The Emergence of Modern Bhutan. Jigme Namgyal's Life and Career, 1825-1881

The emergence of modern Bhutan.
J igme Namgyal's life and career, 1825-1881

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The emergence of modern Bhutan. J igme Namgyal's life and career, 1825-1881
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i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Fi r st and f or emost 1 amver y gr at ef ul t o t he Educat i on
Di vi si on, Royal Gover nment of Bhut an f or nomi nat i ng, and t he
Canadi an I nt er nat i onal Devel opment Agency (CIDA) f or
sponsor i ng me f or t hi s Mast er s Degr ee i n History at t he
Unver si t y of New Br unswi ck. 1 amal so ext r emel y gr at ef ul t o
Dr L.N. Shyu, my advi sor who ki ndl y accept ed so unknown a
history st udent r omBhut an.
Thi s t hesi s coul d not have been wr i t t en wi t hout t he
pat i ent and gener ous assi st ence of Dasho Shi ngkhar Lama,
Dasho Lama Sangya and Lopon Padma Tsewang. Besi des havi ng
hel d i mpor t ant por t f ol i os i n t he Royal Gover nment of Bhut an,
t hey ar e some of best schol ar s i n Bhut anese history. 1
cannot t hank t hemenough f or t he i nt er vi ews and f or so
ki ndl y accomodat i ng me at any t i me t o answer s t he numer ous
quest i ons 1 had. 1 woul d al so l i ke t o t hank my own uncl e,
Maj or ( r et i r ed) SonamChhoephel f or t hose l ong hour s he
spent wi t h me t r ansl at i ng f r omCheokey t o Engl i sh. 1 am
gr at ef ul t o Dr Mi chael Ar i s ( pr of essor , Oxf or d Uni ver si t y)
f or al l owi ng me t o phot ocopy t hose r ar e and out of pr i nt
books and ar t i cl es i n hi s possessi on.
To f r i ends, Shauna Pomer ant z f or t he wonder f ul
assi st ence i n the l ast mi nut e edi t i ng and Phunt sho Dukpa f or
hi s honest and pat i ent di scussi ons. 1 amal so ver y gr at ef ul
t o Kat hy Aubi n and Di ane Shannon at t he Facul t y of Educat i on
f or t hei r assi st ence i n maki ng t he numer ous changes,
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ii
printing and re-printing my thesis. My deepest gratitude
goes to my husband Pema D and son T. Tobgyal Dorji, my
constant source of inspiration and strength.
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i i i
DEDICATION
To Pema D and T. Tobgyal Dorj i .
Thank you for the moral support, love and understanding.
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ABSTRACT.
The history of Bhut an i s ol d, compl ex and r el at i vel y
unexpl or ed. I t was not unt i l t he 1970' s t hat a f ew books on
t he history of t he count r y wer e publ i shed. Unf or t unat el y,
t he gr eat est chal l enge t hat aut hor s i n Bhut anese history
f ace i s t he count r y' s l ack of r ecor ded sour ce mat er i al i n
i t s pol i t i cal , soci al and economi c history.
Thi s t hesi s i s basi cal l y a nar r at i ve account of t he
l i f e and car eer of Dungkhar J i gme Namgyal , ( 1825- 1881) . For
t hi s account on J i gme Namgyal , 1 had t o r el y heavi l y on or al
t r adi t i ons, besi des t he f ew secondar y wor ks on hi m. Al 1 t he
out st andi ng f i gur es i n Bhut anese history have al most al ways
come r omei t her Ti bet or I ndi a, and wer e most l y r el i gi ous
l eader s. J i gme Namgyal was i n ever y sense t he f i r st
nat i onal her o, whose pol i t i cal cont r i but i ons had f ar
r eachi ng consequences.
J i gme Namgyal l i ved i n an age of anar chy, i nt r i gues and
conspi r aci es. Though much of t he det ai l s of t hese compl ex
event s ar e mi ssi ng, i t was J i gme Namgyal who was cr edi t ed
f or el i mi nat i ng al 1 pot ent i al cl ai mant s t o pol i t i cal power ,
t hus pavi ng t he way f or t he successf ul est abl i shment of t he
moder n monar chy by his peace- l ovi ng, di pl or nat i c son, Si r
Ugyen Wangchuk.
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ONE
INTRODUCTION:
THE GEOGRAPHY, PEOPLE, RELIGION AND SOCIETY.
" Thus of t he whol e enor mous ar ea whi ch was once t he
spi r i t ed domai n of Ti bet an cul t ur e and r el i gi on,
st r et chi ng r omLadakh i n t he West t o t he bor der s of
Szechuan and Yunnan i n t he East , f r omt he Hi mal ayas i n
t he Sout h t o t he Mongol i an St eppes and t he vast wast e
of Nor t her n Ti bet , now onl y Bhut an seems t o sur vi ve as
t he one r esol ut e and sel f - cont ai ned r epr esent at i ve of a
f ast di sappear i ng ci vi l i zat i onu. ( Snel l gr ove and
Ri char dson 1968:271)'-
The st or y of how Bhut an managed t o sur vi ve t o pr esent
day i n i t s al most vi r gi n and medi eval st at e makes f or
i nt er est i ng st udy. I t may not be t oo f ar f et ched t o
ment i on, as many out si der s have i n t hei r sear ch f or t he
exot i c, t hat Bhut an i s seen as t he l ast of t he myt hi cal
l and, Shangr i l a. What makes Bhut an even mor e f asci nat i ng i s
t hat despi t e t he si ze, popul at i on and a cent ur y of unr est
and ci vi l war , t he count r y cont i nued t o sur vi ve
i ndependent l y i n t he t eet h of Br i t i sh i mper i al i sm. Bhut an
was not onl y bl essed i n escapi ng col oni zat i on but al so
managed t o war d of f pr essur es f r omTi bet and Chi na,
Bhut an' s sur vi val i n t he mi dst of t hi s pr essur e i s
i ndeed di f f i cul t t o under st and. The count r y had her own
shar e of Ti bet an and I ndi an sai nt s and r ef ugee pr i nces who
managed t o r ul e f or a t i me. They, however , di d not l ast
I
Ar i s, Mi chael : BHUTAN: The Earlv Hi st or v of a
Hi mal avan Kinadom. ( Ar i s and Phi l l i ps Lt d. , War mi nst er ,
England, 1979) . I nt r oduct i on, P. xi .
Page 9 Page 10
l ong and t hei r l egacy l ay i n t he f i el d of r el i gi on and t hei r
vener abl e descendent s, known as t he I Ngoe r i gsl , ( Nobl e
bl ood f ami l i es) l i ke t he Dung, Choejis and Khoches of
Bhut an. But f or most of her history she was r ul ed by her
own peopl e.
I n 1907 t he Bhut anese unani mousl y i nst al l ed Si r Ugyen
Wangchuk as t he f i r st her edi t ar y ki ng of Bhut an- Thi s seems
t o have happened at a t i r ne when ot her count r i es wer e
adopt i ng a r epubl i can st at e based on democr at i c pr i nci pl es.
Today ki ngs ar e conf i ned t o anci ent history cour ses, but i n
Bhut an, t he ki ng is t he most l oved and r espect ed i ndi vi dual
i n t he whol e count r y. I t was not unt i l l at e 1960
t hat any pr oper sur vey of t he count r y was conduct ed. The
ear l i er sour ces of i nf or mat i on on t he count r y' s t er r i t or i al
ext ent and popul at i on wer e based ent i r el y on ol d r el i gi ous
books and document s. Anot her i mpor t ant sour ce was t he maps
and account s of f or ei gner s, especi al l y t he Br i t i sh, Even
t hi s sour ce pr oved most i naccur at e as none of t hese
f or ei gner s had t r avel l ed t hr oughout t he count r y. I n 1971
t he sur vey of f i ce was est abl i shed by t he command of His l at e
Maj es t y, Ki ng J i gme Dor j i Wangchuk. 2
Squeezed bet ween t wo of t he wor l dl s l ar gest and most
popul ous count r i es, I ndi a and Chi na, t he i ndependent
2 Nado, Lopon: DRUK KARPO,
( Thar pal i ng and New
Del hi , 1986) . ( Engl i sh edi t i on not t r ansl at ed and published
as yet.)
2. 7 .
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4
Buddhi st count r y of Bhut an occupi es appr oxi mat el y 18, 000
squar e mi l es, whi ch i s a l i t t l e bi gger t han Bel gi umor
Swi t zer l and ( see map 1) . But demogr aphi cal l y Bhut an i s one
of t he l east popul at ed count r y i n Asi a, wi t h a popul at i on of
l ess t han a mi l l i on. Geogr aphi cal l y on t he nor t h, t he
count r y i s bor der ed by t he Chi nese pr ovi nce of Ti bet and on
t he West by t he once i ndependent Buddhi st ki ngdomof Si kki m
( now annexed t o I ndi a) . To t he east and t he sout h l i e t he
I ndi an St at es of Ar unachal Pr adesh, West Bengal and Assam
r espect i vel y .
I n t he nor t h, a nat ur al bar r i er i n t he fom of a l ong
r ange of snow cover ed peaks separ at e Bhut an rom Ti bet .
Mount s J omol har i , Tsher i ng Ghang, Noj i n Ghangzang, J i chu
Dr ake, Ghangmozang and Thangkhar Ghang, al 1 wel l over 24, 000
f t hi gh f or mt he mai n peaks of t hi s r ange. ' The peaks
Ghangkar Punsum, ( t he t hr ee si bl i ngs) and Kul a Ghangr i , over
25, 000 f t , f a11 bet ween t he di st r i ct s of Bumt ha and Ti bet .
Monl a Kar chung was t he mai n pass bet ween t hese peaks and was
wi del y used by bot h Ti bet an and Bhut anese mer chant t r ader s
and pi l gr i ms. Ther e wer e al so a nur nber of ot her passes
bet ween Bhut an and Ti bet whi ch wer e ext ensi vel y used si nce
ear l y t i mes and l ast ed r omar ound 900 A.D t o t he eve of t he
Chi nese annexat i on of Ti bet i n 1959. O
' I bi d. . p. 7.
I bi d. , P. 8
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5
I n t he sout h, t he hi l l s of Bhut an gr adual l y j oi n wi t h
t he gr eat pl ai ns of Nor t her n I ndi a. Today t he pl ai ns of
Bengal and Assamar e wi del y cul t i vat ed and densel y
popul at ed. Pr i or t o 1864- 1865, t hi s r egi on, wher e t he
Bhut anese hi l l s meet t he I ndi an pl ai ns, was al most
uni nhabi t abl e. Thi s r egi on, known as t he Dooar s/ Duar s,
consi st ed of dense f or est , ext r emel y hot cl i mat e and
mal ar i a. I t was al so t he home of many wi l d and danger ous
beast s and most uni nvi t i ng f or human set t l ement ; yet t he
l and was ver y f er t i l e and sui t abl e f or t he cul t i vat i on of a
var i et y of cr ops, t ea and t i mber . Thi s nat ur al bar r i er i n
t he sout h had al so pl ayed an i mpor t ant r ol e i n shel t er i ng
Bhut an f or many year s r omf or ei gn encr oachment f r omt he
sout h. The mai n passes t hr ough t hi s unf r i endl y r egi on i nt o
I ndi a wer e r omHa vi a Dal i mkot e and r omBuxa Dooar i n t he
West and i n t he East f r omDewangi r i vi a Dar r anga i n t he
Assamdi st r i ct . These r out es wer e used by t he Bhut anese
t r ader s onl y i n t he wi nt er mont hs.
Al 1 t he swi f t - f l owi ng r i ver s of Bhut an f i nd t hei r way
sout h f r omt he r nount ai ns and empt y i nt o t he r i ver s of Bengal
and Assam, I ndi a. Most of t hese r i ver s have t hei r sour ce i n
Chi na whi l e ot her s begi n r omt he hi gh peaks of t he
r nount ai ns i n Bhut an.
Even t hough Bhut an l acks i n si ze, i t does have a wi de-
r angi ng cl i mat e and associ at ed l andscape. The set t l ed hi gh
al t i t udes al ong t he nor t her n bor der ar e t he most spar sel y
Page 13
popul at ed r egi ons of t he count r y. These r egi ons of t he
ki ngdom, like Laya, Li ngshi , Lunana, Bumt ha Dhur , Mer ak and
Sakt eng, ar e i nhabi t ed by nomadi c gr oups whose l i vel i hood
depends al r nost ent i r el y on t he pr oduce of t hei r cat t l e,
These nomadi c gr oups have pr eser ved a l anguage and dr ess
t hat i s di st i nct r omany ot her and r ef l ect a t r adi t i on many
hundr eds of year s ol d. I t has changed l i t t l e over t i me.
The sout her n bel t , al ong t he f oot hi l l s of t he
mount ai ns, gr adual l y j oi ns t he pl ai ns of Nor t her n I ndi a.
These ar eas, bet ween t hr ee hundr ed t o i ve hundr ed f eet
above sea l evel ar e cover ed by dense t r opi cal f or est s.
Because of t he hi gh r ai nf al l and hot cl i mat e, t he l and i s
i deal f or r i ce cul t i vat i on, t r opi cal f r ui t s, t i mber and t he
per ect si t e f or i ndust r y wi t h t he I ndi an mar ket s
i mmedi at el y t o t he sout h. Thi s ar ea i s mai nl y i nhabi t ed by
t he Lhot sampas, peopl e of Nepal ese or i gi n.
The cent r al zone, however , i s t he most densel y
popul at ed r egi on of t he ki ngdom. I t i s r emoved r omt he
teaming heat of t he pl ai ns i n t he sout h and t he per pet ual l y
snow- cover ed peaks of t he nor t h. The val l eys of Thi mphu,
Par o, Punakha, Sha, Ha, Bumt ha, Mangde, Tr ashi gang, Tr ashi
Yangt shi , Mongar and Pema Gat shel ar e heavi l y popul at ed and
ext ensi vel y cul t i vat ed.
The peopl e i n t hi s cent r al zone of Bhut an ar e var i ed
and di ver se as t he geogr aphy of t he count r y i t sel f . J udgi ng
by t he si ze of t he count r y and i t s popul at i on, one woul d
Page 14
7
expect t o f i nd a si ngl e gr oup of peopl e speaki ng a common
l anguage, but not hi ng coul d be f ur t her r omt he t r ut h.
Besi des t he Nomads of t he nor t h, ( cal l ed Br okpa i n t he east
and J op i n t he west ) and t he Lhot sampas i n t he sout h, t he
cent r al zone i t sel f i s t he home of a medl ey of peopl e. The
west er n par t of Bhut an compr i si ng t he di st r i ct s of Thi mphu,
Par o, Punakha, Wangdue Phodr ang, Ha and Gasa ar e known as
t he ' Ngal opr . The l anguage t hey speak i s ' Dzongkhal -
l i t er al l y t he ' l anguage of t he f or t 1,
- whi ch has been
adopt ed as t he Nat i onal Language. Al t hough t he r el i gi ous
scr i pt s ar e wr i t t en i n ' Choekey' , or cl assi cal Ti bet an,
Dzongkha, a br anch of Thoekeyt , i s qui t e di f f er ent and
di st i nct r omt he Ti bet an l anguage. But among t he Dzongkha-
speaki ng peopl e of t he west , t he spoken l anguage may Var y
r omr egi on t o r egi on i n accent and di al ect . The same
appl i es t o t he ot her spoken l anguages i n Bhut an.
I n t he cent r al par t of Bhut an, t he di st r i ct s of Bumt ha
and Tr ongsa speak Bumt ap. East er n Bhut an whi ch i s compr i sed
of t he di st r i ct s of Tr ashi gang, Tr ashi Yangt shi , Mongar ,
Pema Gat shel and Samdr up J ongkhar speak Tsangl a ' or
' Shar chokpa ' ( East er ner ) . But t he peopl e of Lhunt shi
di st r i ct i n t he east speak 'Kurtoep".
As i n t he west , t he
di al ect s i n t he east may di f f er f r omone r egi on t o t he next ,
somet i r nes even i f t he r egi ons ar e wi t hi n t he same di st r i ct .
A pr i nci pal r eason f or t hi s may be t he geogr aphi cal bar r i er s
Page 15
8
t hat separ at ed t he peopl e. The r ugged mount ai n t er r al n made
communi cat i on ver y di f f i cul t .
The hi gh mount ai n r anges and deep r i ver val l eys have
not onl y f or med a nat ur al bar r i er and pr ot ect ed t he count r y
r omout si de i nf l uence and annexat i on, but al so seemt o have
pl ayed an i mpor t ant r ol e i n di vi di ng Bhut an' s own peopl e.
One may wel l ask, what i s t he Bhut anese i dent i t y and what
has kept t he Bhut anese peopl e uni t ed? Al t hough t he
Bhut anese r ef l ect t he physi cal f eat ur es of t he Mongol i an
r ace, wi t h nar r ow el ongat ed eyes, yel l ow ski n and bl ack
hai r , t he Bhut anese ar e qui t e di f f er ent r omei t her t he
Chi nese or t he Ti bet ans. Bhut anese ar e uni que and di st i nct
i n t hei r r ace, r el i gi on, l anguage, dr ess and or nament , f ood,
cust omand t r adi t i on. Even i n i t s pol i t i cal aspect ,
Bhut anl s dual syst emof admi ni st r at i on, "Choe siu ( r el i gi ous
and t empor al ) , i s a f eat ur e t hat i s t r ul y Bhut anese.
