headquarters in lesser
dzong.
The ponlop were combination tax collectors, judges, military
commanders, and procurement agents for the central government. Their
major revenues came from the trade between
Tibet and
India and from land taxes.
[13]
Ngawang Namgyal's regime was bound by a legal code called the
Tsa Yig,
which described the spiritual and civil regime and provided laws for
government administration and for social and moral conduct. The duties
and virtues inherent in the Buddhist
dharma (religious law) played a large role in the new legal code, which remained in force until the 1960s.
[13]
Administrative integration and conflict with Tibet, 1651–1728
To keep Bhutan from disintegrating,
Ngawang Namgyal's
death in 1651 apparently was kept a carefully guarded secret for
fifty-four years. Initially, Ngawang Namgyal was said to have entered
into a religious retreat, a situation not unprecedented in Bhutan,
Sikkim, or Tibet during that time. During the period of Ngawang
Namgyal's supposed retreat, appointments of officials were issued in his
name, and food was left in front of his locked door.
[15]
Ngawang Namgyal's son and
stepbrother,
in 1651 and 1680, respectively, succeeded him. They started their
reigns as minors under the control of religious and civil regents and
rarely exercised authority in their own names. For further continuity,
the concept of multiple reincarnation of the first Zhabdrung—in the form
of either his body, his speech, or his mind—was invoked by the
Je Khenpo and the
Druk Desi, both of whom wanted to retain the power they had accrued through the
dual system of government.
The last person recognized as the bodily reincarnation of Ngawang
Namgyal died in the mid-eighteenth century, but speech and mind
reincarnations, embodied by individuals who acceded to the position of
Zhabdrung Rinpoche,
were recognized into the early twentieth century. The power of the
state religion also increased with a new monastic code that remained in
effect in the early 1990s. The compulsory admission to monastic life of
at least one son from any family having three or more sons was
instituted in the late seventeenth century. In time, however, the State
Council became increasingly secular as did the successive Druk Desi,
ponlop, and
dzongpon, and intense rivalries developed among the ponlop of
Tongsa and
Paro and the
dzongpon of
Punakha,
Thimphu, and
Wangdue Phodrang.
[15]
During the first period of succession and further internal
consolidation under the Druk Desi government, there was conflict with
Tibet and
Sikkim.
Internal opposition to the central government resulted in overtures by
the opponents of the Druk Desi to Tibet and Sikkim. In the 1680s, Bhutan
invaded Sikkim in pursuit of a rebellious local lord. In 1700, Bhutan
again invaded Sikkim, and in 1714 Tibetan forces, aided by
Mongolia, invaded Bhutan but were unable to gain control.
[15]
Western outposts
During the 17th century Bhutan maintained close relations with
Ladakh, and assisted Ladakh in its 1684 war with Tibet. Ladakh had earlier granted Bhutan several
enclaves near
Mount Kailash
in western Tibet; these were monasteries of the Drukpa sect and so fell
under the authority of the Bhutanese Je Khenpo and the Zhabdrung. These
enclaves persisted under Bhutanese control even after the rest of
western Tibet came under the control of the Dalai Lama and his Gelugpa
sect. Not until 1959 were the Bhutanese enclaves seized by the Chinese.
[16] In addition to these outposts in Tibet, Bhutan for a time held monastic fiefs in Ladakh,
Zanskar, and
Lahul (now part of India), as well as in
Lo Manthang and
Dolpo (now part of Nepal).
[17][18]
Civil conflict, 1728–72
Though the invaders were unable to take control, the political system
remained unstable. Regional rivalries contributed to the gradual
disintegration of Bhutan at the time the first British agents arrived.
[19]
In the early eighteenth century, Bhutan had successfully developed control over the principality of
Cooch Behar. The
raja of Cooch Behar had sought assistance from Bhutan against the Indian
Mughals
in 1730, and Bhutanese political influence was not long in following.
