History of Bhutan

Despite the fact that the early history of Bhutan is still poorly understood, scientists, conducting archaeological excavations and exploring stone tools, traces of megaliths that may have been used to mark borders or rituals, concluded that civilization in the territory of modern Bhutan existed as far back as 2000 BC e. According to historians, the most reliable period in the history of Bhutan is the existence of the states of Lhomon (translated “southern darkness”) or Mont-Yul ( Monyul ). Most likely, this state was part of Tibet , in which Buddhism was not preached. It is assumed that Mont-Yul existed between 500 BC. e. and 600 g. e. In the preserved books of Bhutanese scholars, the names Lhomon-Chendenjong and Lhomon-Khashi are also found, which were most likely the ancient names of Bhutan.

The name "Bhutan", which in the 19th century became the generally accepted name of this country, supposedly came either from the Sanskrit word Bhotaant ("Bhot" - the Indian name for Tibet) or from Bhu-uttan ("highlands"). The traditional name of Bhutan since the 17th century is Druk-Yul (“the land of the people of the dragon”).

Some historians believe that in prehistoric times, representatives of the Monpa people lived on this territory, which cannot be attributed to either the Tibetan or the Mongolian people. The population of Mont-Yul adhered to shamanism, a faith that respected nature and evil and good spirits. In the last period of the existence of this state, according to legend, the ruler of Mont-Yule invaded the “duar” valley region, conquering the territory of modern Assam , West Bengal and Bihar in India .

Looking at all ^{[ style ]} , Buddhism penetrated into Bhutan in the II century .

The King of Tibet, Songtsen Gampo ( 627 - 649 ), declared Buddhism the official religion of Tibet , and built the central monastery of Jokhang in Lhasa . To cleanse the Himalayas of demonic charms and establish peace, the king in one day set up 108 monasteries in all the Himalayas. Two of them in Bhutan ( Kiichu Lakhang in Paro and Jambey Lakhang in Bumtang ) have survived to this day and are the most important pilgrimage sites. Several small monasteries have been preserved, in particular, in the Haa Valley.

Chronicles describe in detail several visits by Padmasambhava to Bhutan in the 8th century. After the Padmasambhava mission, Buddhism spread widely in Bhutan. Later, the King of Tibet, Landarma ( 836-842 ) banned and persecuted Buddhism, and many monks and scholars took refuge in Bhutan. Bhutanese Buddhism Drukpa Kagyu is a branch of the Kagyu school and originates from Lama Tsangpa.

Gyar Yeshe Dorji, who founded the monastery of Druk (dragon) in the city of Ralung in Tibet. This school strengthened on the outskirts of Tibet , in Ladakh and in Bhutan. An important role in the development of Bhutanese Buddhism was played by Pema Lingpa , an enlightened young man who saw in a dream the ritual dances that began to be performed in monasteries, and sought out the precious termas (treasures) left by Padmasambhava in the backwater of Membarzo in Bumtang .

The Tibetan monk and artist Ngawang Namgyal (Shabdrung) ( 1594 - 1651 ) became king in 1616 , he was able to unite Bhutan, and organized the construction of fortified fortresses (dzongs) that were inferior only to the Potala palace in Lhasa .

In 1627, the first Europeans, the Jesuit priests Estevan Casella and Juan Cabral , visited Bhutan, the reports of which for a long time were the only information about Bhutan.

After the death of Shabdrung, Bhutan plunged into a civil war, which almost did not stop for two hundred years. The subject of the dispute was, in particular, two Duars (“doors”) - the Assamese Duar and the Bengal Duar - territories that give an exit from the mountains to the Brahmaputra River .

Kuch Behar Dispute

The British Empire came into close contact with Bhutan only in 1772 , when Bhutanese troops occupied the border country of Kuch-Behar . The Kuch-Behar Raja turned to the help of the British, and the Bhutanese were expelled. On April 25, 1774 , a peace was concluded between the British Governor General Warren Hastings and the Raja of Bhutan, through the mediation of Tibet , according to which the Raja promised to stop all enemy invasions of Kuch-Behar . After these events, George Bogle , an English diplomatic agent, visited Bhutan and gathered a lot of new information about Bhutan.

Duar Dispute

Only many years later, after the British annexation of Assam in 1838 , Bhutan again collided with the British. The commission of negotiations with Bhutan on the Bhutanese raids on Assam , entrusted to Captain Pemberton in 1837-1838, was unsuccessful, so in 1840 the British occupied seven passes (the so-called Assamese duars) leading from Bhutan to Assam.

In 1863, the British ambassador to the Raja of Bhutan, Ashley Eden, and Captain Godwin Austen were insulted in Punakh , beaten, smeared in blood and taken prisoner. Bhutan tried to force Eden to sign an act on the return of the British Assamese duars by the British. This caused the Anglo-Bhutan War (also known as the Duar War) , which was not particularly unsuccessful for the British, ending in a peace treaty in Buchs ( November 11, 1865 ), according to which the British remained with the duars for the annual payment of 50,000 rupees to Bhutan, and Bhutan with his the parties undertook to suspend all raids on English territory. The pledge of peace in the hands of the British also remained both strong border positions - Bucks and Devangiri .