As t he nat ur e of Bhut an' s cul t ur e and l anguage show,
t he count r y bor r owed t r emendousl y r ombot h t he nor t her n and
sout her n nei ghbour s. Hol y men and pr i nces and t hei r
ent our age, t he mer chant s and pi l gr i ms r ombot h I ndi a and
Ti bet vi si t i ng Bhut an and vi ce ver sa, enr i ched Bhut an' s
r el i gi on and cul t ur e. But f or t he Bhut anese, what ever was
bor r owed seems t o have been pr eser ved and r emai ned al most
unchanged. Thi s agai n r nay be at t r i but ed t o t he physi cal
bar r i er s and t he l i t t l e cont act wi t h t he out si de wor l d.
Page 16
The st at e r el i gi on of Bhut an i s Kargyu, a sect of t he
Mahayana Buddhi sm. Nyi ngma, anot her sect , i s al so
pr act i sed, most l y i n east er n Bhut an. Ever y Bhut anese i s a
devout Buddhi st and ever y aspect of l i f e i n Bhut an r evol ves
ar ound t he t eachi ngs of t he Buddha. Pr ayer s ar e on t he l i ps
of ever y second Bhut anese and pr ayer f l ags l ut t er over t he
hi l l si des of t he val l eys. Al most ever y house i n Bhut an wi l l
i nvar i abl y have a smal l pr ayer f l ag on t op of t he r oof or i n
f r ont of t he house. Ever y house, no mat t er how humbl e, wi l l
have a chape1 and ever y communi t y, a l hakhang or a
monast er y.
For many Bhut anese, especi al l y t he ol der gener at i on,
t hei r ul t i mat e dr eamwoul d be a pi l gr i mage t o t he sacr ed
pl aces associ at ed wi t h t he l i f e of t he Buddha and Gur u
Padmasambhava, t he I ndi an sai nt who i nt r oduced t ant r i c
Buddhi smt o Bhut an and Ti bet . I n ear l i er days, t he mai n
pi l gr i mcent r e was Lhasa, Ti bet , but af t er t he Chi nese
t akeover , t he Bhut anese wer e depr i ved of t hi s hol y pl ace.
Anot her i mpor t ant cent r e i s Bodhgaya, I ndi a wher e t he Buddha
became enl i ght ened. To many Bhut anese t he cause and ef f ect
of ever yday si t uat i ons woul d be r easoned t hr ough "La Jungdeu
or Kar ma, r at her t han t hr ough t he appl i cat i on of sci ent i f i c
r easoni ng.
The soci et y i s al so ver y much gover ned by t he
pr i nci pl es of Buddhi sm. As t he r el i gi on di ct at es, t he
Bhut anese t r y t o l i ve up t o t he pr i nci pl es of non- vi ol ence,
Page 17
compassi on and t ol er ance. The Bhut anese ar e ver y
di sci pl i ned peopl e. No el der s or acquai nt ances ar e cal l ed
by t hei r name and ever y chi l d i n t he f ami l y car es f or t hei r
ol d and aged par ent s, who usual l y l i ve qui et l y, devot i ng al 1
t hei r t i me t o pr ayer and at t endi ng t o t hei r gr andchi l dr en.
I n most cases, f ami l i es ar e l ar ge, wi t h f at her , mot her ,
chi l dr en and t hei r spouses and gr andchi l dr en
I n ol den days, mar r i ages wer e al ways ar r anged amongst
families of good bl ood, nobi l i t y or pr i est l y cast es. Even
t oday, some Bhut anese par ent s woul d st i l l consi der i nt o t he
backgr ound of t he pr ospect i ve son or daught er - i n- l aw.
Ar i st ocr acy i n ol d Bhut an was based mor e on bl oodl i ne t han
on pr oper t y and econor ni c st r engt h,
".. of t en i ndi st i ngui shabl e r omt he peasant r y at
l ar ge, t hey ( ar i st ocr at s) st i l l enj oy a r espect ed pl ace
i n t he l ocal comr nuni t y because of t hei r vener abl e
ancest r yu. 5
But t oday t he concept of ar i st ocr acy i s t aki ng on a new
meani ng and l i ke ot her count r i es money and power have become
mor e i mpor t ant t han t he i nt angi bl e concept of cast e or
bl oodl i ne.
G.N Mehr a wr i t es i n BHUTAN Land of t he Peacef ul Dr aaon
(1974) , t hat unl i ke India or Ti bet , t her e is mor e equal i t y
i n Bhut anese soci et y and t her e i s l ess di spar i t y bet ween t he
r i ch and t he poor . Two or t hr ee decades ago i n Bhut an,
' Ar i s, Mi chael : BHUTAN: The Earlv Historv of a
Hi mal avan Ki nadom. ( Ar i s & Fhi l l i ps Lt d. , War mi nst er -
Cngl and, 1979) . P. 115.
Page 18
i r r espect i ve of t he f ami l y backgr ound, a young man began hi s
pol i t i cal car eer at t he l owest l evel of empl oyment i n t he
dzongs. Once empl oyed t he young man l i ved away r omhi s
home and f ami l y and l ed t he l i f e of an unor dai ned monk i n
t he dzongs. Thi s cust omhel d even f or pr i nces of t he r oyal
f ami l y and as wel l as est abl i shed l amai st f ami l i es. The
f at her of t he f i r st ki ng, J i gme Namgyal , st ar t ed hi s czr eer
as a cor nr non r et ai ner i n t he cour t of Tr ongsa, al t hough he
came f r omt he f ami l y of Dungkhar Choej i , st ar t ed by t he
f amous Sai nt and t r easur e r eveal er Ter t on Pemal i ngpa. Al so
al 1 t he r oyal pr i nces per sonal l y wai t ed upon t hei r f at her s
and r mai ned at t hei r beck and cal l . Such a di sci pl i nar y
cust omwas not under st ood by t he Br i t i sh of f i cer s who
vi si t ed Bhut an i n t he 1800s. They obvi ousl y mi sunder st ood
t he whol e t r adi t i on and concl uded t hat ,
" t hi s penl ow ( J i gme Namgyal ) ( was) . . of l ow ext r act i on.
His f at her had been a r neni al of a l at e Tongso
Penl ow. . lg 6
Kar ma Ur at s book, Her o wi t h a t housand eves ( 1995) , i s
an excel l ent nar r at i ve of t he l i f e of Dasho Shi ngkhar Lama.
Though he was bor n i nt o an est abl i shed r el i gi ous f ani l y and
r ecogni zed as an i ncar nat e, he was cal l ed away t o ser ve i n
t he pal ace of Wangdue Cheol i ng. Thi s bi ogr aphy conf i r ms
Meht al s st at ement about t hi s r ar e el ement i n
soci et y and t he absence of her edi t ar y l anded
Bhut anese
ar i st ocr at s who
Eden, Hon'ble Ashl ey, - 1864: " Repor t on t he St at e
of Boot an and on t he Pr ogr ess of t he Mi ssi on
Pol i t i cal Mi ssi ons t o Boot an, P. 101.
of 1863-64", i n
Page 19
i nher i t ed power and posi t i on. Ar i st r ocr acy i n Bhut an was
not as wel l est abl i shed as i n Ti bet or Fndi a. Maj or i t y of
t he peopl e i n ni net eent h cent ur y Bhut an wer e f ar mer s,
i ncl udi ng t hose who cl ai med t o be Choej i s. J ust because
t hey wer e Choej i s, i t di d not necessar i l y mean t hat t hey
wer e f i nanci al l y bet t er of f . Bl oodl i ne must not be conf used
wi t h economi c st at us. However , t her e was t r emendous soci al
mobi l i t y i n Bhut an whi ch may have been one of t he r easons
f or t he numer ous scr ambl e f or power and pr est i ge i n
ni net eent h cent ur y Bhut an.
Geogr aphy seems t o have pl ayed a si gni f i cant r ol e i n
t he cr eat i on and pr eser vat i on of t he Bhut anese i dent i t y ana
cul t ur e. To t hi s may be added Bhut anl s sel f i r nposed pol i cy
of i sol at i on. Today Bhut an r nay be one of t he l east known
count r i es and one of t he most di f f i cul t pl ace t o vi si t .
Bhut an may have little t o of f er t o t he wor l d communi t y Sut
t he count r y has her whol e wor l d and way of exi st ence t o Iose
i f she t hr ew open her door s t o t he out si de wor l d. Al t hough
Bhut an nas now abandoned t he f or mer pol i cy of i sol at i on, t he
count r y i s st i l l i n a t r ansi t i onal phase. Thi s i s a
cr i t i cal t i r ne f or Bhut an. The awesome chal l enge f aci ng t he
gover nment and t he peopl e i s t o br i ng moder ni sat i on, not
West er ni zat i on, t o Bhut an.
Numer ous books on Bhut an have been wr i t t en by
f or ei gner s. Al most al 1 of t hemcat er t o t he t our i st s who
have no knowl edge about Shut an, i t s r el i gi on, cizstorns X C
Page 20
13
t r adi t i ons and i t s cul t ur al her i t age. Ever yt hi ng i n Bhut an
r evol ves ar ound Buddhi sm, cul t ur e, cust oms, t he dr ess and
or nament s, t he ar t and ar chi t ect ur e and l i t er at ur e. Vol umes
of wor k can be f ound on r el i gi ous history, but unf or t unat el y
l i t er at ur e on Bhut an' s pol i t i cal history i s al most non-
exi st ent . Ever y second Bhut anese woul d have i n bis
possessi on a f ew vol umes ( dependi ng on t he st at us of t he
i ndi vi dual and hi s educat i onal backgr ound) of books ( pacha)
on Buddhi sm, known as Kanj ur , Tenj ur , Buemet c ( Buddhi st
cannons) . These usual l y si t on t he al t ar s of chapel s i n
homes t hr oughout t he count r y. I t i s amazi ng t hat peopl e
seemso i ndi f f er ent t o t he hi st or i cal aspect of t hei r
count r y, even t hat ment i oned i n t he cannons.
I n t he ear l y 1970s, an at t empt was made t o r ecor d
Bhut anl s history. As Bhut an her sel f had not mai nt ai ned any
r ecor ds of pol i t i cal and di pl or nat i c r el at i ons wi t h ot her
count r i es, r esear cher s had t o r el y heavi l y on Br i t i sh
r ecor ds. Lopon Padma Tshewangl s Hi st or v of Bhut an ( 19941,
and t he l at e Lopon Nado ' s Pr uk Kar~o (1986) , ar e pr obabl y
t he f i r st i ndi genous ef f or t s i n t hat di r ect i on- These t wo
books cover a var i et y of pol i t i cal , r el i gi ous and soci al
i ssues i n Bhut anl s history.
The ear l y account s of Br i t i sh of f i cer s vi si t i ng Bhut an
form an i nval uabl e sour ce of i nf or mat i on on ever y aspect of
l i f e i n 18t h and 19t h cent ur y Bhut an. But as expect ed,
t her e ar e pr obl er ns wi t h t hese account s. These wor ks ar e not
Page 21
14
accur at e, as none of t he of f i cer s l i ved i n t ne count r y l ong
enough t o under st and a soci et y so di f f er ent f r omt hei r own.
Not onl y was t he cul t ur e new t o t hem, but i t was al so ver y
compl ex and deepl y r oot ed i n r el i gi on. Al t hough cr edi t goes
t o t he Br i t i sh f or pr eser vi ng t hese r ecor ds and gi vi ng t he
l at er gener at i on of Bhut anese a gl i mpse i nt o t he wor l d t hey
have l ost , t hei r account s ar e not onl y di st or t ed, but i n
some pl aces bi ased and of f ensi ve. A cul t ur e cannot be
expl ai ned by spect at or s. I t i s di f f i cul t t o under st and, l et
al one expl ai n t he t ot al l y negat i ve at t i t ude of t he t wo l at er
envoys, Pember t on, 1837- ' 38 and Eden 1864, who vi ewed t he
count r y and i t s peopl e wi t h so much cont empt . One r eason
coul d be t hat t hey wer e not i nvi t ed and had t o l i t er al l y
f or ce t hei r way i nt o Bhut an much t o t he i nconveni ence of t he
Bhut anese. Another possi bl e r eason coul d be t hat t hey
measur ed Bhut an by t hei r own yar dst i ck and appl i ed t he
st andar ds of Gr eat Br i t ai n at t he hei ght of her i mper i al
gl or y.
Of t he pr i mar y sour ces, pa~er s Rel at i na t o Boot an.
Fur t her Pa~er s Rel at i na t o Boot an, Bhut an Emedi t i on of
1864- 65 ( mi l i t ar y paper s) , j our nal s and account s of Br i t i sh
of f i cer s and ot her of f i ci al and semi - of f i ci al
cor r espondences al1 at t he I ndi a Of f i ce Li br ar y, London,
t hr ow a f l ood of l i ght on Bhut an. I n t he absence of
Bhut anese account s f r omt he per i od, t hese document s have
hel ped hi st or i ans r e- cr eat e and under st and t he history of
Page 22
15
Angl o- Bhut anese r el at i ons bet ween 1772 and 1947- 50. But
t hese account s ar e one- si ded, because of t he l ack of
Bhut anese sour ces and t he i nabi l i t y, t her eor e t o of f er a
count er per spect i ve. Ther e i s l i t t l e ot her sour ce mat er i al
wi t h whi ch t o make a cor npar i son. Thus, i t i s di f f i cul t t o
f or man obj ect i ve opi ni on. I n addi t i on t o t he f act t hat
t hese r ecor ds may be one si ded, anot her gl ar i ng di sadvant age
woul d be i n l anguage. Al 1 t he cor r espondence bet ween t he
Br i t i sh and Bhut anese of f i cer s had t o be t r ansl at ed. Thi s
pr obabl y t ook pl ace i n t he Fr ont i er agent ' s of f i ce i n t he
Dooar s or i n t he cour t s of t he Bhut anese r aj as. What i s
si gni f i cant i s who t r ansl at ed t he document s, how qual i f i ed
was t he i ndi vi dual i n Engl i sh and Dzongkha, and what
happened t o t he or i gi nal l et t er s. The l ack of answer s t o
t hese quest i ons poi nt s t o t he unr el i abi l i t y of t he r ecor ds.
The j our nal s and account s of t he i ndi vi dual Br i t i sh
of f i cer s ar e anot her i mpor t ant sour ce of i nf or mat i on on
Bhut an. The wr i t i ngs of t he var i ous Br i t i sh envoys and some
of t hei r cor npani ons hel p t o put t he mi ssi ng pi eces t oget her .
The i nf or mat i on r omt hese wr i t i ngs r anges r omt he pol i t i cs
and gover ment of Bhut an, t o r el i gi on, t r ade and
manuf act ur e, and soci et y. The account s of t he ear l i er
t r avel l er s l i ke Bogl e, ( 1774) . and Tur ner , ( 1783) gi ve a
gl owi ng pi ct ur e of Bhut an, wher eas t he wr i t i ngs of t he t wo
later envoys, R. B. Pember t on, 1837- 38 and Hont bl e Ashl ey
Eden, 1864, ar e hi ghl y cr i t i cal . Pr obabl y t hei r vi ews and
Page 23
16
j udgement wer e i nf l uenced by t he pol i t i cal at mospher e, as
Gr eat Br i t ai n by t hen had est abl i shed her sel f as t he
par amount power over t he ent i r e I ndi an sub- cont i nent .
Mor eover , t hey wer e becomi ng qui t e exasper at ed wi t h t he
Bhut anese dar e- devi l r ai ds i nt o Br i t i sh I ndi an t er r i t or i es
of t he Dooar s. Then agai n, t he much l at er account s of J ohn
Cl aude Whi t e ( who vi si t ed Bhut an i n 1905 and 1907) and F. M.
Bai l ey ( 1937- 38?) ar e f ul l of pr ai se and appr eci at i on f or
t he count r y and t he peopl e.
Most of t he secondar y sour ces cat er t o t he t our i st s.
I f t hey go f ur t her t hey usual l y pr esent onl y a br i ef sket ch
of t he history of Bhut an, f r omt he or i gi n of t he name t o
moder n t i mes. But such super f i ci al t r eat ment s do pr ovi de a
f r amewor k t hat i s necessar y bef or e t he deeper hi st or i cal
i ssues coul d be i nvest i gat ed. G. N Mehr at s Bhut an. Land of
t he Peacef ul Dr aaon ( 1974) f ocuses mor e on Bhut an' s cul t ur al
and soci al f eat ur es t han on her pol i t i cal history. Only t wo
chapt er s i n t he ent i r e book gi ve a br i ef gl i mpse i nt o
Bhut an' s history. Bi kr ar n J i t Hasr at t s Hi st or v of Bhut an,
Land of t he Peacef ul Dr aaon ( 1980) , i s mor e hi st or i cal .
Ot her I ndi an wr i t er s l i ke A.K.J Si ngh, Labk Kapi l eshwar ,
Manor ama Kohl i and Shant i swar up Gupt a have done ext ensi ve
r esear ch on Bhut ant s r el at i ons wi t h t he Br i t i sh. But as
Bhut an coul d not of f er any r ecor ds of her past wi t h t he
Br i t i sh, t hei r wor ks ar e based ent i r el y on Br i t i sh sour ces.