By the mid-1760s, Thimphu considered Cooch Behar its dependency,
stationing a garrison force there and directing its civil
administration. When the
Druk Desi invaded
Sikkim in 1770, Cooch Behari forces joined their Bhutanese counterparts in the offensive. In a succession dispute in
Cooch Behar
two years later, however, the Druk Desi's nominee for the throne was
opposed by a rival who invited British troops, and, in effect, Cooch
Behar became a dependency of the British East India Company.
[19]
British intrusion, 1772–1907
Under the Cooch Behari agreement with the
British,
a British expeditionary force drove the Bhutanese garrison out of Cooch
Behar and invaded Bhutan in 1772–73. The Druk Desi petitioned Lhasa for
assistance from the
Panchen Lama,
who was serving as regent for the youthful Dalai Lama. In
correspondence with the British governor general of India, however, the
Panchen Lama instead punished the Druk Desi and invoked Tibet's claim of
suzerainty over Bhutan.
[20]
Failing to receive help from Tibet, the Druk Desi signed a Treaty of Peace with the
British East India Company
on April 25, 1774. Bhutan agreed to return to its pre-1730 boundaries,
paid a symbolic tribute of five horses to Britain, and, among other
concessions, allowed the British to harvest timber in Bhutan. Subsequent
missions to Bhutan were made by the British in 1776, 1777, and 1783,
and commerce was opened between British India and Bhutan and, for a
short time, Tibet. In 1784, the British turned over to Bhutanese control
Bengal Duars territory, where boundaries were poorly defined. As in its
other foreign territories, Bhutan left administration of the Bengal
Duars
territory to local officials and collected its revenues. Although major
trade and political relations failed to develop between Bhutan and
Britain, the British had replaced the Tibetans as the major external
threat.
[20]
Boundary disputes plagued Bhutanese–British relations. To reconcile their differences, Bhutan sent an emissary to
Calcutta in 1787, and the British sent missions to
Thimphu
in 1815 and 1838. The 1815 mission was inconclusive. The 1838 mission
offered a treaty providing for extradition of Bhutanese officials
responsible for incursions into
Assam,
free and unrestricted commerce between India and Bhutan, and settlement
of Bhutan's debt to the British. In an attempt to protect its
independence, Bhutan rejected the British offer. Despite increasing
internal disorder, Bhutan had maintained its control over a portion of
the Assam Duars more or less since its reduction of Cooch Behar to a
dependency in the 1760s. After the British gained control of
Lower Assam
in 1826, tension between the countries began to rise as Britain exerted
its strength. Bhutanese payments of annual tribute to the British for
the Assam Duars gradually fell into arrears, however. The resulting
British demands for payment and military incursions into Bhutan in 1834
and 1835 brought about defeat for Bhutan's forces and a temporary loss
of territory.
[20]
The British proceeded in 1841 to annex the formerly Bhutanese controlled Assam Duars, paying a compensation of 10,000
rupees
a year to Bhutan. In 1842, Bhutan gave up control to the British of
some of the troublesome Bengal Duars territory it had administered since
1784.
[20]
Charges and countercharges of border incursions and protection of
fugitives led to an unsuccessful Bhutanese mission to Calcutta in 1852.
Among other demands, the mission sought increased compensation for its
former Duars territories, but instead the British deducted nearly 3,000
rupees from the annual compensation and demanded an apology for alleged
plundering of British-protected lands by members of the mission.
Following more incidents and the prospect of an anti-Bhutan rebellion in
the Bengal Duars, British troops deployed to the frontier in the
mid-1850s. The
Sepoy Rebellion
in India in 1857-58 and the demise of the British East India Company's
rule prevented immediate British action. Bhutanese armed forces raided
Sikkim and Cooch Behar in 1862, seizing people, property, and money. The
British responded by withholding all compensation payments and
demanding release of all captives and return of stolen property. Demands
to the Druk Desi went unheeded, as he was alleged to be unaware of his
frontier officials' actions against Sikkim and Cooch Behar.
