Bhutan

The Kingdom of Bhutan ({{IPA2|bu?'t??n}} {{Audio|Bhutan.ogg|Listen}}) is a landlocked nation in the Himalaya Mountains, sandwiched between India and the People's Republic of China in South Asia. The local name for the country is Druk Yul. It is also called Druk Tsendhen (land of the thunder dragon), because the thunder there is said to be the sound of roaring dragons. Historically Bhutan was known by many names, such as Lho Mon (southern land of darkness), Lho Tsendenjong (southern land of the cypress), and Lhomen Khazhi (southern land of four approaches). The origins of the name Bhutan are unclear; historians have suggested that it may have originated in variations of the Sanskrit words Bhota-ant (the end of Bhot – another word for Tibet), or Bhu-uttan (highlands). The word Bhutan as a name for the country dates from the late 19th century.

History

Stone tools, weapons, and remnants of large stone structures provide evidence that Bhutan was inhabited as early as 2000 BC. Historians have theorised that the state of Lhomon (literally, "southern darkness"), or Monyul ("dark land", a reference to the Monpa – the aboriginal peoples of Bhutan) may have existed between 500 BC and 600 AD. The names Lhomon Tsendenjong (sandalwood country), and Lhomon Khashi, or southern Mon (country of four approaches) have been found in ancient Bhutanese and Tibetan chronicles.

Related Topics:
2000 BC - Monpa - 500 BC - 600 AD - Sandalwood

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The earliest transcribed event in Bhutan was the passage of the Buddhist saint Guru Rinpoche in the 8th century. Bhutan's early history is unclear, because most of the records were destroyed after fire ravaged Punakha, the ancient capital in 1827. By the tenth century, Bhutan's political development was heavily influenced by its religious history. Various sub-sects of Buddhism emerged which were patronised by the various Mongol and Tibetan overlords. After the decline the Mongols in the 14th century, these sub-sects vied with each other for supremacy in the political and religious landscape, eventually leading to the ascendancy of the Drukpa sub-sect by the sixteenth century.

Related Topics:
Buddhist - Guru Rinpoche - 8th century - Punakha - 1827 - 14th century

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Until the early 17th century, Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms until unified by the Tibetan lama and military leader Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. To defend the country against intermittent Tibetan forays, Namgyal built a network of impregnable dzong (fortresses), and promulgated a code of law that helped to bring local lords under centralised control. Many such dzong still exist. After his death in 1652, Bhutan fell under a state of anarchy. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Tibetans attacked Bhutan in 1710, and again in 1730 with the help of the Mongols. Both assaults were successfully thwarted, and an armistice was signed in 1759.

Related Topics:
17th century - Fiefdom - Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal - Dzong - Promulgated - 1652 - 1710 - 1730 - Mongols - Armistice - 1759

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In the 18th century, the Bhutanese invaded and occupied the kingdom of Cooch Behar to the south. In 1772, Cooch Behar appealed to the British East India Company who assisted them in ousting the Bhutanese, and later attacking Bhutan itself in 1774. A peace treaty was signed in which Bhutan agreed to retreat to its pre-1730 borders. However, the peace was tenuous, and border skirmishes with the British were to continue for the next hundred years. The skirmishes eventually led to the Duar War (1864–65), a confrontation over who would control the Bengal Duars. After Bhutan lost the war, the Treaty of Sinchula was signed between British India and Bhutan. As part of the reparations, the Duars were ceded to Britain in exchange for a rent of Rs. 50,000. The treaty ended all hostilities between British India and Bhutan.

Related Topics:
18th century - Cooch Behar - 1772 - British East India Company - 1774 - Duar War - 1864 - 65 - Bengal - Duars - Treaty of Sinchula - British India - Reparation

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During the 1870s, power struggles between the rival valleys of Paro and Trongsa led to civil war in Bhutan. This saw the ascendancy of Ugyen Wangchuck, the ponlop (governor) of Tongsa. From his power base in central Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck defeated his political enemies and united the country following several civil wars and rebellions in the period 1882–85.

Related Topics:
1870s - Paro - Trongsa - Civil war - Ugyen Wangchuck - Tongsa - 1882 - 85

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In 1907, an epochal year for the country, Ugyen Wangchuck was unanimously chosen as the hereditary king of the country by an assembly of leading Buddhist monks, government officials, and heads of important families. The British government promptly recognised the new monarchy, and in 1910 Bhutan became a suzerain of the British government in exchange for political autonomy. After India gained independence from Britain in August 1947, kingdoms such as Bhutan were given the option to remain independent or to join the Indian Union. Bhutan chose to remain independent, and on August 8, 1949, Bhutan's independence was recognised by India.

Related Topics:
1907 - 1910 - Suzerain - 1947 - August 8 - 1949

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After the People's Liberation Army entered Tibet in 1951, Bhutan sealed its northern frontier and improved bilateral ties with India. To reduce the risk of Chinese encroachment, Bhutan began a modernisation program that was largely sponsored by India. In 1953, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk established the country's legislature – a 130-member National Assembly – to promote a more democratic form of governance. In 1965, he set up a Royal Advisory Council, and in 1968 he formed a Cabinet. In 1971, Bhutan was admitted to the United Nations, having held observer status for three years. In July 1972, Jigme Singye Wangchuck ascended to the throne at the age of 16 after the death of his father, Dorji Wangchuk.

Related Topics:
People's Liberation Army - 1951 - 1953 - Jigme Dorji Wangchuk - 1965 - 1968 - United Nations - 1972 - Jigme Singye Wangchuck

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Government decrees promulgated in the 1980s sought to preserve Bhutan's cultural identity in a "one nation, one people" policy called driglam namzha (national customs and etiquette). The government hoped to achieve integration by requiring national etiquette in public places. Simmering tensions between ethnic Nepali and Bhutia communities were exacerbated in the late 1980s after the government moved to implement the 1985 Citizenship Act, which provided that only those Nepalese immigrants who could show they had resided in Bhutan for at least 15 to 20 years (depending on occupational status) be deemed the citizens of Bhutan. This led to the setting up of numerous organisations to protest against what was seen as an injustice against resident Nepalis. Matters reached a head in 1991 after protests by the Nepali community led to violence, leaving 300 dead and 2,000 under arrest. After protests by the government of Nepal, the Bhutanese government released most of those arrested. However, the issue of expatriate Nepalis remain unresolved, with at least 100,000 living in UNHCR camps in Nepal and Sikkim.

Related Topics:
1980s - 1991 - UNHCR - Sikkim

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In 1998, Wangchuck introduced significant political reforms, transferring most of his powers to the Prime Minister and allowing for impeachment of the King by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly. In late 2003, the Bhutanese army launched a large-scale operation to flush out Indian insurgents from their training camps in southern Bhutan. A new constitution is likely to be put up for ratification by a referendum at the end of 2005.

Related Topics:
1998 - 2003 - Bhutanese army - Constitution - Referendum - 2005

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