Page 24
17
Mi chael Ar i s, Fr ancoi s Pommar at - I maeda and Pet er
Col l i st er have al 1 done cor nendabl e wor k on t he history of
Bhut an. Mi chael Ar i s i s, however , t he aut hor i t y i n
Bhut anese history, havi ng l i ved many year s i n Bhut an,
r esear chi ng t he history. He has pr oduced many books and
ar t i cl es on t he history of Bhut an. Hi s l at est book, The
Raven Cr own The Or lains of Buddhi s t Mona r chv i n Bhut an
(1994), t r aces t he or i gi n of t he Bhut anese monar chy wi t h an
ent i r e chapt er on J i gme Namgyal f or t he f i r st t i me. I n many
ways t hi s is t he f i r st example of a mi cr o history of Bhut an.
r t i s al so t he f i r st exampl e of a f or ei gner wr i t i ng r oma
Bhut anese per spect i ve.
I n gener al , al 1 t hese wr i t er s have t aken a ver y
sympat het i c appr oach where Bhut an is concer ned. Wi t hout any
r ecor ds t o pr ove her case or def end her sel f , she has been
por t r ayed i n many i nst ances as t he vi ct i m- smal l , backwar d
and def ensl ess- f aced agai nst one o f t he gr eat est power s i n
t he wor l d, despi t e t he f act t hat r omt he Br i t i sh account s,
Bhut anese at t i t udes and behavi our s wer e somet i mes f ar r om
ci vi l or di pl or nat i c. These aut hor s appear mor e f avour abl e
t o t he cause of t he Bhut anese and have, on many occasi ons,
made excuses f or t hem.
Due t o t he absence of sour ces on Bhut anese history, i t
i s di f f i cul t t o Say whet her Bhut an was i ndeed t he vi ct i mor
whet her she pr ovoked t he Br i t i sh f i r st wi t h r ai ds i n t he
Dooar s and t hen wi t h t hei r i nsol ent behavi our t o t he Br i t i sh
Page 25
18
envoy i n Punakha i n 1864. Ei ght eent h and ni net eent h cent ur y
Bhut an f ai l ed t o pr oduce any hi st or i an who coul d have
mai nt ai ned an account of t he count r y' s r el at i ons wi t h t he
Engl i sh. Even t he ear l y 20t h cent ur y di d not pr oduce a
bi ogr aphy on ei t her J i gme Namgyal or hi s son Si r Ugyen
Wangchuk who l at er became t he f i r st ki ng of Bhut an. Thi s,
however , does not mean t hat Bhut an di d not have a cl ass of
i nt el l ect ual s, onl y t hat t hei r i nt er est s l ay i n ot her
f i el ds. Rel i gi on was st i l l t he most i mpor t ant t opi c f or
Bhut an and her peopl e.
I n t hi s t hesi s 1 st udy t he r i se of J i gme Namgyal , a
f i gur e st i l l shr ouded i n myst er y, awe and f ear . J i gr ne
Namgyal l ed a l i f e of war f ar e, subdui ng r ebel s and
suppr essi ng ci vi l war s. Cr edi t goes t o hi mf or put t i ng an
end t o t he numer ous ci vi l war s t hat had r avi shed t he count r y
and i mpover i shed t he peopl e f or near l y a cent ur y. Al t hough
hi s son Si r Ugyen Wangchuk i s bet t er known as a di pl omat and
a man of peace, J i gme Namgyal l s l abour and cont r i but i on
t owar ds t he count r y cannot be over l ooked. J i gr ne Namgyal
made i t possi bl e f or hi s son t o pur sue such a peacef ul
pol i cy af t er he had successf ul l y el i mi nat ed al 1 t he r i val
f act i ons i n t he count r y.
Thi s chapt er has ser ved as an i nt r oduct i on t o Bhut an
f or t he non- Bhut anese r eader . I t at t empt ed t o gi ve a qui ck
gl ance at t he count r y' s physi cal f eat ur es as wel l as i t s
r el i gi on, cul t ur e and soci et y. I t i s an enor mous t ask t o
Page 26
summar i ze so much i n so l i t t l e space but per haps i t wi l l
gi ve t he r eader some i dea as t o t he nat ur e of Bhut anese l i f e
and i t s val ues.
Chapt er t wo cover s a br i ef history of Bhut an r omi t s
ear l i est t i me. I t gi ves a br i ef expl anat i on of how t he
count r y r ecei ved i t s name and why t he Bhut anese cal 1
t hemsel ves Dr ukpa. The name Bhut an i s comr nonl y used t oday
bot h wi t hi n and out si de of t he count r y, but t o many
Bhut anese t he name of t he count r y i s Dr uk Yu1 and i t s peopl e
ar e cal l ed Dr ukpa. I t al so pr esent s a br i e summar y of t he
comi ng of Gur u Padma Sambhava r omI ndi a and t he l egend of
t he Si ndhu Raj a, at whose i nvi t at i on t he gr eat t ant r i c
mast er vi si t ed Bhut an and spr ead Buddhi sr n t hr oughout t he
l and. Then came t he var i ous exi l e pr i nces and r el i gi ous
pr i est s and hi gh l amas r omTi bet , making t r emendous
cont r i but i on t o Bhut an i n soci al and r el i gi ous f i el ds.
Chi ef among t hemwoul d be t he comi ng of Phaj o Dr uj omShegpo
and Lhase Tsangma, bot h r omTi bet . I n 1050 t he f amous
Tr easur e r eveal er Ter t on Pemal i ngpa was barn i n Bumt ha. Hi s
sons est abl i shed t he var i ous nobl e f ami l i es and cl ans of
Bhut an. The t wo most wel l - known f ami l i es ar e t he Tamshi ng
Choej i of Bumt ha and t he Dungkhar Choej i of Kur t oe. J i gme
Namgyal was bor n i nt o t he f ami l y of Dungkhar Choeji st ar t ed
by Pemal i ngpa' s son Kunga Wangpo. The most f amous of t he
exi l e pr i nces and pr i est s r omTi bet was Shabdr ung Ngawang
Namgyal , who became one of t he most dynaniic r ul er s of t he
Page 27
20
count r y. Ngawang Namgyal was r ebor n a number of t i mes i nt o
t he Choej i f ami l i es of Dr amet se, al so st ar t ed by anot her son
of Pemal i ngpa. Thr ough common ancest or s, bl oodl i ne and
mat r i mony, J i gme Namgyal and t he l at t er r ei ncar nat es of
Ngawang Namgyal wer e r el at ed. Thi s baf f l ed t he Br i t i sh and
on a f ew occasi ons t hey bel i eved t hi s connect i on bet ween t he
t wo most power f ul f i gur es i n Bhut an t o be a pol i t i cal
scheme. Then came a cent ur y of Dhar ma and Deb r aj as and
ci vi l war s out of whi ch J i gme Namgyal emer ged t r i umphant and
l ai d t he f oundat i ons of t he Wangchuk dynast y i n Bhut an.
Chapt er t hr ee pr esent s a br i ef i nt r oduct i on of t he
family i nt o whi ch J i gme Namgyal was bor n. Wi t h t he meagr e
sour ce mat er i al s avai bl e on hi s l i f e and achi ever nent , t he
t hi r d chapt er t r aces t he bi r t h and t he r i se of J i gme Namgyal
t o power . Ther e i s no bi ogr aphy on hi s l i f e. What has
sur vi ved t o dat e has been passed domor al l y. I n such a
case t he r el i abi l i t y of t he sour ces i s quest i onabl e. I met
many Bhut anese schol ar s, t he most i mpor t ant ones bei ng Dasho
Lama Sangya, Dasho Shi ngkhar Lama and Lopon Padma Tsewang
and ot her s who wi del y accept t he det ai l s of hi s l i f e rom
what l i t t l e wr i t t en t ext was avai bl e. Much of t hi s chapt er
and chapt er si x i s based on t he ser i es of i nt er vi ews 1
conduct ed wi t h t hese Bhut anese schol ar s and ot her s. 1 was
unabl e t o go t o t he pl ace of hi s bi r t h and meet wi t h some
el der s r omwhom1 mi ght have gat her ed mor e det ai l s.
Page 28
Chapt er s f our and f i ve det ai l t he f i r st encount er of
t he Br i t i sh wi t h t he Bhut anese. The r el at i onshi p began i n
1772, when t he Br i t i sh ar r i ved i n Bengal and l ooked up t o
t he hi l l s f or a possi bl e t r ade r out e i nt o Chi na. The pet t y
quar r el s of t he smal l chi ef t ans and r aj as gave t he Br i t i sh
t he oppor t uni t y t hey needed t o get i nvol ved f i r st i n t hei r
quar r el , t hen t owar ds t he devel opment of a pol i cy. Bhut an
di d not f eat ur e i n t he Br i t i sh I mper i a1 pl ans and f or a l ong
t i me t he count r y was t he means t o an end- as a r out e t o get
t o Ti bet and Chi na. But t he i nt er na1 di sor der s i n Bhut an,
coupl ed wi t h t he chaos i n t he bor der , changed bot h t he
at t i t udes and pol i ci es of t he t wo count r i es. Much of t he
sour ce mat er i al f or t hese chapt er s has been gat her ed f r om
pr i mar y Br i t i sh account s and document s, al 1 i n t he Or i ent al
and I ndi a Of f i ce Li br ar y, London. Ther e is vi r t ual l y
not hi ng i n Bhut an r omt hi s per i od, nei t her l et t er s nor
r epor t s.
I n t he absence of Bhut anese r ecor ds, i t i s di f f i cul t t o
cor ne t o an under st andi ng of t he Angl o- Bhut anese r el at i ons.
Al t hough bot h wer e at f aul t , and Bhut an her sel f has a good
case, she has no evi dence t o pr esent i n suppor t of her own
Nat i onal i nt er pr et at i on. Based on t he Br i t i sh r ecor ds
chapt er f our and i ve f ol l ow t he Angl o- Bhut anese r el at i ons
r omt hei r f i r st encount er , t o pr obl ems on t he f r ont i er , t o
t he war of 1864- ' 65, one of Engl and' s many l i t t l e war s and
def i ni t el y t he l east known.
Page 29
22
The si xt h chapt er deal s about t he uni f i cat i on of Bhut an
and J i gme Namgyal l s f i nal st r uggl es agai nst t he host i l e
chi ef s and of f i cer s of West er n Bhut an. Thi s chapt er deal s
wi t h t he consol i dat i on of t he power and posi t i on t hat passed
nat ur al l y down r omJ i gme Nar ngyal t o hi s son Ugyen Wangchuk.
Fur t her i t r ecount s t he r enewal of f r i endshi p bet ween t he
Bhut anese and t he Br i t i sh under J i gr ne Namgyal l s son Si r
Ugyen Wangchuk and t he new r ol e t hat Bhut an pl ayed i n t he
Hi mal ayan r egi on. J i gme Namgyal l s son l at er became t he
f i r st her edi t ar y Ki ng of Bhut an i n 1907.
I n many of t he ear l i er books on t he History of Bhut an,
f our wat er sheds ar e ment i oned: The advent of Gur u Padma
Sambhava and t he i nt r oduct i on of Buddhi smt o Bhut an i n t he
8t h Cent ur y; t he est abl i shment of t he Dr ukpa School of
Nor t her n Mahayana Buddhi smi n Bhut an by Phaj o Dr ugor n Shi gpo
i n t he 13t h Cent ur y; t he comi ng of Shabdr ung Ngawang Namgyal
and t he uni f i cat i on of Bhut an i n t he 17t h Cent ur y; and t he
est abl i shment of t he Monar chy i n 1907 by Si r Ugyen Wangchuk.
These ar e si gni f i cant event s i n t he count r yl s history. Yet
whi l e t he f i r st t hr ee epoch- maki ng event s ar e i nt egr at ed
i nt o a gr adua1 account of t he r i se, spr ead and est abl i shment
of t he f ai t h and r ul e, much i nf or mat i on i s mi ssi ng on t he
st at us of t he count r y on t he eve of t he est abl i shment of t he
monar chy. Tt is known t hat pr i or t o 1907, t he count r y was
pl agued by ci vi l war and anar chy, yet Si r Ugyen Wangchuk
Page 30
2 3
t ook par t i n j ust one of t hese ci vi l war s bef or e t he count r y
was pol i t i cal l y uni t ed under t he l i ne of Dungkhar Choej i s.
1 was i nt er est ed i n t he man who l ai d t he f oundat i on of
t he monar chy. The f ew st or i es t hat have sur vi ved of J i gme
Namgyal ar e r emember ed wi t h awe of hi s l ar ger - t han- l i f e
i mage. Most bel i eve he was r ut hl ess and f er oci ous, but r om
t he l i t t l e 1 hear d and r ead 1 amconvi nced t hat J i gme
Namgyal was mi sunder st ood. Per haps J i gme Namgyal cul t i vat ed
hi s i mage f or r ut hl essness because he want ed hi s peopl e of
t he t i me t o t hi nk t hat he was st r ong and i nvi nci bl e, br ave
and ar nbi t i ous. The t r ut h i s nobody knows f or sur e. He was
a man who devot ed hi s l i f et i me t o war and campai gn. He
uni nt ent i onal l y uni t ed t he count r y under one aut hor i t y. Hi s
mi l i t ar y campai gns, hi s shr ewdness and hi s ni ck name 'Deb
Nagpo' , or t he bl ack r egent , ( due t o hi s dar k count enence
and t he dar k cl ot hes he chose t o wear ) , seems t o have
out l i ved t he r eal man t hat l i ved under t hat r ut hl ess frown.
Thi s t hesi s i s basi cal l y a nar r at i ve account of J i gme
Namgyal , but an at t empt has been made t o r eassess t he man,
hi s car eer and hi s cont r i but i on t owar ds t he emer gence of a
moder n, uni f i ed Bhut an. I n t he f adi ng mer nor i es of seni or
Bhut anese, J i gme Namgyal l s bl oody bat t l es and ambi t i ous
char act er i s al 1 t hey can r ecal l . At a t i me when even bl ood
br ot her s coul d not be count ed upon as al l i es, i t seems t o
have gone unnot i ced t hat such al l egat i ons coul d wel l have
Page 31
24
been a smear campai gn r omt he count l ess r i val s and j eal ous
col l eagues.
I f Ugyen Wangchuk i s t o be cal l ed a I man of
vi si on1 ( Pet er Col l i st er , 1987) t hen J i gme Namgyal was t r ul y
Bhut anl s ' man of dest i nyl . Even hi s Lama J angchub Tsondr ue,
( hi s per sona1 t eacher ) does make i t appear t hat J i gme
Namgyal l s bi r t h was not a chance happeni ng but r at her
somet hi ng t hat was pr eor dai ned. I t i s bel i eved t hat t he
l ama, who was wel known f or hi s wi sdomand l ear ni ng, al so
pr edi ct ed t he bi r t h of Ugyen Wangchuk and t he r ul e of t he
Dungkhar Choej i s. J i gme Namgyal t s i mpor t ance i n t he
uni f i cat i on of Bhut an and hi s cont r i but i on i n put t i ng an end
t o t he ci vi l war s has not r ecei ved t he cr edi t i t shoul d
have, but t he myt h of hi s f ear ome char act er r ecei ved much
at t ent i on. Somewher e al ong t he way t he r eal man was l ost .
But what i s equal l y f r ust r at i ng i s t he l ack of mat er i al s i n
Bhut an on J i gme Namgyal . I t i s most unf or t unat e t hat t her e
i s l i t t l e t hat can be used t o pr esent a case t o show J i gme
Namgyal i n a mor e obj ect i ve l i ght .
Most of what 1 was l ef t wi t h ar e t he accept ed or al
account s and t he f ew document s about t he man. I t i s
di f f i cul t t o shed any new l i ght on J i gme Namgyal l s life and
car eer i n t he absense of any new mat er i al s. But 1 have used
t he ol d exi st i ng mat er i al s and t r i ed t o r eassess t he man and
hi s mot i ves. Ot her t han t he f ew exi st i ng wr i t t en sour ces a
maj or por t i on on him has been based on or al account s and
Page 32
2 5
suppl ement ed by t he chapt er s on hi mby t he l at e Lopon Nado' s
DRUK KARPQ, Lopon Padma Tsewang' s HISTORY OF BHUTAN and
Mi chael Ar i s' s RAVEN CROWN. The Or i gi ns of Buddhi st Monar chv
i n Bhut an. Al t hough Ar i s has t r i ed t o por t r ay a Bhut anese
per spect i ve, t he cont ent of t he t hr ee aut hor s is di st i nct l y
si mi l ar .
Per haps t her e is someone i n some r emot e cor ner of
Dungkhar or even Kur t oe who coul d t hr ow a f l ood of l i ght on
J i gme Namgyal . Ther e i s st i l l much t hat needs t o cor ne t o
l i ght r egar di ng J i gme Namgyal . He deser ves t o have hi s
st or y t ol d and hi s r eput at i on r eassessed.
Page 33
TWO .
BHUTAN IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT,
Bhut an, even t oday, is one of t he l east known count r i es
i n t he wor l d. Pr ot ect ed by hi gh mount ai n r anges, t he
count r y i s st i l l sur r ounded by an ai r of myst er y. But ever
si nce Bhut an abandoned her sel f - i mposed pol i cy of i sol at i on,
out si der s have been cur i ous about t he count r y, t he peopl e,
and t he cul t ur e. Bhut an has a ver y r i ch cul t ur e and an
anci ent history t hat goes back t o ant i qui t y. A number of
hi st or i ans, ant hr opol ogi st s, expl or er s and advent ur er s. and
t i bet ol ogi st s have expl or ed t he count r y and r esear ched t he
history. As a r esul t . a number of books on Bhut ant s
anci ent , r el i gi ous and cul t ur al history wer e publ i shed i n
t he l at e 1960s and 1970s.