[20]
Britain sent a peace mission to Bhutan in early 1864, in the wake of the recent conclusion of a civil war there. The
dzongpon of
Punakha—who had emerged victorious—had broken with the central government and set up a rival
Druk Desi
while the legitimate Druk Desi sought the protection of the ponlop of
Paro and was later deposed. The British mission dealt alternately with
the rival
ponlop of
Paro and the
ponlop of Tongsa
(the latter acted on behalf of the Druk Desi), but Bhutan rejected the
peace and friendship treaty it offered. Britain declared war in November
1864. Bhutan had no regular army, and what forces existed were composed
of dzong guards armed with matchlocks, bows and arrows, swords, knives,
and catapults. Some of these dzong guards, carrying shields and wearing
chainmail armor, engaged the well-equipped British forces.
[20]
The
Duar War
(1864–65) lasted only five months and, despite some battlefield
victories by Bhutanese forces, resulted in Bhutan's defeat, loss of part
of its sovereign territory, and forced cession of formerly occupied
territories. Under the terms of the
Treaty of Sinchula,
signed on November 11, 1865, Bhutan ceded territories in the Assam
Duars and Bengal Duars, as well as the eighty-three-square-kilometer
territory of
Dewangiri in southeastern Bhutan, in return for an annual subsidy of 50,000
rupees.
[20] The land that was to become
Bhutan House was ceded from
Bhutan to
British India in 1865 at the conclusion the
Duar War and as a condition of the
Treaty of Sinchula.
[21][22]
In the 1870s and 1880s, renewed competition among regional rivals—primarily the pro-British
ponlop of Tongsa and the anti-British, pro-Tibetan ponlop of Paro—resulted in the ascendancy of
Ugyen Wangchuck, the
Ponlop of Tongsa.
From his power base in central Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck had defeated his
political enemies and united the country following several civil wars
and rebellions in 1882-85. His victory came at a time of crisis for the
central government, however. British power was becoming more extensive
to the south, and in the west Tibet had violated its border with Sikkim,
incurring British disfavor. After 1,000 years of close ties with Tibet,
Bhutan faced the threat of British military power and was forced to
make serious geopolitical decisions. The British, seeking to offset
potential Russian advances in Lhasa, wanted to open trade relations with
Tibet.
Ugyen Wangchuck, on the advice of his closest adviser
Ugyen Dorji,
saw the opportunity to assist the British and in 1903-4 volunteered to
accompany a British mission to Lhasa as a mediator. For his services in
securing the
Anglo-Tibetan Convention of 1904, Ugyen Wangchuck was knighted and thereafter continued to accrue greater power in Bhutan.
[20] Ugyen Dorji, as well as his
descendants, went on to maintain British favor on behalf of the government from
Bhutan House in
Kalimpong,
India.
Establishment of the hereditary monarchy, 1907
Ugyen Wangchuck's emergence as the national leader coincided with the realization that the
dual political system
was obsolete and ineffective. He had removed his chief rival, the
ponlop of Paro, and installed a supporter and relative, a member of the
pro-British
Dorji family,
in his place. When the last Zhabdrung died in 1903 and a reincarnation
had not appeared by 1906, civil administration came under the control of
Ugyen Wangchuck. Finally, in 1907, the fifty-fourth and last Druk Desi
was forced to retire, and despite recognitions of subsequent
reincarnations of Ngawang Namgyal, the Zhabdrung system came to an end.
[23]
In November 1907, an assembly of leading Buddhist monks, government
officials, and heads of important families was held to end the moribund
300-year-old
dual system of government
and to establish a new absolute monarchy. Ugyen Wangchuck was elected
its first hereditary Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King, reigned 1907–26). The
Dorji family
became hereditary holders of the position of gongzim (chief
chamberlain), the top government post. The British, wanting political
stability on their northern frontier, approved of the entire
development.