In 1872 - 1873, Colonel Graham was instructed to determine the borders between Bhutan and Assam and to designate them in detail by a series of stone pillars. This border was drawn so that Bucks and Devangiri remained in the possession of the British, for which the Duar passages were assigned back to Bhutan.

King Ugyen Wangchuk , the First King, who established a new dynasty in 1907 (which still rules), was able to consolidate and strengthen Bhutan again. The first King in the past participated in joint operations with the British, in particular in the campaign against Tibet in 1904 , received the title of sir and the awards of the English crown. In 1910, the First King made peace with England, in which he recognized suzerain, in exchange for the complete autonomy and non-interference of England in the internal affairs of Bhutan. (see the Punakha Treaty ) From this time on, the period of isolation of Bhutan begins, when Bhutan managed to avoid participating in world wars.

Following the declaration of independence of India in 1947 , Bhutan also became independent. However, due to isolation, Bhutan was not represented at the UN and international organizations, and was mistakenly considered by the world community as Indian dominion. Later, Bhutan had to fight for joining the UN and proving its legal independence. The third king of Jigme, Dorji Wangchuck, who entered the throne in 1952, began a policy of gradual modernization. The Chinese invasion of Tibet forced Bhutan to enter into a pact with India to protect Bhutan from the Chinese invasion, and the security of Bhutan is still guaranteed by Indian forces. The Third King introduced trade and intensified money circulation in the country. Only in 1971, Bhutan joined the UN .

The fourth king, Jigme Singhier Wangchuck, took over the throne in 1972 and carried out a series of reforms. A limited number of foreign journalists and tourists were allowed into Bhutan. The king tried to provide the country with infrastructure (electricity, telephone, radio, roads), minimally affecting the environment.

There is little information about the political crisis in Bhutan in 1974, of which Gyalo Tondub, brother of the Dalai Lama XIV , and Lading, the official representative of the Dalai Lama in Bhutan, were accused of involvement. The Dalai Lama denied any allegations of involvement in the events ^{[1] [2]} . The Government of Bhutan conducted an investigation, the results of which are still classified. After these events, Tibetan-Bhutan relations began to deteriorate and, together with historical and economic factors, led to the deportation of 2500 Tibetans from Bhutan to Nepal, India and Tibet occupied by China in 1979 ^[3] .

In 1998, the king transferred executive power to the Cabinet of Ministers, ensuring the rotation and rotation of senior officials. In 2002, national television was introduced in Bhutan (before that television was banned). In recent years, Bhutan has achieved significant success, the country's welfare is gradually increasing, infrastructure is being improved and modernized. Nevertheless, Bhutan has a strong tradition.

In general, Bhutan is a peaceful state whose defense is entrusted to India, but in 2003 Bhutan had to conduct a military operation (see Operation Bhutan against Assamese Resistance 2003 ).

On November 13, 2005, the Chinese, with the support of the army, invaded in several places on the territory of Bhutan in the districts of Haa , Wangdi-Pkhodrang , Paro and Bumtang , sometimes to a depth of 20 km. The purpose of the invasion was to conduct roads and build several bridges, so the Chinese brought roads close to the borders of Bhutanese territory with a little inland access. Later, Chinese diplomats explained that roads are part of a comprehensive program for the economic development of western China’s infrastructure. The problem is also that according to Chinese maps of 1961, the small border areas of Bhutan are designated as Chinese territory, and there is no clear border agreement. Chinese activity sparked debate in the government. The Bhutan army is negligible, and the defense of Bhutan is entrusted to the Indian army.

Part of the government considers it appropriate to close the road network and build roads to the Chinese border towards the Chinese for the development of trade. Another part of the government is categorically against fearing a flood of Bhutan with Chinese goods and pressure from China. At the same time, there is a smuggling of goods from China, and a certain amount of Chinese goods goes to Bhutan, despite the lack of roads.

The king of Bhutan planned to abdicate the throne in 2008 , simultaneously conducting a series of democratic reforms and the first multi-party elections in Bhutan.

On December 14, 2006, the fourth king of Bhutan, Jigme Singh Wangchuk (b. 1955 ), abdicated in favor of his son, Jigme Khesar Namgyal (b. 1980 ) ^[4] .

There are no diplomatic relations with Russia (were not established).

• Timeline of the history of Bhutan

• Bhutan, the state // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Singh, Amar Kaur Jasbir. Himalayan triangle: A hist. survey of Brit. India's relations with Tibet, Sikkim a. Bhutan, 1765-1950. - London: Brit. libr., Cop, 1988 .-- P. XI, 408. - ISBN 0-7123-0630-7 .
• Bhutan through the ages / ed. by Norbu Ramphel. - New Delhi: Anmol, 1999 .-- ISBN 81-261-0209-8 .
• Kychanov E.I. , Melnichenko B.N. History of Tibet from ancient times to the present day. - M .: Vost. lit., 2005 .-- 351 p. - ISBN 5-02-018365-2 .