Most of Bhut anl s hi st or i cal sour ces ar e cont ai ned i n
t he Buddhi st cannons and r el i gi ous bi ogr aphi es. Resear chi ng
i n Bhut anl s anci ent , and not so anci ent history can be bot h
i nt r i gui ng and exasper at i ng. Somehow t he deepl y devout
Bhut anese peopl e have not devel oped a sense of history and
thus Bhut an di d not pr oduce anyone r emot el y r esembl i ng
Her odot us, who coul d have mai nt ai ned a r ecor d of Bhut anf s
f asci nat i ng past . The vol umes of Buddhi st l i t er at ur e, pacha
gi ve l engt hy det ai l s of t he l i ves and act i vi t i es of t he
var i ous l ama pr i est s and t hei r pr eachi ngs. Unf or t unat el y,
Page 34
t hese wor ks cont ai n l i t t l e about t he pol i t i cal or soci o-
economi c condi t i on of t he count r y.
The anci ent Buddhi st name f or Bhut an was Lho Mon
meani ng Sout her n Mon. Sout her n because Bhut an was
geogr aphi cal l y si t uat ed Sout h of Ti bet and Mon ( cor r upt i on
of t he wor d Mun) r neani ng spi r i t ual dar kness. I n anci ent
Bhut an, bef or e Buddhi smcame t o t he count r y i n t he ear l y
ei ght h cent ur y, t he peopl e of t he Sout her n l and f ol l owed t he
Vhr ee ani mi st cul t of Bon, Deu and Dr ungl ' . Al t hough t he
ki ngs of mai nl and Ti bet had by t hen accept ed Buddhi sm, t he
Sout her n r egi ons of Ti bet bor der i ng Bhut an al so pr act i sed
t hese t hr ee cul t s. Many Bon pr i est s i n cent r al Ti bet wer e
bani shed t o t he sout her n bor der s of t he count r y f or t hei r
bel i ef s and pr act i ses. These bani shed gr oups ei t her set t l ed
i n t he Sout her n par t of Ti bet or moved f ar t her sout h i nt o
Bhut an. '
The r easons f or cal l i ng Bhut an t he Sout her n l and of
Spi r i t ual dar kness wer e due t o t he Monpas ( or t he peopl e of
t he Bon cul t ) who i nhabi t ed t he l and. They wor shi pped
var i ous mani f est at i ons of nat ur e l i ke t he Gods of t he Sun,
sky, moon, ear t h, r ock, ire, mount ai ns et c, and wer e
i gnor ant of t he pr i nci pl es of act i on and r et r i but i on t hat
Buddhi smpr opagat ed. Thei r f ai t h and wor shi p woul d not l ead
Nado, Lopon: , DRUK KARPO. ( Thar pal i ng & New Del hi ,
1986). P. 2.
Page 35
2 8
t hemt o t he pat h of sel f r eal i zat i on and Enl i ght enment .
Ther ef or e, t hey wer e doomed t o a l i f e of Spi r i t ual dar kness.
The Bon r el i gi on or cul t f l our i shed i n Ti bet and
event ual l y i nf i l t r at ed i nt o Bhut an r omTi bet . The pr eci se
dat e of t he ar r i va1 of t he Bon f ai t h i n Bhut an, and who was
r esponsi bl e f or
2
i t s i nt r oduct i on and pr opagat i on, i s not known. Ther ef or e
t he geogr aphi cal posi t i on and t he f ai t h of t he peopl e of t he
count r y gave Bhut an i t s f i r st anci ent , known name. I t was
cal l ed " Lho MonM.
The count r y was al so known by a number of ot her names
bef or e I 1Bhut anw, was adopt ed and accept ed. Al t hough t he
count r y i s known as Bhut an t o t he r est of t he wor l d and on
gover nment and of f i ci al document s t he peopl e t hemsel ves
st i l l cal 1 t he count r y Dr uk and her peopl e, Dr ukpa. Mor e
about t hi s wi l l be consi der ed l at er . Besi des Lho Mon,
Bhut an was al so cal l ed, Lho Mon Tsenden J ong by t he
Ti bet ans, whi ch meant t he Sout her n Mon count r y of
Sandal woodt f . Sandal wood i s f ound i n adundance i n Bhut an and
t hi s t r ee i s r ar e i n Ti bet . Then it was al so r ef er r ed as,
l ho Mon Men Jong whi ch meant Y3out er n Mon ( dar k) count r y of
Medi ci nal her bsu. Thi s name was used by t he Ti bet ans t o
emphasi ze t he war mer cl i mat e of Bhut an whi ch made i t i deal
2 Hasr at , Bi kr ama J i t : , PISTORY OF BHUTAN. Land of
t he Peacef ul Dr a~on. ( Depar t ment of Educat i on, Thi mphu
Bhut an, 1980), P. 23.
Page 36
f or r ar e and medi ci nal her bs, compar ed t o Ti bet , basi cal l y a
col d deser t . Besi des t he gener al use of ' Bhut anl and ' Dr ukt
by t he Bhut anese, anot her ol d name t hat t he Bhut anese
r eadi l y accept i s Lho Mon Kha Shi , I l The Sout her n Mon Count r y
of Four Appr oache~~~. The f our appr oaches or passes i nt o
Bhut an wer e: Shar ( East ) Khal i ng kha, Nub ( West ) Dar l i ng
Kha, Lho ( Sout h) Passa Kha and J ang ( Nor t h) Takt se Kha?
The count r y' s moder n name began t o t ake shape r oman
I ndi an t er m, Bhot ant a meani ng t he whol e of t he Ti bet an
pl at eau or Bhot - Ut t am, meani ng " Bhot I 1 as I ndi a1s name f or
Ti bet and " Ut t amWmeani ng mor t h? When t he Br i t i sh came t o
I ndi a t he name Bhot ant a or Bhot -Uttam became angl i si zed as
Bhut an. The Br i t i sh, however , spel l ed Bhut an a number of
ways, l i ke Boot an, Bhot an and Bout an. But as was ment i oned
ear l i er t he Bhut anese st i l l cal 1 t hemsel ves " Dr ukpaWand
t hei r count r y " Dr ukW. The count r y got i t s name when " Dr ukpa
Kar gyu ( a sub - sect of t he Nor t her n Mahayana Euddhi sm) was
i nt r oduced i nt o t he count r y by Phaj o Dr uj omShi gpo. The
st or y of t hi s pr i mar y Bhut anese f i gur e ( but of Ti bet an
or i gi n) wi l l be deal t wi t h l at er i n t he chapt er . Many of
t he aut hor s of t he 1970s, whet her wr i t i ng about Bhut anese
Aris, Mi chael : , BHU-: The Ear l v Hi st or v of a
Hi mal avan Ki nadom. ( Ar i s and Phi l l i ps Lt d. , War r ni nst er -
Engl and, 1979) . P. xxiv & xxv.
4 Kohl i , Manor ama: , INDIA AND BHUTAN: A St udv i n
I nt er r el at i ons 1772 - 1910,
( Munshi r amManohar l al Publ i sher s
Pvt . Lt d. 1982). P. 1.
Page 37
3 O
history or about t hei r advent ur es i n Bhut an, al ways r ef er ed
t o t he count r y as t he " l and of t he peacef ul dr agont t or t he
' l and of t he t hunder dr agonn; ' Dr uk" means dr agon.
Bhut ant s ear l y history can be di vi ded i nt o Anci ent
Bhut an and Legendar y Bhut an, but t he di f f i cul t y l i es i n
separ at i ng l egends or myt hs f r omf act s. I n Bhut anese
history t her e is a ver y t hi n di vi di ng l i ne bet ween history
and l egends or st or i es of mi r acl es. I t i s al so di f f i cul t t o
ascer t ai n who peopl ed t hi s t r act of l and known as " Lho Mon"
or Whot ant aU. Who wer e t he or i gi nal or t he ear l i est
set t l er s? But what i s known f or cer t ai n i s t hat Bhut an had
a f ai r shar e of i r nmi gr i ~t s r ombot h t he nor t her n and
sout her n bor der s. I n t he pr ocess, t he count r y was much
enr i ched by t hese i mmi gr ant s, who al most al ways came i nt o
Bhut an as exi l e pr i nces of r oyal househol d or a Lama pr i est
oust ed r omhi s seat by new l eader s and new i deas.
Accor di ng t o t he l at e Lopon Nadot s pr uk Kamo, t he
ear l i st I ndi an i mmi gr ant was t he exi l ed pr i nce Dr i me Kundan
and hi s f ami l y, who t r avel l ed Nor t h t o Bhut an af t er hi s own
f at her bani shed hi m. The exact dat e of Dr i me Kundanf s ent r y
i nt o Bhut an i s not known, but accor di ng t o Bhut anese l egend
t he pr i nce i s said t o have cor ne t o a pl ace cal l ed Dur i
Hashang, whi ch i s l ocat ed i n t he upper Shengana val l ey i n
Punakha. The pr i nce and hi s f mi l y ar e bel i eved t o have
passed t hr ough Lekhi t hang, Lor i na and Lobesa. Wher ever t hey
went , Dr i me Kundan was supposed t o have pl ant ed t umer i c and
Page 38
gi nger , whi ch ar e st i l l gr own t oday.
bel i eved t o have set t l ed bet ween Wang
3 1
Anot her I ndi an ki ng i s
and Pel e La at a pl ace
cal l ed Razaog, ( I l under t he ki ng1' )
. Hi s f r i endshi p wi t h t he
Ti bet an ki ng Thr i Ral pachen r esul t ed i n t he const r uct i on of
a number of Buddhist monast er i es i n Bhut an. The r ui ns of
Razaog st and t oday i n Shar . '
I ndi an i nf l uence and i mmi gr at i on decl i ned af t er t he
l ast and t he most popul ar I ndi an ki ng, t he l egendar y Si ndha
r aj a of Bumt ha. When Buddhi smbegan t o f l or i sh i n Ti bet ,
under t he r ul e of some of t he gr eat est Ti bet an ki ngs of
r el i gi on l i ke Songt sen Gambo, Thr i song Duet sen, Mut i t senpo
and Thri Ral pachen, Bhut an began t o l ook mor e and mor e
t owar ds Ti bet f or spi r i t ual and cul t ur al l eader shi p. Taki ng
advant age of t hi s spi r i t ual al l i ance, Bhut an, ar ound t he 9t h
cent ur y, sought Ti bet an mi l i t ar y ai d t o dr i ve out some
I ndi an set t l er s. Not onl y had t hey set t l ed i n Bhut an, but
t hey had begun t o oppr ess t he nat i ve Bhut anese. The Ti bet an
f or ce was successf ul but a l ar ge nur nber of t hemdeci ded t o
set t l e down i n Bhut an because of t he count r y' s pl easant
cl i mat i c condi t i ons and ver y f er t i l e soi 1 ( t hat was t he same
r eason f or t he I ndi ans set t l i ng i n Bhut an i n t he f i r st
pl ace) . These Ti bet ans later came t o be known as t he
Milong, Pthose who r ef used t o r et ur nN) . They mar r i ed wi t h
' Nado, Lopon: , DRUK KARPO. P. 3
Page 39
32
t he nat i ve women and event ual l y t hey became one wi t h t he
Bhut anese. 6
Some I ndi an t r avel l er s i n Bhut an wer e even f or ced t o
r emai n i n t he count r y and wor k f or t he Bhut anese. As t i me
went on, t hese act s by t he Bhut anese became wor se. As
l abour was scar ce, t he Bhut anese went t o t he ext ent of
f or ci bl y br i ngi ng men f r omt he I ndi an pl ai ns i nt o t hei r
count r y and ensl avi ng t hem. Thi s cont i nued even when t he
Br i t i sh had come t o Bengal and Assam. Thi s act i on of t he
Bhut anese became one of t he mai n causes of t he Second Angl o
Bhut anese War of 1864- '65. These unf or t unat e peopl e of
I ndi an or i gi n, known as J owo, Jam and Zap, f or med t he
l abour i ng cl ass unt i l t he 1960 manumi ssi on. Thi s Act
abol i shed t hese t ems and di st i nct i ons and t he peopl e wer e
gi ven l and, equal i t y and f r eedom.
An i mpor t ant i mmi gr at i on r omt he Bhut anese per spect i ve
was t hat of pr i nce Khi khar at hoe of Ti bet and hi s ent our age.
When ki ng Thr i song Duet sen of Ti bet bani shed hi s son
Khi khar at hoe t o Khenpal ung or Khanpaj ong, t he l at t er
gat her ed a l ar ge gr oup of l oyal f ol l ower s and at t empt ed t o
t ake Lhasa. At t he t i me, t he gr eat I ndi an t ant r i c, Guru
Padmasambhava ( who was r esponsi bl e f or spr eadi ng Buddhi sm
i n Ti bet and Bhut an) was i n Ti bet and t he ki ng sought hi s
hel p. The Gur u desi gned a l ar ge wooden vesse1 r esembl i ng a
j achung or t he gar uda ( Myt hi cal bi r d) and i nduced t he pr i nce
6 Hasr at , P. 37 - 38 and al so see Lopon Nado, P. 5 .
Page 40
3 3
and hi s f ol l ower s i nt o t he gi ant bi r d. I n t hi s Ti bet an
ver si on of t he Tr oj an hor se, t he Gur u i s bel i eved t o have
t aken t he ent i r e r ebel f act i on of t he ki ng and dr opped them
i nt o Bur nt ha, Bhut an. On hi s r et ur n t o Ti bet , t he Gur u
mi r acul ousl y seal ed t he ent i r e r egi on of Khanpaj ong and hi d
i t . Some peopl e i n Bhut an cl ai mdescendant of t hi s bani shed
Ti bet an pr i nce, 7
Al most all of Bhut an' s f or ei gn i nf l uences, whet her f r om
Ti bet or I ndi a, came i n t he f or mof wander i ng hol y men or
exi l ed r oyal pr i nces. The most f ar nous of t he exi l ed pr i nces
of Ti bet i s Lhase Tsangma. Lhase Tsangmat s exi l e t o Bhut an
is mor e i mpor t ant rom a Bhut anese poi nt of vi ew t han t hat
of t he Ti bet ans. Al most ever y nobl e f ami l y i n east er n
Bhut an cl ai med t o be descendant s of t hi s pr i nce. Ki ng
Thr i song Duet sen of Ti bet had t hr ee sons, Thri Ral pachen,
Lhase Tsangma and Lang Dhar ma. Ral pachen was a devout
Buddhi st and pr opagat ed t he spr ead of t he f ai t h much t o t he
anger and ambi t i on of hi s ant i - Buddhi st br ot her , Lang
Dhar ma. Legend says t hat Lang Dhar ma, wi t h t he suppor t of
t he power f ul Bonpo pr i est s and mi ni st er s, had Lhase Tsangma
exi l ed, t he queen' s r eput at i on sl ander ed and bani shed and
t he ki ng' s f ai t hf ul mi ni st er execut ed. Fi nal l y Lang Dhar ma
had t he ki ng, Ral pachen
ascended t he t hr one and
br ot her . Lhase Tsangma
7 Aris, P. 65-69.
assasi nat ed. Lang Dhar ma t hen
pl unged i nt o undoi ng t he wor k of hi s
ar r i ved i n Par o and rom t her e
Page 41
pr oceeded t o East er n Bhut an. Hi s t hr ee sons moved t o ot her
par t s of East er n Bhut an. Her ei n l ay t he or i gi n of t he nobl e
f ami l i es of East er n Bhut an. '
The ear l i est r ecor ded history of Bhut an, however ,
begi ns wi t h t he r ul e of t he Si ndha r aj a of Bumt ha and t he
comi ng of Gur u Padmasambhava t o Bumt ha at t he i nvi t at i on of
t he ki ng. Al t hough much of t he st or y of Si ndha r aj a sounds
l i ke a myt h i t i s al so deepl y r oot ed i n hi st or i cal f act s.
Accor di ng t o l egend and t he bi ogr aphy of t he Si ndha r aj a,
t he pr i nce Kun- j omwas sent out of hi s ki ngdomt o pur sue a
l i f e of r el i gi on i n a pl ace cal l ed Si ndha. Her e he l at er
9
became t he ki ng; t hus t he t i t l e Si ndha r aj a. Hi s mai n
r i val was Nauche. Bei ng def eat ed by t he l at t er , Kun- j om
f l ed t o Bumt ha and conf i ned hi r nsel f t o Chakhar Gomed pal ace,
( " i r on f or t r ess wi t hout door su) and r ul ed over Bumt ha. The
ki ngdomwas l at er gr eat l y expanded by hi s son Takl a Mebar .
Unf or t unat el y Takl a Mebar was sl ayed i n bat t l e at t he age of
24 by hi s ol d r i val Nauche. Si ndha r aj a was f i r st
despondent and l at er enr aged at hi s pr ot ect i ng dei t i es f or
t hei r f ai l ur e t o pr ot ect hi s son. He went i nt o a r age and
r ampant l y dest r oyed and bur ned a t housand set t l ement s of
Nauche and wi t hdr ew hi s r espect f or hi s dei t i es. He
commi t t ed var i ous act s of i mpur i t i es and def i l ed t hei r name.
Tashi , Khenpo Phunt shok & But t er s, Chr i s
( t r ansl at ed) ; " LHASETSANGMA" . Unpubl i shed ar t i cl e, Tenzi n
Dor j i . ( Thi mphu, 1992) . P. 3- 6. al so Ar i s, 84 - 94.
Ar i s, P. 45.