[23]
Britain's earlier entreaties in Lhasa had unexpected repercussions at
this time. The Chinese, concerned that Britain would seize Tibet,
invaded Tibet in 1910 and asserted political authority. In the face of
the Chinese military occupation, the Dalai Lama fled to India. China
laid claim not only to Tibet but also to Bhutan,
Nepal, and
Sikkim. With these events, Bhutanese and British interests coalesced.
[23]
On January 8, 1910, Sikkim Political Officer and
Tibetologist Sir
Charles Alfred Bell engaged Bhutan and signed the
Treaty of Punakha.
The Treaty of Punakha amended two articles of the 1865 treaty: the
British agreed to double their annual stipend to 100,000 rupees and "to
exercise no interference in the internal administration of Bhutan." In
turn, Bhutan agreed "to be guided by the advice of the British
Government in regard to its external relations." The Treaty of Punakha
guaranteed Bhutan's defense against China; China, in no position to
contest British power, conceded the end of the millennium-long
Tibetan-Chinese influence.
[23] It also assigned land in
Motithang (
Thimphu) and a hill station between
Chukha and
Thimphu to the British, assigning a portion of
Kalimpong (
Bhutan House) to Bhutan.
[24]
Much of Bhutan's modern development has been attributed by Bhutanese
historians to the first Druk Gyalpo. Internal reforms included
introducing Western-style schools, improving internal communications,
encouraging trade and commerce with India, and revitalizing the Buddhist
monastic system. Toward the end of his life, Ugyen Wangchuck was
concerned about the continuity of the family dynasty, and in 1924 he
sought British assurance that the Wangchuck family would retain its
preeminent position in Bhutan. His request led to an investigation of
the legal status of Bhutan vis-à-vis the suzerainty held over Bhutan by
Britain and the ambiguity of Bhutan's relationship to India. Both the
suzerainty and the ambiguity were maintained.
[23]
Development of centralized government, 1926–52
Ugyen Wangchuck died in 1926 and was succeeded by his son,
Jigme Wangchuck
(reigned 1926–52). The second Druk Gyalpo continued his father's
centralization and modernization efforts and built more schools,
dispensaries, and roads. During Jigme Wangchuck's reign, monasteries and
district governments were increasingly brought under royal control.
However, Bhutan generally remained isolated from international affairs.
[25]
The issue of Bhutan's status vis-à-vis the government of India was
reexamined by London in 1932 as part of the issue of the status of India
itself. It was decided to leave the decision to join an Indian
federation up to Bhutan when the time came. When British rule over India
ended in 1947, so too did Britain's association with Bhutan. India
succeeded Britain as the de facto protector of the Himalayan kingdom,
and Bhutan retained control over its internal government. It was two
years, however, before a formal agreement recognized Bhutan's
independence.
[25]
Following the precedent set by the
Treaty of Punakha,
on August 8, 1949, Thimphu signed the Treaty of Friendship Between the
Government of India and the Government of Bhutan, according to which
external affairs, formerly guided by Britain, were to be guided by
India. Like Britain, India agreed not to interfere in Bhutan's internal
affairs. India also agreed to increase the annual subsidy to 500,000
rupees per year. Important to Bhutan's national pride was the return of
Dewangiri. Some historians believe that if India had been at odds with
China at this time, as it was to be a decade later, it might not have
acceded so easily to Bhutan's request for independent status.
[25]
Modernization under Jigme Dorji, 1952–72
The third Druk Gyalpo,
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck,
was enthroned in 1952. Earlier he had married the European-educated
cousin of the chogyal (king) of Sikkim and with her support made
continual efforts to modernize his nation throughout his twenty-year
reign. Among his first reforms was the establishment of the National
Assembly — the
Tshogdu
— in 1953. Although the Druk Gyalpo could issue royal decrees and
exercise veto power over resolutions passed by the National Assembly,
its establishment was a major move toward a constitutional monarchy.