Page 42
3 5
The guar di an dei t i es t hen became angr y and sei zed hi s sou1
( l a sok). The ki ng was t hus st r i cken wi t h a ser i ous i l l ness
t o whi ch, no t r eat ment or cur e coul d be f ound. Then a smal l
nei ghbour i ng r ul er i nf or med hi mt hat ki ng Nauchel s l ama, t he
gr eat t ant r i c, ( Gur u Padmasambhava) wi l l be abl e t o cur e t he
ki ng. Si ndha sent out hi s mi ni st er s t o I ndi a and i nvi t ed
t he Gur u t o Bumt ha, who mi r acul ousl y r et r i eved t he ki ng' s
sou1 af t er successf ul l y t ami ng t he power f ul dei t y Shel gi ng
Kar po. Si ndha r aj a t hen gave hi s daught er Tashi Khedon as
t he Gur u' s spi r i t ual consor t . The Gur u even medi at ed
bet ween t he t wo war r i ng ki ngs and br ought peace bet ween
them. 'O
At t he i nvi t at i on of t he Si ndha r aj a, Gur u Ri npoche
( pr eci ous t eacher ) ar r i ved i n moder n day Gal egphu and
t r avel l ed up t he hi 11 t owar ds Bumt ha. Af t er cur i ng t he
Si ndha r aj a, t he Gur u spent some t i me i n Bumt ha medi t at i ng.
He l ef t many mi r acul ous f oot and body pr i nt s on r ocks and
caves, subdued t he l ocal spi r i t s and pr eached t he Buddhi st
doct r i ne. " The Gur u l ef t numer ous sacr ed pl aces i n Bhut an
f or t he f ut ur e benef i t of t he peopl e. Hi s medi at i on bet ween
t he t wo r aj as al so br ought an end t o t he host i l i t i es and t he
r el at i ons bet ween I ndi a and Bhut an hencef or t h i mpr oved. On
t he I ndo- Bhut an bor der s, at a pl ace cal l ed Nga- t hang ( " Oat h
'O Ar i s, P. 46- 47, Lopon Nado, P. & Hasr at , P.
- -
'- Lopon Nado, P. 4.
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36
f i el du) t he Gur u er ect ed a pi l l ar and t hen decl ar ed t hat t he
t r oops of Mon and I ndi a must not cr oss t hi s pi l l ar . I f t hey
di d t hen,
"his hear t bl ood woul d i r nmedi at el y be t r ansf er r ed t o
t hi s f i el d and so he woul d di eM.
Bot h t he ki ngs and t hei r mi ni st er s swor e t o obey hi s
The si gni f i cance of t he Si ndha r aj a' s l egend i s t wo
f ol d. I t i s not onl y one of t he ear l i est wr i t t en r ecor ds of
t he count r y, but i t al so t el l s of t he comi ng of Gur u Padma
Sambhava t o Bhut an and t he i nt r oduct i on of t he Mahayana
Buddhi smt o Lho Mon. Si nce t hen, Buddhi smhas evol ved
peacef ul l y and gr adual l y t o t hi s day. I n t he 9t h cent ur y,
Mahayana Buddhi smspl i t i nt o a number of sub- sect s. The
f our mai n br anch bei ng Nyi ngma, Kar gyu, Gel ug and Sakya.
Si nce t he i nt r oduct i on of t he f ai t h t o t he count r y by Gur u
Padma Sambhava i n 747. A. D. , Bhut an exper i enced an i nf l ux of
Buddhi st l ama Pr i est s f r omTi bet bel ongi ng t o di f f er ent
sect s. Bet ween t he 11t h and t he 16t h cent ur y Bhut an
wi t nessed t he r i se and spr ead of many sect s such as Nyi ngma,
Dzogchenpa, Ter t onpas, Gel ugpa, Sakyapa and Dr ukpa Kar gyu.
Fi nal l y, Dr ukpa Kar gyu emer ged as t he pr omi nent sect of t he
peopl e of Lho Mon. Thi s school was f ounded i n t he 11t h t o
12t h cent ur y by Tsangpa Gyar ey Yeshi i n Ti bet . Ther e i s an
i nt er est i ng st or y of how t hi s new sect r ecei ved i t s name.
- -
-' Ar i s, P. 47.
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37
. -
I n 1189, " t hunder dr agons ( Dr uk) r esounded i n t he skyn" at
t he consecr at i on of t he new monast er y. Hence t he new sect
t ook t he name ' Dr uk' or Dr agon. The t eachi ngs of Tsangpa
Gyar ey Yeshi f l our i shed i n Lho Mon and event ual l y t he
count r y t ook t he nar r i e of t he f ai t h, NDr ukyul m, t he l and of
t he ' Dr ukpas' or l and of t he Thunder Dr agon.
The man r esponsi bl e f or t he i nt r oduct i on of t he Dr ukpa
Kar gyu sect i nt o Bhut an was Phaj o Dr ugomShi gpo, ( 1208-
1276) . I n 1211, a boy r omEast er n Ti bet set of f f or Ral ung
Monast er y t o meet Tsangpa Gyar ey, but t he gr eat t eacher di ed
bef or e t he l i t t f e boy r eached hi s dest i nat i on, But al 1 was
not i n vai n. Tsangpa Gyar ey had had a spi r i t ual vi si on of
t he comi ng of one such boy. He had i nst r uct ed hi s best
di sci pl e t o t ut or hi mper sonal l y. Thi s young boy was
dest i ned t o t ake hi s t eachi ngs t o t he Sout her n l and, t hat i s
Bhut an. The l i t t l e boy was none ot her t han Phaj o Dr ugom
Shi gpo, who l at er br ought and ~pr ead t he new t eachi ng t o
Bhut an. Dr ukpa Kar gyu spr ead and f l our i shed t hr oughout
Bhut an under many pr omi nent and zeal ous t eacher s and sai nt s
of t he sect . Fol l owi ng t he st eps of Phaj o, and pr obabl y
encour aged by t he wi de accept ance of t he f ai t h by t he peopl e
of West er n Bhut an, many Dr ukpa t eacher s came t o t he count r y.
Besi des t he pr opagat i on of t he f ai t h t hese t eacher s l ef t
behi nd i n t he val l eys of Thi mphu, Punakha, Wangdu and Par o,
t hei r descendant s who later pl ayed a si gni f i cant r ol e i n
. -
-' Aris, P. 172.
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consol i dat i ng t he count r y and est abl i shi ng t he Dr ukpa school
under Shabdr ung Ngawang Namgyal .
I n 1350 J amyang Kunga Si ngye, t he abbot of Dr uk Ral ung,
Ti bet t r avel l ed domt o Dechenphug i n t he Thi mphu val l ey at
t he i nvi t at i on of t he gr andson of Phaj o, Lhoden Gyel po.
Ar ound 1450, anot her abbot r omRal ung Gyel wang Kunga
Penj or e ar r i ved i n Bhut an accompani ed by hi s di sci pl e Pha
Dr ung Dr ung. Toget her t hey i dent i f i ed many sacr ed pl aces i n
Par o, const r uct ed many monast er i es and cent r es f or t he
spr ead of t he Dr ukpa school of Buddhi sm. Some f our t y year s
l at er abbot Ngawang Chogyel , al so t he nephew of Gyel wang
Kunga Penj or e, vi si t ed Bhut an sever al tirnes. Ngawang
Chogyel and hi s son Ngagi Wangchuk bui l t numer ous
monast er i es and t empl es i n Bhut an. I t was Ngagi Wangchuk
and t he gr eat gr andf at her of Shabdr ung, Ngawang Namgyal , who
l ai d t he f oundat i on of t he Tr ongsa Choekhor Rabt se dzong. "
One and a hal f cent ur i es l at er t he Shabdr ung was t o br i ng
al 1 of t he East er n chi ef s under t he r ul e of t he Dr ukpas, i n
a campai gn l ed r omTr ongsa by t he dynami c monk- gener al and
Tr ongsa penl op, Mi n j ur Tenpa .
Ngawang Chogyel l s cont empor ar y, Dr ukpa Kunl ay, or
popul ar l y known as t he Di vi ne Madr nan, is st i l l one of t he
most l oved and r ever ed sai nt s of t he Dr ukpa school .
Al t hough t hese sai nt s and t eacher s di d not hol d any
pol i t i cal power , or f unct i on as secul ar over l or ds, t hey
. 1
-' Nado, Lopon : , DRUK KARPO . P. 37.
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39
st i l l enj oyed t he suppor t and l oyal t y of a l ar ge sect i on of
t he peopl e of West er n Bhut an. Ther e i s no ment i on of a
pol i t i cal l eader or a ki ng at t hi s per i od of t i me. Local
wel l - t o- do f ami l i es, or Choj i s, seemt o have r ul ed mor e or
l ess aut onomousl y i n smal l r egi ons and val l eys. The pat t er n
was t he same i n East er n Bhut an. When t hese sai nt s and
t eacher s came r omTi bet , t hey seemt o have acqui r ed t he
al l egi ence of t he l ocal chi ef . Thr ough t hemt hey al so
uni t ed t he ent i r e r egi on under t hei r j ur i sdi ct i on,
Ther ef or e, t he var i ous Dr ukpa t eacher s had managed t o spr ead
t hei r t eachi ngs t o a l ar ge sect i on of West er n Bhut an and i n
a way l ai d t he f oundat i on of a nat i on. Most of t he nobi l i t y
of West er n Bhut an wer e st ar t ed by t he descendent s of Phaj o
Dr uj omand Dr ukpa Kunl ay. Al 1 of t hese f ami l i es had one
i mpor t ant f eat ur e i n cr zzon. They bel onged t o t he same
br anch of t he Dr ukpa t eacher s of Ral ung. Gr adual l y t hr ough
year s of Dr ukpa i nf l uence, t he count r y t hat was f or mer l y
known as Lho Mon was t r ansf onned i nt o a val l ey of Spi r i t ual
awakeni ng and came t o be known as Dr uk or t he Land of t he
Thunder Dr agon.
Of equal i mpor t ance t o Phaj o Dr ugom, Shabdr ung Ngawang
Namgyal , and even Gur u Padma Sambhava, is Ter t on
Pemal i ngpa, ( 1450- 1521) . The t er t onpa t r adi t i on bel ongs t o
t he Nyi ngpa school of t he Mahayana br anch. The Nyi ngma
school cl ai ms t o have pr eser ved t he exact t eachi ngs of t he
Gur u by a
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r e- di scover y of t ext s hi dden i nt ent i onal l y by Gur u Padma
Sambhava f or t he benef i t of t he f ut ur e gener at i ons. These
t r easur e r eveal er s, t er t onpas ( t er =t r easur e, t on=t o r eveal
or di scover ) , wer e pr edest i ned and chosen by t he gr eat
mast er hi msel f . Ther e have been hundr eds of t er t onpas and
mor e ar e dest i ned t o come i n t he f ut ur e. But of t he
numer ous t er t onpas, f i ve ar e consi der ed gr eat er t er t onpas
and Pemal i ngpa, t he onl y one bor n i n Bhut an, bel ongs t o t hi s
sel ect gr oup.
Dur i ng t he 1 4 0 0 ~ ~ when Bhut an exper i enced an i nf l ux of
Dr ukpa t eacher s r omDr uk Ral ung i n Ti bet , i n the East t he
f i r st i ndegeni ous Bhut anese sai nt was bor n. Pemal i ngpa was
bor n i n t he Tang val l ey of Bumt ha i n 1450 t o Dondup Zangpo
of t he Ngoe cl an and SonamPel zom. The bi r t h of Pemal i ngpa
was pr edi ct ed by t he Gur u i n t he 8t h cent ur y i n Ti bet . As a
chi l d he was named Penj or e and was r ai sed by a r el at i ve, who
was a bl acksmi t h by pr of essi on. Hi s mot her coul d not suckl e
hi maf t er t he bi r t h of anot her chi l d f ol l owi ng Pemal i ngpa.
It was her e t hat he l ear ned and excel l ed i n t he ar t of
bl acksmi t h. At t he age of sevent een Pemal i ngpa r ecover ed
cer t ai n t er mas ( t r easur es) f r omt he Mebar tso ( " bur ni ng
l aken) i n Bur nt ha, t hus f ul f i l l i ng t he Gur u ' s pr ophesy i n t he
Padma Thayi g,
One called O-rgyan Padma Gling-pa will come forth;
And the treasure-hoard hidden a t the Burning Lake will
be removed.
Page 48
Having revealed the sign that i t is not to be left, but
extracted. l5
Pemal i ngpa went on t o r eveal many such t er mas i n Bhut an
and t he Sout her n r egi ons of Ti bet . Due t o t he benef i t of
such sacr ed t er mas t hat he r e- di scover ed, and var i ous
t eachi ngs and bl essi ngs, Pemal i ngpa' s l egacy is pr eser ved
t oday i n t he f or mof t he many sacr ed dances t hat wer e
r eveal ed t o hi mi n hi s dr eams and vi si ons. These dances ar e
hel d i n gr eat r ever ence and per f or med i n al 1 t he annual
f est i val s of Bhut an. Anot her i mpor t ant l egacy of t he
Pemal i ngpa l i es i n t he numer ous nobl e f ami l i es of East er n
Bhut an. Pemal i ngpa hi msel f was bor n i nt o t he "NgoeN cl an
whi ch had spr ead r omTi bet . The f ami l i es st ar t ed by hi s
sons wer e t o move t hr oughout East er n Bhut an and even gai n
pr ecedence over al 1 ot her cl ans. Of t he number of t he
Paling ( Pemal i ngpa) f ami l i es i n East er n Bhut an, t wo wer e
mor e pr omi nent l y t han t he ot her s, - t he Tamshi ng Choej i ,
st ar t ed by hi s son Dawa Gyal t sen; and t he Khouchung Choej i
st ar t ed by anot her son, Khedr up Kunga Wangpo. Two families
br anched out of t he Khouchung f ami l y, Dungkhar Choej i and
Kher i Choej i . Of t he t wo, Dungkahr Choej i was t o l at er
pr oduce t he f ut ur e ki ngs of Bhut an. J i gme Namgyal was bor n
i n 1825 i nt o t he f ami l y of Dungkhar Choej i .
Buddhi smis t he way of l i f e f or t he peopl e of Bhut an.
The t wo gr eat est f i gur es of t he r el i gi on, t he Buddha and t he
-=Aris, P. 161.
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42
second Buddha, Gur u Padma Sar nbhava, ar e on t he l i ps of ever y
second Bhut anese. Shabdr ung Ngawang Namgyal i s anot her name
t hat i s ut t er ed ever yday, i n ever y aspect of l i f e i n Bhut an,
whet her i n di spensi ng secul ar and official dut i es or even at
gr ace bef or e a meal . Ngawang Namgyal , or Shabdr ung as he i s
bet t er known, i n Bhut an, i s r ~member ed not onl y f or t he
est abl i shment of t he Dr ukpa school i n Bhut an but al so f or
uni f yi ng t he whol e count r y- He gave i t i t s name and
est abl i shed i t s eccl esi ast i cal and secul ar or der s. Fur t her ,
he gave t he count r y an admi ni st r at i ve body f or t he f i r st
t i me and a code of l aw. Because of t hese achi evement s, one
can sur el y Say t hat Ngawang Namgyal f ound Bhut an i n
f r agment s, and by t he end of hi s l i f e, left i t as an uni t ed
nat i on. A physi cal evi dence of hi s l egacy t hat can be seen
ar e t he var i ous dzongs scat t er ed over t he val l eys and r i dges
of t he count r y.
Ngawang Namgyal was bor n i n 1594 i n Ti bet , as t he 18t h
her edi t ar y pr i nce abbot of t he Dr ukpa school i n Ral ung.
Fr oma ver y young age he was t r ai ned and gr oomed, f i r st by
hi s gr andf at her and l at er by hi s f at her . A f ew year s af t er
hi s bi r t h, he was r ecogni zed as t he r ei ncar nat i on of Kunkhen
Pema Kar po, t he gr eat est of t he Dr ukpa schol ar s. He, Pema
Kar po was acknowl edged as t he r ei ncar nat e of t he f ounder of
t he school , Tsangpa Gyar ey Yeshi . Ngawang Namgyal was
t her ef or e, not onl y t he pr i nce abbot of Ral ung, but al so t he
r i ght hei r of t he Dr ukpa hi er ar chs. When he was ei ght year s
Page 50
4 3
ol d he was i nst al l ed on t he t hr one of Dr uk by hi s
gr andf at her . Tr oubl e st ar t ed when a r i val , cl ai mi ng t o be
t he r ei ncar nat i on of Kunkhen Pema Kar po, appear ed i n t he
f or mof one PagsamWangpo. He was suppor t ed by t he power f ul
gover nor of t he pr ovi nce, Tsang desi Phunt sho Namgyal .
The pr obl emwas never successf ul l y r esol ved and by t he
t i me Ngawang Namgyal was ni net een year s of age, he f ound
hi r nsel f at a di sadvant age over t he r ei ncar nat i on di sput e.
He had appeal ed sever al t i r nes t o the Tsang Desi f or a f ai r
j udgement . But t he desi openl y showed hi s suppor t f or
PagsamWangpo af t er an unf or t unat e event over a br awl
bet ween t he Shabdr ung' s f ol l ower s and Kar mapa monks. Thi s
occur ed dur i ng t he cr ossi ng t he Tsangpo r i ver . The f i ght
r esul t ed i n t he deat h of one Kar mapa l ama. Al 1 of Ngawang
Namgyal t s pl eas t o t he desi f el l on deaf ear s. The l ast
st r aw was when t he desi demanded t he Dr ukpa r el i c, Rangjung
Khasar pani , f r omNgawang Namgyal . Rangjung Khasarpani was a
sel f - cr eat ed i mage of Aval oket eshwar i , t hat appear ed on a
bone ( vet ebr a) of Tsangpa Gyar ey Yeshi . I t was not onl y
sacr ed but al so t he mai n t r easur e of t he Dr ukpa school . The
demand f or t hi s i nval uabl e Dr ukpa r el i c by t he gover nor of
Tsang was seen by Ngawang Namgyal as a di r ect assaul t on t he
dai mt hat he was t he i ncar nat i on of Kunkhen Pema Kar po.
Ngawang Namgyal at t hi s t i me al so r eal i zed t hat i t was no
l onger saf e f or hi mt o r emai n l ong i n Ti bet . He deci ded t o
l eave hi s home and hi s ancest r al seat of Ral ung.
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44
It was at t hi s t i me t hat t he Goddess Mahakal i , t he
chief pr ot ect i ve dei t y of t he Dr ukpa school , appear ed i n hi s
dr eamand of f er ed hi mt he Sout her n l and of Bhut an. He
dr eamed t hat he f ol l owed t he f l i ght of a r aven over t o a
cer t ai n val l ey whi ch he l at er r ecogni zed t o be t he Pangr i
Zampa monast er y i n t he Thi mphu ~al l ey. ' ~ A mor e t angi bl e
wel come came i n t he f or mof a l et t er rom t he Wobt sho l ama
of Gasa, Bhut an, who had wr i t t en ear l i er t hat Ngawang
Namgyal shoul d l eave Ral ung and t r avel t o Bhut an as t hei r
spi r i t ual l eader , The count r y at t he t i me di d not have such
a r ul er . Event ual l y Ngawang Namgyal accept ed t he of f er . I n
1616, he f ound hi msel f f ol l owi ng i n t he f oot st eps of hi s
f or ef at her s and of so many ot her Ti bet an pr i nces and sai nt s.
The Wobt sho l ama met hi mat t he bor der wi t h a l ar ge mi l i t ar y
f or ce, pr obabl y equi pped j ust i n case t he Tsang desi shoul d
send an ar my af t er Ngawang Namgyal .
Shabdr ung Ngawang Namgyal was wel comed i n West er n
Bhut an by t he power f ul f ami l i es of nobi l i t y, descendent s of
Phaj o Dr ugomand Dr ukpa Kunl ay. Al t hough t he Shabdr ung had
l ef t hi s homel and, hi s t r oubl es wer e not over . Soon af t er
hi s escape hi s r i val s t ook cont r ol of t he Dr ukpa
monast er i es. They even sent an ar my t o Bhut an af t er t he
Shabdr ung. Wi t h t he suppor t of t he power f ul Dr ukpa f ami l i es
and t he monk gener al s, Shabdr ung was t o t r i umph over t he
obst acl es and al 1 Ti bet an expedi t i ons wer e checked, but not
- -
Aris, P. 209.
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4 5
el i mi nat ed. The f i r st f ew year s of hi s exi l e i n Bhut an, he
devot ed hi msel f t o uni f yi ng t he var i ous l oyal Dr ukpa
f ami l i es. He al so devot ed hi msel f t o opposi ng, not onl y t he
Ti bet an i nvasi ons, but opposi t i ons f r omt he uni t ed f or ce of
Ei ve l amas i n Bhut an, whose secur i t y and f ol l owi ng seemed t o
be t hr eat ened wi t h t he expandi ng Dr ukpa school . The cause
of t he desi was t aken by hi s son af t er t he f or mer ' s deat h.
Thi s was soon checked wi t hi n Ti bet i t sel f , as t he ent i r e
count r y f el l i nt o t he hands of t he st r ong Gel ugpa school
under t he f i f t h Dal ai Lama and suppor t ed by t he Mongol s.
The Ti bet an f or ces t hat at t emped t o br i ng Bhut an under t hei r
cont r ol wer e now t he Gel ugpas f or ces and no l onger t he
Dr ukpas under t he Tsang desi .
I n 1644, Bhut an was at t acked f or t he f i r st and t he l ast
t i me by t he Gel ugpa f or ces of Ti bet , al ong wi t h t he Mongol s.
The i nvadi ng f or ce was def eat ed, and t he Bhut anese,
"... shat t er ed t he myt h of an i nvi nci bl e Mongol ar my
and, i n t he f ut ur e, Mongol s wer e unwi l l i ng t o f i ght i n
t he humi d Sout her n r egi onsl 1. l7
By t hi s t i me t he Shabdr ung had pr obabl y el i mi nat ed t he r i val
Lamas i n Bhut an, as t hey di d not seemt o have suppor t ed t he
Gel ugpa army. I f t hey had, i t coul d have cr eat ed a ser i ous
di ver si on t o t he Dr ukpa f or ces under t he Shabdr ung. Whet her
or not t he Shabdr ung per sonal l y l ed hi s monk war r i or s i nt o
bat t l e i s not cl ear but most of hi s monk gener al s came r om
t he l oyal Dr ukpa f ami l i es. Ther e ar e st i l l st or i es t ol d of
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4 6
Shabdr ungl s use of hi s super nat ur al power s and bl ack r nagi c
t o el i mi nat e an ent i r e enemy ar my.
Cr edi t goes t o t he Shabdr ung f or t he const r uct i ons of
t he i mposi ng f or t r esses, or dzongs, t hr oughout Bhut an. He
i s al so r esponsi bl e f or t he cr eat i on of t he cent r al
admi ni st r at i ve body of t he count r y and f or i ni t i at i ng t he
dual syst emof Gover ment , by di spensi ng t he secul ar and
r el i gi ous f unct i ons t o r el i abl e but subor di nat e of f i cer s
dur i ng t he per i od of hi s secl usi on. Her ei n l ay t he or i gi n
of t he uni que Bhut anese syst emof admi ni st r at i on.
I n 1651, t he Shabdr ung went i nt o hi s f i nal r et r eat i n
Punakha dzong, af t er appoi nt i ng bot h t he secul ar and
r el i gi ous heads, t he t hr ee Chilas ( Head l amas, who l at er
came t o be known as " penl opst l ) of Tr ongsa, Par o and Daga,
t he dzongpons of t he West er n dzongs and a cent r al Dr oenyer ,
who f unct i oned as t he chi ef of pr ot ocol . The Shabdr ung
never came out of hi s secl usi on. I t i s gener al l y assumed
t hat hi s deat h t ook pl ace whi l e i n r et r eat . The most
amazi ng f eat ur e of Bhut anese hi st or y i s t he st or y of how t he
Shabdr ungl s demi se was kept a st at e secr et f or mor e t han
f i f t y year s. Dur i ng t hat per i od, ever yt hi ng was done i n t he
name of t he Shabdr ung yet f ew knew whet her he was al i ve or
r ei ncar nat ed. Some ar e of t he opi ni on t hat such a
pr ecaut i on was necessar y t o Save t he newl y- f ound Dr ukpa
st at e r omanot her Ti bet an campai gn. I f t he deat h of t he
one and onl y dynami c r ul er was di scl osed i t mi ght have l ed
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47
t o di sast er . Gr ant ed, such a pr ecaut i onar y measur e made
sense i n such a del i cat e si t uat i on, but mor e t han f i f t y
year s i s di f f i cul t t o f at hom. Who wer e t hey t r yi ng t o f ool -
t he Ti bet ans or t hei r own peopl e? No sat i sf act or y
expl anat i on has been of f er ed, but t he peace l ovi ng devout
peopl e seemt o have accept ed t he si t uat i on at f ace val ue.
Ot her t han t he f act t hat ci r cur nst ances demanded such a
secr et , t her e al r nos t appear s , as Mi chael Ar i s sugges t s , a
" conspi r acy of si l enceM. 18
Af t er t he deat h of t he Shabdr ung Ngawang Namgyal , t he
count r y and t he gover nment det er i or at ed wi t h ever y
gener at i on unt i l i t pl unged i nt o a st at e of anar chy and
ci vi l st r i f e i n t he 18t h and 19t h cent ur i es. For al most t wo
cent ur i es, Bhut an was unabl e t o pr oduce a l eader who was
capabl e of st eer i ng t he count r y out of t he chaos and
conf usi on and pr ovi de a st abl e gover nment and economy. The
subsequent r ei ncar nat es of t he Shabdr ung coul d not r neasur e
up t o t he gr eat ness of Ngawang Namgyal . Wor se, i f t hey di d
show pr omi se, t hey i nvar i abl y became pawns i n t he hands of
t he desi s and penl ops, who mani pul at ed t he whol e si t uat i on
f or t hei r own sel f i sh gai n and power . The r ei ncar nat i on of
t he Shabdr ung i n mor e t han one per son, t he Mi nd, Body and
t he Ver bal i ncar nat i on, made mat t er s even wor se. Soon t he
Dhar ma Raj a ( t he t i t l e of t he Shabdr ung as t he Br i t i sh knew
i t , Dhar mazr el i gi on and r aj a=ki ng, t hus ki ng of r el i gi on)
Page 55
became a puppet i n t he hands of t he power f ul penl ops and
dzongpons. When t he ent i r e East er n r egi on was uni t ed by
J i gme Namgyal and br ought under t he aut hor i t y of t he Tr ongsa
penl op, t he r i val r y shi f t ed bet ween Tr ongsa and Par o
penl ops .
Meanwhi l e t he dzongpons of Punakha, Wangdu and Thi mphu
cont i nued i n t hei r no wi n st r uggl e of power pol i t i cs.
Al t hough t hei r ci vi l war s wer e no mor e t han l i t t l e
ski r mi shes, not even wor t hy of t he name I war 1, Br i t i sh
eyewi t ness ( Tur ner 1783) account s suggest t hat one or t wo
peopl e wer e ki l l ed af t er days of f i ght i ng. Yet i t i s al most
shocki ng t o not e t he number of assasi nat i ons t hat occur r ed.
I t appear s t hat mor e peopl e wer e assasi nat ed because of
r i val r y, t han ki l l ed i n t he so- cal l ed ci vi l war s. The
Shabdr ung di d not l i ve l ong enough t o i nst i l l a f eel i ng of
nat i onal uni t y, al t hough he uni f i ed t he physi cal boundar y of
t he count r y. Thei r l ack of uni t y can be seen t i l l t he l ast
days of t he war of 1864-65,
The bol d escapades of t he Bhut anese i nt o Br i t i sh I ndi an
t er r i t or i es pr ove wi t hout a doubt t he l ack of a st r ong
aut hor i t y i n t he cent r e. Whet her or not t he Bhut anese wer e
at f aul t i n t hese r ai ds i s a mat t er f or specul at i on i n t he
absence of Bhut anese r ecor d. I t does i ndi cat e t hat t he
cent r al aut hor i t i es had l i t t l e cont r ol over t hei r owr i
subor di nat es at t he bor der . Thei r l ack of i nt er est i n t he
af f ai r s i n t he Sout h may be due t o t hei r own r eal i zat i on
Page 56
49
t hat t hey di d not expect t o r emai n i n power f or l ong. I n
al 1 pr obabi l i t y t hey made t he best of what t hey coul d l ay
t hei r hands on. The Dooar s wer e t oo di st ant f or t hemt o get
i nvol ved. The Br i t i sh wer e pr obabl y r i ght , as t he Bhut anese
of f i cer s def i ni t el y showed shor t si ght edness i n t hei r
admi ni st r at i ve pol i cy. I t may not be f ai r f or moder n
hi st or i ans t o l ay t he bl ame ent i r el y on t he l eader s of t he
t i me, as i t was evi dent t hat t hey wer e dr agged i nt o
si t uat i ons and swayed by f or ces t hat wer e beyond t hei r
cont r ol .
For cent ur i es t he Bhut anese wer e spar ed t he pr obl emof
havi ng t o def end t hei r count r y r oma f or ei gn i nvasi on. I f
t he Ti bet an f or ces came t o Bhut an i t was mor e so af t er t he
Shabdr ung and hi s cl ai ms i n Ti bet . Per haps t hey at t er npt ed
t o br i ng t he Bhut anese under t he f ol d of t he gel ugpa school
under t he Fifth Dal ai Lama. But never once di d t he peopl e
of Bhut an have t o r al l y t oget her f or t he cause of t he
i ndependence of t hei r count r y. Bot h t he Si ndha r aj a of
l egendar y Bhut an and t he Shabdr ung wer e pur sued by t hei r ol d
and t r adi t i onal r i val s out si de of Bhut an.
The l ack of pol i t i cal uni t y i n Bhut an i s obvi ous.
Ther e seems t o have been a f ew f act or s i n Bhut anese soci et y
t hat pl ayed a pr edomi nant r ol e i n shapi ng t he at t i t ude and
ment al i t y of t he peopl e, namel y geogr aphy and educat i on.
Al t hough it has been emphasi zed bef or e, of t he i mpor t ance of
Bhut an' s mount ai ns i n pr ot ect i ng t he count r y' s sover ei gni t y,
Page 57
i t may have al so pr oved t o be a di sadvant age. The l ack of
uni f or mi t y among t he peopl e of Bhut an can be at t r i but ed t o
t he l ack of i nt er na1 communi cat i on. The di f f i cul t mount ai n
t er r ai ns pr oved t o be a ser i ous chal l enge f or any ef f ect i ve
communi cat i on and cont r ol t hr oughout t he ent i r e count r y.
Under such ci r cumst ances, t her e seer ns t o have onl y been an
i nsi gni f i cant cont r ol f r omt he cent r e and a l ukewar m
al l i gi ance f r omi t s peopl e t o t he cent r al gover nment and her
pol i t i cal l eader s. I n t hat case how much uni t y coul d t her e
have been i n Punakha i n 1864?
J i gme Namgyal r epr esent ed t he i nt er est s of Tr ongsa.
Thi s i s obvi ous r omt he har d bar gai n he dr ove wi t h t he
Br i t i sh f or t he r et ur n of t he AssamDooar s, whi ch woul d
onl y benef i t t he gover nment of Tr ongsa. Conver sel y, t her e
was no uni t y among t he West er n Of f i cer s. Pol i t i cal di suni t y
may have been one of t he maj or pr obl ems of t he t i me.
Li t er acy i n 19t h cent ur y Bhut an i s anot her debat abl e
i ssue. Educat i on was l i mi t ed onl y t o monks and st udy on
Buddhi sm. Al t hough many, bot h monks and l aymen, seemt o
have t r avel l ed t o Ti bet and t o t he monast er i es i n Bhut an f or
l ear ni ng, t her e i s l i t t l e i ndi cat i on of any ot her f or mof
educat i on. The maj or i t y of t he peopl e wer e peasant s, who
t oi l ed i n t hei r f i el ds and had ver y l i t t l e t o do wi t h t he
pol i t i cs of t he nat i on. Empl oyment of l aymen i n t he cour t s
depended on t hei r physi cal st r engt h and pr esence of mi nd. A
l i t t l e knowl edge of r eadi ng and wr i t i ng may have been a
Page 58
gr eat asset . Event ual l y, i t was t hese men who r ose t o
pr omi nence t hr ough sheer har dwor k and t hei r pr act i cal
knowl edge of cour t l i f e.
Anot her f eat ur e i n t he Bhut anese pol i t i cal scene was
t he ext ent t o whi ch t he monks wer e i nvol ved i n pol i t i cs and
even i n war . Ri ght r omher ear l y hi st or y, t her e wer e monk
gener al s and monk st at esmen. Ther e appear s a def i ni t e
decl i ne of educat ed monk pol i t i ci ans af t er t he Shabdr ungr s
demi se. At t he same t i me t her e was a gr adua1 i ncr ease i n
t he r i se of ambi t i ous l aymen, ( not necessar i l y educat ed) .
I t may have been dur i ng t hi s t r ansi t i onal phase t hat t he
count r y wi t nessed numer ous ci vi l war s and much anar chy.
Much of t he anar chy i n t he count r y at t he t i me can be
saf el y at t r i but ed t o i nef f i ci ent l eader shi p. Thi s
i ncor npet ence was due t o l ack of educat i on, exposur e and
exper i ence i n pr act i cal f or ei gn r el at i ons. Di pl or nat i c and
f or ei gn r el at i ons wer e t hi ngs t hat t he Bhut anese exper i enced
pr obabl y f or t he f i r st t i r ne when t hey f aced t he Br i t i sh.
Thei r ear l i er r el at i ons wi t h t hei r nei ghbour i ng St at es wer e
based mor e on spi r i t ual l i nes. Bhut an seems t o have exi st ed
f or cent ur i es i n a sel f - cont ai ned wor l d of i t s own. The f ew
mi l i t ar y expedi t i ons r omTi bet had been successf ul l y
checked. She shar ed cor di al and f r i endl y r el at i ons wi t h t he
r aj as of Nepal , Si kki m, Cooch Bi har and Assam, as none of
t hemhad at t empt ed t o i mpose t hei r pol i ci es upon her . Al1
t hese year s of uni nt er r upt ed soci o- pol i t i cal l i f e, gover ned
Page 59
52
by the principles of Buddhism seem to have created a sense
of superiority in the people, an obliviousness to
international developments and British imperialism.
Page 60
THREE .
JIGME NAMGYAL'S FAMILY ORIGIN AND EARLY CAREER.