[26]
When the Chinese communists took over Tibet in 1951, Bhutan closed
its frontier with Tibet and sided with its powerful neighbor to the
south. To offset the chance of Chinese encroachment, Bhutan began a
modernization program. Land reform was accompanied by the abolition of
slavery and serfdom
and the separation of the judiciary from the executive branch of
government. Mostly funded by India after China's invasion of Tibet in
1959, the modernization program also included the construction of roads
linking the Indian plains with central Bhutan. An all-weather road was
completed in 1962 between Thimphu and
Phuntsholing,
the overland gateway town on the southwest border with India. Dzongkha
was made the national language during Jigme Dorji's reign. Additionally,
development projects included establishing such institutions as a
national museum in Paro and a national library, national archives, and
national stadium, as well as buildings to house the National Assembly,
the High Court (
Thrimkhang Gongma), and other government entities in Thimphu. The position of gongzim, held since 1907 by the
Dorji family,
was upgraded in 1958 to lonchen (prime minister) and was still in the
hands of the Dorji. Jigme Dorji Wangchuck's reforms, however, although
lessening the authority of the absolute monarchy, also curbed the
traditional decentralization of political authority among regional
leaders and strengthened the role of the central government in economic
and social programs.
[26]
Modernization efforts moved forward in the 1960s under the direction of the
lonchen,
Jigme Palden Dorji, the Druk Gyalpo's brother-in-law. In 1962, however, Dorji incurred disfavor with the
Royal Bhutan Army
over the use of military vehicles and the forced retirement of some
fifty officers. Religious elements also were antagonized by Dorji's
efforts to reduce the power of the state-supported religious
institutions. In April 1964, while the Druk Gyalpo was in
Switzerland
for medical care, Dorji was assassinated in Phuntsholing by an army
corporal. The majority of those arrested and accused of the crime were
military personnel and included the army chief of operations,
Namgyal Bahadur, the Druk Gyalpo's uncle, who was executed for his part in the plot.
[26]
The unstable situation continued under Dorji's successor as acting
lonchen, his brother
Lhendup Dorji,
and for a time under the Druk Gyalpo's brother, Namgyal Wangchuck, as
head of the army. According to some sources, a power struggle ensued
between pro-Wangchuck loyalists and "modernist" Dorji supporters. The
main issue was not an end to or lessening of the power of the monarchy
but "full freedom from Indian interference." Other observers believe the
1964 crisis was not so much a policy struggle as competition for
influence on the palace between the
Dorji family
and the Druk Gyalpo's Tibetan consort, Yanki, and her father. Lhendup
Dorji had earlier threatened to kill Yanki—his sister's rival—and
ordered her arrest when, fearing for her life and that of her 2-year-old
son by the Druk Gyalpo, she sought refuge in India during the political
crisis.
[27]
Lhendup also incurred the disapproval of the Druk Gyalpo by seeking to
become sole regent of the kingdom after his brother's death, eliminating
the Queen and the king's brother.
[27]
Before returning to Bhutan from Switzerland, Jigme Dorji met with the
Indian Secretary General and Foreign Secretary in Calcutta who offered
Indian support, including paratroopers if necessary, to help the Druk
Gyalpo restore order in the kingdom.
[27]
Unable to regain the Druk Gyalpo's trust, Lhendup fled to London, while
other supporters in the military and government fled to Nepal and
Calcutta.
[27]
Afterwards, in concurrence of the National Assembly, Lhendup Dorji and
other family members were exiled in 1965. However, the exiles continued
their attacks on the Druk Gyalpo and India, worsening relations between
India and China.
[27]
The tense political situation continued and in July 1965 there was an
assassination attempt on the Druk Gyalpo. The Dorjis were not implicated
in the attempt—which was described as a "private matter"—and the
would-be assassins were pardoned by the Druk Gyalpo.