J i gme Namgyal was dest i ned t o pl ay a si gni f i cant r ol e
i n t he pol i t i cal uni f i cat i on of Bhut an. He came f r or n t he
r espect ed Ngoe cl an and was al so a di r ect descendant of t he
cel ebr at ed t r easur e- r eveal er , Ter t on Pemal i ngpa. The gr eat
t r easur e di scover er hi msel f was bor n i nt o t he I 1Ngoe cl anf 1 i n
Bumt ha, Cent r al Bhut an i n t he I r on Dog Year , 1450. A. D. -
The " Ngoe cl anN cl ai ms di vi ne or i gi n, st ar t i ng i n anci ent
Ti bet and gr adual l y spr eadi ng t o Bhut an. I t was i nt o t hi s
l egendar y br anch of cel est i al or i gi n t hat t er t on Pemal i ngpa
and J i gme Namgyal wer e Sor n. Of t he many t er t onpas, or
t r easur e r eveal er s, pr ophesi ed by Gur u Padma Sambhava, i ve
ar e consi der ed gr eat er t er i or i pas. Pemal i ngpa, t he onl y one
bor n i n Bhut an. bel onged t o t hi s sel ect gr oup.
The man r esponsi bl e f or t he spr ead of t he l 1NgoeU rig or
cl an, i n Bhut an was Gyal wa Lhanangpa, a sevent eent h
gener at i on member of t he or i gi nal cl an r omTi bet . I t i s
bel i eved t hat i n anci ent Ti bet a di vi ne l ooki ng boy appear ed
out of t he sky. Thi s young man i s sai d t o have made hi s
ent r ance i nt o t he wor l d, not t hr ough t he nat ur al human
pr ocess, but came r i di ng on t he J achung or t he myt hi cal
1 Nado, Lopon: DRUK KARPO, p. 72. Engl i sh Edi t i on not
publ i shed. ( Dr uk Kar po, " The Whi t e Dr auon: The Nat ur e of
r el hi on and St at e i n t he Ki nadomof Bhut an) . Thar pal i ng
and New Del hi , 1986.
Page 61
Gar uda. Accor di ng t o Buddhi st bel i ef such a boy coul d not
have been anyt hi ng but t he i ncar nat i on of a dei t y. By
appear ance, t oo, he was ext r aor di nar i l y good l ooki ng, cl ean
and r adi ant . The peopl e asked hi mwher e he had come r om
and t he boy poi nt ed up t o t he sky. Pr ompt l y t he peopl e
assumed t hat he had descended r omt he heavens and asked hi m
t o be t hei r l or d and t hei r ki ng.
Due t o l ong t er mi nt er - mi ngl i ng wi t h t he or di nar y
peopl e t he boy began t o l ose hi s di vi ne appear ance and hi s
r adi ance and even began t o show si gns of madness. That is
how hi s descent s came t o be known as " Ngoe rigw or t he mad
cl an/ gr oup. I Ngoe1 i s mad and ' Ri gi i s gr oup or cl an. Hi s
descendant s cont i nued t o l i ve i n Lhasa and t he ci t y got i t s
name, Lha i s God and Sa i s l and, t her ef or e t he " l and of t he
Gods " . 2
Af t er si xt een gener at i ons of t he I 1Ngoe r i gs" came ' Ngoe
Ri gse Pel l , bet t er known as Gyal wa Lhanangpa. Lhanangpa
set t l ed i n Bhut an ar ound 1200 A. D. and i nt r oduced t he Lhapa
Kagyu School , a br anch of t he Nor t her n Mahayana sect of
Buddhi sm. Lhanangpa was a ver y l ear ned man and an
accompl i shed schol ar and spent many year s i n Par o, West er n
Bhut an, conver t i ng t he peopl e t her e Er omt hei r or i gi nal
2 Dasho Lama Sangya, For mer Hi gh Cour t J udge and t he
aut hor of " Dr uk t i odsel yi Dung r ab j ung su j ud pa Ngoe r ab
sal wai mel ong" A Di scour se on t he or i gi n and spr ead of t he
Ngoe cl an. ( Thi mphu and New Del hi , 1983) . Persona1
i nt er vi ew wi t h t he aut hor i n Thi mphu, Bhut an at hi s
r esi dence on 8t h August 1996 at 3:OO.p.m.
Page 62
" Munpa" pr act i ces and bxought t hemi nt o t he f ol d of
3
Buddhi sm. Lhanangpa spr ead t he Wgoe r i g1I i n Bhut an.
Sombr ang i n Bumt ha was t he chosen pl ace. Ther e i s a
f asci nat i ng st or y of how Sombr ang came t o be chosen.
While t he gr eat schol ar was st i l l si t t i ng i n Ti bet he
descr i bed t o hi s son a pl ace i n Bhut an. The descr i pt i on of
t he pl ace went as f ol l ows:
I n t he East t her e i s a swast i ka,
I n t he sout h t he l and is shaped l i ke a conch shel l .
I n t he West , t he wat er / r i ver i s l i ke milk and
I n t he Nor t h t her e i s a cl ean cut cl i f f . "
Such a l and was t o be f ound i n Bhut an. He f ur t her
ment i oned t hat i f t hi s l and was i ndeed f ound, Buddhi smand
t he " Ngoe r i gM woul d bot h f l our i sh. Car r yi ng al 1 t he
r el i gi ous i t ems, Lhanangpa' s son t r avel l ed sout h t o Bhut an
and f i nal l y f ound hi s f at her l s pl ace of dest i ny, Sombr ang.
Thi s was t he begi nni ng of t he spr ead of t he " Ngoe r i gu i n
Bhut an. Today al most al 1 t he nobl e f ami l i es have t hei r
or i gi n i n t hi s br anch t hat Lhanangpa est abl i shed i n Bhut an.
Lhanangpat s son who came t o Bhut an was cal l ed Tashi
Si ngye and l i ved al 1 hi s l i f e i n Sombr ang. The f amous
Pemal i ngpal s f at her , Dondup Zangpo, was bor n t o Ni ma af t er
f our gener at i ons of t he Sombr ang f ami l y. For some r eason,
' Nado, Lopon, p. 70.
Munpa was t he t hen r el i gi on of
t he peopl e of Bhut an. The r el i gi on was based on ani mal
wor shi p and it i nvol ved bl ood sacr i f i ci al r i t uaf s and
cer emoni es af t er t he deat h of a man.
4 Dasho Lama Sanga. , f r omt he per sona1 i nt er vi ew wi t h
t he aut hor . He al so cor nes r omt he family of Sombr ang
Choe j i .
Page 63
Dondup Zangpo di d not r emai n i n Sombr ang. I nst ead he i s
sai d t o have r el ocat ed t o anot her par t of Bumt ha, Che1
Bar i dr ang. It was her e t hat he met wi t h a cer t ai n Tsampa
( ascet i c) , who was of nobl e or i gi n, l ear ned and a good
pr act i oneer of Buddhi sm, Dondup Zangpo st udi ed under hi m
and event ual l y mar r i ed t hi s man' s daught er , Pema Dol ma. s
The f amous Pemal i ngpa was bor n t o Dondup Zangpo and
Pema Dol ma i n 1450. As a chi l d Pemal i ngpa was al so known as
Penj or e. Per nal i ngpa hi msel f had many chi l dr en who wer e t o
6
st ar t a net wor k of Paling Dungju
i n East er n Bhut an.
Pemal i ngpa comr nanded hi s son Khedr up Kunga Wangpo t o go t o
Kur t oe. Kunga Wangpo was t o f i nd a speci al pl ace i n Kur t oe,
a pl ace whi ch l i es Nor t h East of Bumt ha. Thus, Kunga Wangpo
l ef t hi s f ami l y home i n Tang and went i n sear ch f or t hat
speci al pl ace i n Kur t oe cal l ed Khouchung. Hi s descendant s
When t he t wo mar r i ed t he most unusual of t hi ngs ar e
bel i eved t o have happened. I n Sor nbr ang seven l 1t senden gi
dongpo1 ( sandal wood) gr ew r oma pl ace wher e not hi ng was
pl ant ed. Dur i ng t hese auspi ci ous days ni ne wonder f ul
r ai nbows appear ed t oget her i n t he sky. The uni on of a
yel l ow hor se and an ol d mar e r esul t ed i n t he bi r t h of an
unusual hor se and an egg r oma r oost er hat ched ni ne chi cks.
Such mi r acl es ar e not uncor nmon i n anci ent , and not so
anci ent Bhut anese hi st or y. I t was usual l y seen as a si gn t o
announce t he bi r t h of an ext r aor di nar y per son, an i ncar nat e.
Unusual si gns ar e al so bel i eved t o be wi t nessed bef or e t he
deat h of gr eat men. Even t oday peopl e have f ai t h i n such
mi r acul ous si gns and bi r t hs.
Pal i ng as i n Pemal i ngpa and ' Dungl i s an honor i f i c
f or ' bonel . I t is gener al l y bel i eved t hat t he chi l d usual l y
car r i es t he nobl e ' bonet whi ch he/ she i nher i t s r omt he
f at her whi l e t he bl ood and t he f l esh ar e passed down r om
t he mot her t o her chi l dr en. Al so see Mi chael Ar i s: Bhut an.
The Ear l y hi st or y of a Hi mal ayan Ki ngdom( 1979) .
Page 64
57
l at er came t o be known as t he Khouchung Choej i . '
Khedr up
Kunga Wangpo' s gr eat gr andson was r esponsi bl e f or t he
est abl i shment of t he Dungkhar Choej i f ami l y. Fi ve
gener at i ons l at er t he t wo popul ar br ot her s, Pi l a Gonpo
Wangyal and Pal a Gyal t sen, wer e bor n i nt o t he Dungkhar
Choej i f ami l y. I t was i nt o t hi s f ami l y t hat J i gr ne Namgyal
was bor n as t he t hi r d son t o Pi l a Gonpo Wangyal .
Pi l a Gonpo Wangyal st udi ed i n Gangt ey and even spent
many year s i n Lhal ung, Ti bet under Tenpai Gyal t sen. Pi l a
and hi s br ot her wer e bot h i nt el l i gent and physi cal l y ver y
bi g men whi ch i s why t hey r ecei ved t he ni ckname, ghe
( " gi ant " ) . 8
Af t er hi s r et ur n r omser vi ce i n Punakha, Pi l a
mar r i ed a l ady cal l ed SonamPel zom, r omKur t oe J hangshar .
Fr omt hi s mar r i age t hey had i ve chi l dr en, Dor j i , Dungkhar
Gyal t sen, J i gme Nzmgyal and Tsher i ng Dol ma and Y~don. ~
J i gme Namgyal was bor n i n 1825, t he Fernale Bi r d year of
t he Ti bet an cal endar . " Some bel i eve t hat J i gme Namgyal was
bor n i n anot her house a l i t t l e away r omt he mai n house at a
pl ace cal l ed Khoet angbi . As a boy he was al so known as
Samdr up. Not hi ng much of hi s yout h i s known. But when he
was about ei ght een hi s life t ook a dr mat i c change. What
7 Nado, Lopon, p. 74.
9 Tsewang, Lopon Padma: The Hi st or v of Bhut an, ( New
Del hi and Thi mphu, 1994) . p. 480.
- -
"
I bi d. . p . 481.
Page 65
58
has sur vi ved r omhi s Dungkhar days i s t he st or y of t he now
famous dr eamt hat J i gme Namgyal was supposed t o have had.
The exact dr eam, however , i s not known or even r ecor ded but
t he story has been passed domt hr ough t he or al t r adi t i on.
I t i s sai d t hat J i gme Namgyal dr eamed of a man who appear ed
and t ol d hi mt hat i f he went t owar ds Bumt ha and Mangde, he
woul d f i nd t he wor k t hat he had l ef t undone i n hi s pr evi ous
bi r t h. Hi s dest i ny l ay i n t he ser vi ce of t he penl op i n
Tr ongsa dzong. Such was t he f ar nous dr eamt hat was t o change
J i gme Namgyal l s l i f e compl et el y.
J i gme Namgyal di d not st ay i n Dungkhar f or l ong af t er
havi ng such a dr eam. He deci ded t hat he woul d go t o Tr ongsa
ei t her t o become a successf ul gar opa or t o become a monk i n
t he Dzong. He made a wi sh whi l e pl ant i ng a t r ee i n
Dungkhar , t hat af t er l eavi ng home f or Tr ongsa, i f he was
dest i ned t o become a si l ccessf ul gar opa or a monk, then may
hi s t r ee gr ow wel l and heal t hy. May t he t r ee di e i f he was
not dest i ned t o be successf ul i n Tr ongsa. Thi s t r ee is
. -
st i l l t o be f ound i n Dungkhar . - -
He t r avel l ed West war d and r eached t he Nar o Gupl s house
i n Bumt ha. The Nar o Gup was not a nomi nat e Gup ( vi l l age
headman) , l i ke t oday, but was a her edi t ar y gup of an
est abl i shed and r el at i vel y good f ami l y. J i gme Namgyal br oke
hi s j our ney and spent some t hr ee t o f our mont hs at t hi s Nar o
Gupl s house l ooki ng af t er hi s sheep and cat t l e.
. - -
Dzsho Lama Sngya. , f rorn personcl interview.
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59
Ther e i s an i nt er est i ng t al e of how l at er , when J i gme
Namgyal was l i vi ng i n t he pal ace of Wangduechol i ng i n
Bumt ha, t he Nar o Gup came t o pay hi mhi s r espect . J i gme
Namgyal , i n good humour , asked hi mi f t hei r ol d stew bowl
was st i l l i n hi s house, obvi ousl y r emember i ng hi s ol d
humbl e and st r uggl i ng days. J i gme Namgyal , st i l l det er mi ned
t o pur sue hi s dr eamsoon t ook l eave of hi s host and mast er
and headed f or Tr ongsa. He t ol d hi s host t hat he woul d not
si t st i l l wi t hout at l east goi ng t o Tr ongsa once t o see
whet her or not hi s dr eamcoui d cor ne t r uc. ' *
J i gme Namgyal l s ear l y l i f e sounds l i ke a f ai r y t al e,
al most f i ct i onal , yet i t woul d be unf ai r t o wave i t asi de as
uni mpor t ant . I t does t el l r nuch about t he soci et y of t he
t i me and t he st r uggl es of an i ndi vi dual i n pur sui t of a
dr eamand a f or t une. Many f ol kt al es of Bhut an have a
si mi l ar t heme of young men t r avel l i ng t o anot her pl ace and
l i vi ng away r omhome and f ami l y. For a nur nber of year s
t hese young men l i ved t he di sci pl i ned l i f e of an unor dai ned
monk i n t he ser vi ce of t he cour t s- Ther e ar e numer ous
st or i es t hat t el l of t hese young men l ongi ng f or home and
l oved ones. Ot her s t el l of t he j our neys of young men t o
pl aces wher e l ear ned men of r el i gi on l i ved, somet i me
spendi ng year s under t hese mast er s of f er i ng t hei r ser vi ces
i n exchange f or r el i gi ous educat i on. J i gme Namgyal r s
t r avel s t o Bumt ha and Tr ongsa, t her ef or e ar e not hi ng
- -
- ' Dasho Lama Sangy; r omper sonal i nt er vi ew.
Page 67
unusual . Though what he event ual l y achi eved woul d
def i ni t el y be consi der ed ext r aor di nar y.
On hi s way r omBumt ha he met wi t h a cer t ai n Bul i Lama,
Dor j i . The Lama f ound J i gme Nar ngyal t o be a smar t , br i ght
and an i nt el l i gent young man. He asked J i gr ne Namgyal t o
ser ve hi m. I n exchange, t he l ama woul d educat e hi mi n t he
Buddhi st doct r i ne. But J i gr ne Namgyal coul d not be t empt ed
and i nsi st ed t hat hi s f ut ur e was i n Tr ongsa. The l ama t hen
of f er ed hi mhi s ser vant Dondup, a hor se and enough suppl i es
t o see t hemt hr ough t o Tr ongsa. The t r ue i dent i t y of t hi s
l ama i s not known. Al t hough t hi s i nci dent appear s t o be
not hi ng out of t he or di nar y, but j ust an encount er wi t h a
ki nd and gener ous man, some Bhut anese ar e of t he opi ni on
t hat he was no or di nar y wander i ng hol y man, but J i gme
Namgya l s spi r i t ual Gur u i n t he gui se of an or di nar y human,
sent t o ai d hi mon hi s way t o t he cour t of Tr ongsa. I f t he
not i on t hat J i gme Namgyal was a man of dest i ny i s t o be
bel i eved t hen pr obabl y t hi s was no chance meet i ng. Whet her
a f act or a myt h, t her e seems t o be no ot her ver si on t o t he
st or y of J i gme Namgyal l s t r avel s t o Tr ongsa. The st or y of
hi s st r uggl i ng days t endi ng t o cat t l e and t he gener ous ai d
of t he Bul i l ama ar e wi del y accept ed by al l .
J i gme Namgyal f i nal l y r eached Tr ~ngsa ar ound 1843. I n
Tr ongsa, J i gme Namgyal f ound hi s mast er , t he Tr ongsa penl op,
( Gover nor of Tr ongsa) , Tamshi ng Choej i Ugyen Phunt sho,
pr act i si ng ar cher y. Hi s escor t poi nt ed out t he penl op f or
Page 68
hi m. J i gme Nangyal , i n t he t i me honour ed f ashi on,
i mmedi at el y t hr ew hi msel f at t he penl opt s f eet and
pr ost r at ed t hr ee t i mes bef or e hi m. Ugyen Phunt sho pl aced
hi s hand on J i gme Namgyal t s head as a gest ur e of bl essi ng
and i n t he t r adi t i onal Bhut anese manner asked hi s name,
wher e he was r omand who hi s f at her was. He r epl i ed t hat
hi s name was J i gr ne Namgyal , t hat he was f r omDungkhar and
hi s f at her was Gonpo Pi l a Wangyal . The i nt r oduct i on
i mmedi at el y r emi nded t he penl op of a pr edi ct i on t hat had
been made about t he comi ng of such a young man r omt he
East .