[26]
In 1966, to increase the efficiency of government administration,
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck made
Thimphu
the year-round capital. In May 1968, the comprehensive Rules and
Regulations of the National Assembly revised the legal basis of the
power granted to the National Assembly. The Druk Gyalpo decreed that
henceforth sovereign power, including the power to remove government
ministers and the Druk Gyalpo himself, would reside with the National
Assembly. The following November, the Druk Gyalpo renounced his veto
power over National Assembly bills and said he would step down if
two-thirds of the legislature passed a no-confidence vote. Although he
did nothing to undermine the retention of the Wangchuck dynasty, the
Druk Gyalpo in 1969 called for a triennial vote of confidence by the
National Assembly (later abolished by his successor) to renew the Druk
Gyalpo's mandate to rule.
[26]
Diplomatic overtures also were made during Jigme Dorji Wangchuck's
reign. Although always seeking to be formally neutral and nonaligned in
relations with China and India, Bhutan also sought more direct links
internationally than had occurred previously under the foreign-policy
guidance of India. Consequently, in 1962 Bhutan joined the
Colombo Plan for Cooperative, Economic, and Social Development in Asia
and the Pacific known as the Colombo Plan, and in 1966 notified India
of its desire to become a member of the United Nations (UN). In 1971,
after holding observer status for three years, Bhutan was admitted to
the UN. In an effort to maintain Bhutan as a stable buffer state, India
continued to provide substantial amounts of development aid.
[26]
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck ruled until his death in July 1972 and was succeeded by his seventeen-year-old son,
Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The close ties of the
Wangchuck and
Dorji families
were reemphasized in the person of the new king, whose mother, Ashi
Kesang Dorji (ashi means princess), was the sister of the lonchen, Jigme
Palden Dorji. Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who had been educated in India
and Britain, had been appointed ponlop of Tongsa in May 1972 and by July
that year had become the Druk Gyalpo. With his mother and two elder
sisters as advisers, the new Druk Gyalpo was thrust into the affairs of
state. He was often seen among the people, in the countryside, at
festivals, and, as his reign progressed, meeting with foreign
dignitaries in Bhutan and abroad. His formal coronation took place in
June 1974, and soon thereafter the strains between the Wangchucks and
Dorjis were relieved with the return that year of the exiled members of
the latter family. The reconciliation, however, was preceded by reports
of a plot to assassinate the new Druk Gyalpo before his coronation could
take place and to set fire to the
Tashichho Dzong (Fortress of the Glorious Religion, the seat of government in
Thimphu).
Yanki (who had four children with the Druk Gyalpo, including two sons,
between 1962–1972) was the alleged force behind the plot, which was
uncovered three months before the coronation; thirty persons were
arrested, including high government and police officials. However,
Lawrence Sittling, secretary to Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, later reported
that the assassination plot was a fabrication by a Chinese diplomat
designed to alienate Bhutan from India. But the truth was not any more
politically acceptable—those arrested were Tibetan Khampas rebels,
trained in India, who were traveling through Bhutan on a mission to
Tibet. (Encyclopaedia of Saarc Nations, Syed) Under pressure from China,
the Bhutanese government demanded that the four thousand Tibetan
refugees living in Bhutan either become Bhutanese citizens or go into
exile. Most chose exile. (Syed)
International relations, 1972–present
When civil war broke out in
Pakistan in 1971, Bhutan was the first nation to recognize the new government of
Bangladesh,
and formal diplomatic relations were established in 1973. An event in
1975 may have served as a major impetus to Bhutan to speed up reform and
modernization. In that year, neighboring
Sikkim's monarchy, which had endured for more than 300 years, was ousted following a plebiscite in which the
Nepalese majority outvoted the Sikkimese minority. Sikkim, long a protectorate of India, became India's twenty-second state.
[28]
To further ensure its independence and international position, Bhutan
gradually established diplomatic relations with other nations and
joined greater numbers of regional and international organizations. Many
of the countries with which Bhutan established relations provided
development aid. Moderization of daily life brought new problems to
Bhutan in the late 1980s.
[28] Television broadcast was official introduced in Bhutan in 1999.
[29]
Assamese separatists
Several guerrilla groups seeking to establish an independent Assamese state in northeast
India
have set up guerrilla bases in the forests of southern Bhutan, from
which they launched cross-border attacks on targets in Assam. The
largest guerrilla group was the ULFA (
United Liberation Front of Asom).
Negotiations aimed at removing them peacefully from these bases failed
in the spring of 2003. Bhutan was faced with the prospect of having to
strengthen its token army force to evict the guerrillas.
Military action against Assamese separatists December 2003
On 15 December 2003 the
Royal Bhutan Army
began military operations against guerrilla camps in southern Bhutan,
in coordination with Indian armed forces who lined the border to the
south to prevent the guerrillas from dispersing back into Assam. News
sources indicated that of the 30 camps that were target, 13 were
controlled by ULFA, 12 camps by the
National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), and 5 camps controlled by the
Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO). By January, government news reports indicated the guerillas had been routed from their bases.
In 1988, Bhutan was reported to have evicted some number of
Nepali-speaking residents (Bhutanese reports say about 5,000 and Refugee
reports says over 100,000) from districts in southern Bhutan, creating a
large refugee community that was now being detained in seven temporary
United Nations refugee camps in Nepal and Sikkim. The actual numbers
were difficult to establish, as many of those in the camps were reported
to be holding forged identity papers, and impoverished Nepalese
citizens and started to migrate to the Nepalese community leaving their
refugee camps. The reason for leaving refugee camps was to find a job,
and services to those living in camps. Few of them returned to the
refugee camps. As a result, the number of people living in the camps
decreased exponentially. Although the Bhutanese government claimed that
only about 5000 initially left the country, the number of actual
migration was more than that.
[30]
After years of negotiations between Nepal and Bhutan, in 2000 Bhutan
agreed in principle to allow certain classes of the refugees to return
to Bhutan. However the situation was at a standstill, after violence was
committed on Bhutanese officials by the angered people in the camps.
Significant unrest was now reported to be fermenting in the camps,
especially as the United Nations terminated a number of educational and
welfare programmes in an effort to force Bhutan and Nepal to come to
terms. As the Bhutanese government was unwilling to take them into their
country many developed nations offered the refugees to allow them to
settle in their own countries which included USA and Australia. As many
as 20,000 Bhutanese refugees have been resettled in these countries.
Formalized democracy
Constitution
On March 26, 2005, "an auspicious day when the stars and elements
converge favourably to create an environment of harmony and success"[1],
the king and government distributed a draft of the country's first
constitution, requesting that every citizen review it. A new house of
parliament, the National Council, is chartered consisting of 20 elected
representatives from each of the dzonghags, persons selected by the
King. The National Council would be paired with the other already
existing house, the National Assembly.
Per the Constitution, the monarchy is given a leadership role in
setting the direction for the government as long as the King shall
demonstrate his commitment and ability to safeguard the interests of the
kingdom and its people.
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
On December 15, 2006, the fourth
Druk Gyalpo, His Majesty
Jigme Singye Wangchuck, abdicated all of his powers as King to his son, Prince
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck,
with a specific intention to prepare the young King for the country's
transformation to a full-fledged, democratic form of government due to
occur in 2008.
The previous King's abdication in favour of his son was originally
set to occur in 2008 as well, but there was an apparent concern that the
new King should have hands-on experience as the nation's leader before
presiding over a transformation in the country's form of government.
According to the national newspaper, the
Kuensel,
the previous King stated to his cabinet that "as long as he himself
continued to be King, the Crown Prince would not gain the actual
experience of dealing with issues and carrying out the responsibilities
of a head of state. With parliamentary democracy to be established in
2008, there was much to be done; so it was necessary that he gained this
valuable experience."
The fourth Druk Gyalpo further stated that "Bhutan could not hope for
a better time for such an important transition. Today, the country
enjoys peace and stability, and its security and sovereignty is ensured.
After phenomenal development and progress, the country is closer than
ever to the goal of economic self reliance. Bhutan’s relation with its
closest neighbour and friend, India, has reached new heights.
International organisations and bilateral development partners are ready
to support Bhutan’s development efforts and political transformation.