I t had i ndeed been pr ophesi ed t hat af t er t he t enur e of
Ugyen Phunt sho, Tr ongsa woul d benef i t gr eat l y by t he
associ at i on of a zi mpon or a dr oenyer cal l ed J i gme and a new
penl op cal l ed Dor j i . The comi ng of J i gme Namgyal t o t he
cour t of Ugyen Phunt sho seems t o have compl et ed t he f i r st
par t of t he pr edi ct i on. Ugyen Phunt sho seer ns t o have
bel i eved at once t hat J i gme Namgyal was ' t he mant of t he
l amar s pr edi ct i on.
The pr ophesy had been made by a ver y l ear ned Ti bet an
l ama, J angchub Tsondr ue, who had been i nvi t ed by t he ai l i ng
penl op. The pr edi ct i on was made dur i ng a vi si t t o Tr ongsa.
To t he moder n West er n r ni nd, t he i mpul si ve act of t he penl op
i n hi s bel i ef t hat J i gme Namgyal was t he young man t hat hi s
Lama pr edi ct ed woul d f a11 under scr ut i ny. The Br i t i sh, t oo
had di f f i cul t y under st andi ng t he whol e pr ocedur e i nvol ved i n
Page 69
t he r ecogni t i on of t he newl y i ncar nat ed Dhar ma r aj as, ( t he
spi r i t ual head) . The l ama appar ent l y gave det ai l s of J igrne
Namgyal l s f ami l y backgr ound as bel ongi ng t o t he I t Ngoe r i gl ' ,
and t he descent of Gyal wa Lhanangpa and t he gr eat Ter t on
Pemal i ngpa. I n t he Buddhi st or Lamai st way of l i f e such
pr edi ct i ons and r ecogni t i on of r ei ncar nat es ar e not hi ng new
t hough i t may i nt r i gue t he West er n mi nd of t he l ogi c and t he
accur acy of such a pr edi ct i on.
I n t he meant i me, t he penl op had i n hi s ser vi ce a ver y
i nt el l i gent and pr omi si ng young man of hi gh bi r t h cal l ed
Wangchen Dor j i . He was a di r ect descendant of Ter t on
Dor j i l i ngpa, ( anot her t r easur e r eveal er who l i ved f or a
whi l e i n Bhut an) , who al so st ar t ed hi s car eer i r , t he cour t
of t he Tr ongsa penl op as a gar opa. Lat er t hi s Wangchen
Dor j i became t he next Tr ongsa penl op af t er t he r et i r ement of
Ugyen Phunt sho. Wangchen Dor j i assumed t he penl opshi p of
Tr ongsa under a new name, Tshoki Dor j i . 13
Whet her J i gr ne Namgyal was empl oyed on t he st r engt h of
t he l ama' s pr edi ct i on al one is not known. J i gme Namgyal
cer t ai nl y di d not r ecei ve any at t ent i on, speci al f avour or
t r ai ni ng. On t he ot her hand, young men wer e empl oyed i n t he
ser vi ce of t he cour t s on t hei r physi cal st r engt h and J i gme
Namgyal cer t ai nl y had pl ent y. J i gr ne Namgyal seems t o have
sur vi ved t he f or mat i ve year s of hi s ser vi ce i n Tr ongsa
l3 ~ a d o , Lopon: DRUK KARPO. P. 75-76.
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63
pur el y on t he physi cal st r engt h, endur ance and unf ai l i ng
at t endance on hi s mast er .
I n t he cust oni ar y manner , J i gme Namgyal st ar t ed hi s
car eer i n t he cour t of Tr ongsa at t he l owest l evel , t hat of
a gar opa, ( common r et ai ner ) , Thi s was a t ougb posi t i on t o
st ar t even f or a man of dest i ny. But t hat st ar t i ng poi nt
f or f ut ur e l eader s i n Bhut an was a soci al condi t i on. Any
young man woul d have st ar t ed a car eer f r omt hi s posi t i on or
l evel .
Al t hough t her e i s no doubt about hi s st ar t i ng as a
common r et ai ner , t her e i s anot her i nt er est i ng st or y of hi s
meet i ng wi t h t he ' mast er of hi s dest i nyl . Accor di ng t o t hi s
ver si on, J i gme Namgyal , al one and new, i s bel i eved t o have
st umbl ed i nt o t he cour t ki t chen. Ther e he was gi ven t he
r esponsi bi l i t y of poundi ng dr y r ed chi l i es f or t he penl opl s
r nor ni ng meal . I t was not l ong bef or e Ugyen Phunt sho not i ced
J i gme Namgyal l s wor k. On bei ng pr esent ed bef or e t he penl op,
he f ound J i gme Namgyal possessi ng t he qual i t i es and t he mar k
of a man of nobl e bi r t h. Af t er a br i ef i nt er vi ew, t he
penl op empl oyed him as hi s gar opa. J i gme Namgyal was a ver y
ef f i ci ent man and hi s qui ck r i se f r omt hat of a gar opa t o a
zi nkaf f , ( super i nt endent of t he gar opas) , woul d have been
t he envy of ever y man i n t he cour t . 14
14 Tsewang, Lopon Padma. , For mer Di r ect or of t he
NAt i onal Li br ar y and t he aut hor of The Hi st or y of Bhut anm.
Per sona1 i nt er vi ew wi t h t he aut hor at hi s r esi dence i n
Thi mphu on 3r d Sept ember 1996 at 10:OO a. m.
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64
J i q- me Namgyal was of aver age hei ght and dar k ski nned.
No phot ogr aphs of hi mhave sur vi ved, i f any had been t aken
by t he Br i t i sh. But when t he Br i t i sh, under Ashl ey Eden,
came t o Bhut an dur i ng J i gme Nar ngya s' t i me, t he pol i t i cal
si t uat i on and t he unf r i endl y r ecept i on woul d have har dl y
gi ven t he Br i t i sh t he r eason nor t he i ncl i nat i on t o
phot ogr aph J i gme Namgyal . The Br i t i sh f ound hi msol el y
r esponsi bl e f or t he f ai l ur e of t he mi ssi on due t o hi s
st ubbor n ant agoni sm. Except f or t he compl exi on, hi s son,
Si r Ugyen Wangchuk i s bel i eved t o bar e a r emar kabl e
r esembl ance t o hi s f at her .
Physi cal l y J i gme Namgyal had a ver y at hl et i c appear ance
and was ver y wel l known f or hi s enor mous physi cal st r engt h.
Thr oughout hi s st r uggl i ng days he pr oved hi msel f t o be
i nvi nci bl e. J i gme Namgyal was, and st i l l i s, popul ar l y
known as Deb Nagpo or t he " bl ack r egent n. 15 I t was Jigme
Namgyai s' l ama J angchub Tsondr ue, who advi sed hi mt o Wear
bl ack cl ot hes t o war d of f evi l . Ther ef or e, whenever J i gme
Namgyal was on an i mpor t ant mi ssi on, he r ode hi s bl ack
hor se, wor e bl ack cl ot hes, a bl ack hat and bl ack shoes.
Even hi s at t endant , pr obabl y hi s per sona1 ser vant woul d be
dr essed l i ke t he mast er , i n bl ack.
1s Aris, Mi chael : THE RAVEN CROWN: The Or i ai ns of
Buddhi st Monar chv i n Bhut an. ( Ser i ndi a Publ i cat i ons,
London. 1994) . p. 51.
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65
J i gme Namgyal , however , di d not have a basi c educat i on
i n hi s yout h. He l ef t home as a young boy. Even bef or e
t hat t her e ar e no account s of hi mbei ng t ut or ed under a
mast er , or t r avel l i ng t o Ti bet f or educat i on l i ke hi s
f at her . Some of hi s per sonal handi wor ks, scul pt ur es and
pai nt i ngs have sur vi ved. Pr obabl y, he was ski l l ed i n t he
f i el d but he was onl y abl e t o l ear n Buddhi st phi l osophy
l at er under hi s Tsawai Lama ( l 8Root Gur u/ t eacher N) Lama
J angchub Tsondr ue. I t was pr obabl y J i gme Namgyal t s
det er mi nat i on i n bot h pol i t i cs and l ear ni ng t hat l ed hi s
l ama t o comment t hat J i gme Namgyal had al 1 t he qual i t i es and
t he maki ngs of anot her Mi l ar epa, t he f amous Buddhi st
ascet i c. 16
Because of hi s har d wor k and hi s excel l ent ser vi ces,
J i gme Namgyal was gi ven t he r esponsi bi l i t i es of what ever
i mpor t ant j ob t her e was t o be done, whet her i t was t he
pr epar at i on of t he annual r i t ual s i n Kur j e or t he f est i val s
i n J akar Dzong. Ver y soon he was made Tr ongsa Tsongpon, or
t he " t r ade mast er " of t he commer ci al act i vi t i es bet ween
Tr ongsa and J akar wi t h Ti bet .
Whi l e he was ser vi ng i n t he capaci t y of Tr ongsa
Tsongpon, he met t he wor nan who was dest i ned t o be hi s f ut ur e
wi f e. Pema Chuki was t he daught er of penl op Ugyen Phunt sho,
who at t he t i me was vi si t i nq her br ot her , t he Lhal ung
Sungt r ul ( t he ver bal i ncar nat i on of t he head l ama of
' O as ho Lama Sangya. , r omper sona1 i nt er vi ew.
Page 73
Lhal ung) Kungzang Tenpai Ni ma. I n 1848 J i gme Namgyal was
. -,
pr omot ed t o t he r ank of Tr ongsa Zi mpon. - '
J i gme Namgyal ' s f i r st encount er wi t h t he West er n
of f i cer s occur r ed when he was f unct i oni ng as t he Tr ongsa
zi mpon, ( ai d t o t he Tr ongsa penl op) . Whi l e he was Tr ongsa
zi mpon, i t was t i me agai n f or Tr ongsa and t he East er n
Dzongkhags under i t s j ur i sdi ct i on t o suppl y t i mber t o
Punakha f or var i ous r enovat i on wor ks of t he Dzongs and
pal aces of West er n Bhut an. The West had many Dzongs and
pal aces t hat r equi r ed t i mber f or i t s r enovat i on but al ways
f aced a t i r ber shor t age. I t had been a pr act i ce f or t he
East t o suppl y t hem. Thi s t i me t he demand came when J i gme
Namgyal was i n char ge. Somehow t he West er n l or ds i n t he
past had had t hei r way about get t i ng t hei r suppl y of l umber .
I n t he bar gai n t he East ended up pr ovi di ng mor e t han t hey
ot her wi se shoul d have. But J i gme Namgyal t ook ext r a car e
and l ef t no r oomf or compl ai nt s. Hi s per sona1 super vi si on
saved much ext r a l abour and t i mber . "
Thi s i nci dent may have been t he f i r st f r i ct i on bet ween
J i gme Namgyal and t he West er n of f i cer s. I t was r esol ved
onl y af t er hi s deat h. I f t he above account of hi s encount er
wi t h t he West i s t o bel i eved, t hen i t does appear t hat J i gme
Namgyal and hi s f ut ur e opponent s st ar t ed of f on t he wr ong
17 Tsewang, Lopon Padma: The Hi st or v of Bhut an. p 482.
- -
" Lopon Padma Tsewang. , : r omper sona1 i nt er vi ew w i ~ h
t he aut hor .
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67
f oot . I t woul d t ake a l i f et i me t o cor r ect t hi s di scr epency.
I n t he absence of Bhut anese r ecor d, i t i s di f f i cul t t o know
whet her or not t hi s was t he f i r st t i r ne f r i ct i on occur ed.
But J i gr ne Namgyal never won t he l ove and conf i dence of hi s
cont empor ar i es i n t he West . At t he t i me, who woul d have
been abl e t o t el l t hat an or di nar y st ubbor n Tr ongsa zi mpon
woul d event ual l y cont r ol mor e t han t hei r suppl y of t i mber ?
Af t er t he compl et i on of t hi s t ask, J i gme Namgyal went
home f or t he f i r st t i me si nce l eavi ng as a young man i n
sear ch of hi s dest i ny. Thi s ur ge t o go home i s agai n seen
as a cal l i ng r omabove. Pl hat ever may have been hi s r eason
t o go home or even i f he had a r eason, i t suddenl y pr oved
most f r ui t f ul f or hi m. He was t o meet wi t h a cer t ai n gr eat
Lama who was t o have a pr of ound i nf l uence i n hi s l i f e and i n
t he l i ves of bi s sons and t hei r sons,
Coi nci dent l y, i t was at t hi s pr eci se t i me t hat l ama
J angchub Tsondr ue of Ti bet , t he same man who had made t he
pr edi ct i ons ear l i er , was gi vi ng a bl essi ng i n Lamey Gonpa,
Bumt ha. Whi l e on vacat i on i n Dungkhar , he pr obabl y hear d
f or t he f i r st t i me of t he pr esence of t he l ear ned one and
t he publ i c bl essi ng i n l amey Gonpa. Af t er l eavi ng Dungkhar ,
he headed f or Lamey Gonpa.
Ther e i s an amazi ng st or y of hi s f i r st meet i ng wi t h t he
l ama who was supposed t o have pr edi ct ed t he r i se of J igrne
Namgyal . The val i di t y of t hi s i nci dent l i es i n t he f act
t hat t her e wer e mor e t han one wi t ness t o t he scene. Lear ned
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68
and hol y men have t hei r own way of seei ng t he f ut ur e and
t hi s l ama seems t o have had a spi r i t ual vi si on of J i gme
Namgyal l s i nt ensi ons. He del i ber at el y wai t ed f or t he
Tr ongsa zi mpon t o ar r i ve i n t i me f or t he bl essi ngs. Fi nal l y
J i gme Namgyal and hi s gr oup ar r i ved at Lamey Gonpa. The Lama
t hen began t he i ni t i at i on. The audi ence under st ood t he
gr eat l ama' s i nt ent i on. 19
J i gme Namgyal ' s ear l y l i f e and car eer seems shr ouded i n
myst er y and myst i ci sm. Ther e ar e numer ous i nci dent s t hat
make hi mappear mor e t han an or di nar y hur nan. Wi t h no
wr i t t en sour ces and t he popul ar i t y of such st or i es, i t i s
i mpossi bl e t o separ at e t he mor t al man r omt he super her o
i mage of t hi s i ncr edi bl e l eader .
By al 1 r neans J i gr ne Namgyal l s meet i ng wi t h t hi s l ama
coul d have been a si mpl e chance meet i ng. I nst ead, what
makes i t so f asci nat i ng, i s t hat i t was t he same l ama who
f i r st pr edi ct ed J i gme Namgyal ' s cor ni ng t o Tr ongsa t hen
f ol l owed by t hi s unusual i nci dent at Lamey Gonpa. Hi s
l i f et i me of cl ose associ at i on wi t h J i gme Namgyal does make
i t appear t hat t he t wo had a speci al bon? t hat t r anscended a
l i f et i me. Thr ough al 1 hi s bl oody campai gns, J i gme Namgyal
seems t o have mai nt ai ned a deep devot i on f or t he l ama. Lama
J angchub Tsondr ue pr ovi ded hi mwi t h i nval uabl e gui dance,
bot h spi r i t ual and pol i t i cal .
19 Lopon Padma Tsewang. , r omper sona1 i nt er vi ew.
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69
Lama J angchub Tsondr ue, who act ed as J i gme Namgyal ' s
r el i gi ous and pol i t i cal phi l osopher , was r omTsang Woengen,
Ti bet . Thei r cl ose associ at i on and t he l ama' s per sona1 l ove
and at t ent i on f or J i gme Namgyal l ed mazy peopl e t o bel i eve
t hat t he t wo of t hemhad a kar mi c connect i on r omt hei r
pr evi ous l i ves. Al t hough hi s ear l i er vi si t t o Bhut an had
been at t he i nvi t at i on of Ugyen Phunt sho, he seems t o have
made t he next vi si t on hi s own. Ot her s bel i eve t hat he was
i n Bumt ha per f or mi ng ' Tse- dr upl , ( pr ayer s f or l ong l i f e) f or
t he t hen Dal ai Lama of Ti bet , Gyal wa Khedr up Gyamt sho.
Whi l e i n Bumt ha, t he l ama vi si t ed Lamey Gonpa wher e he was
r equest ed by t he l ocal peopl e t o gi ve a publ i c bl essi ng.
Ther e appear ed t o be a st r ange f or ce wor ki ng t owar ds
br i ngi ng t he t wo t oget her . The l ama had many i nf l uent i al
di sci pl es i n Bhut an l i ke t he Tr ongsa penl op Tshoki Dor j i and
hi s son Tsondr ue Gyal t sen and t he ex- Tr ongsa penl op Ugyen
Phunt sho. But he devot ed bot h hi s t eachi ngs and per sona1
at t ent i on t o J i gme Namgyal . 2 O
J i gme Namgyal l s meet i ng wi t h t he l ama was i nt er r upt ed
by a mi nor upheaval i n t he East and t he penl op di spat ched
hi mt o quel 1 t he upr i si ng. The oppr essi ve dzongpons wer e
br ought under cont r ol . Peace and or der r et ur ned t o t he
r egi on. I mr nedi at el y af t er t hi s shor t campai gn t o t he east
was over , J i gme Namgyal once agai n sought out Lama J angchub
Tsondr ue. Thi s time he i nvi t ed t he l ama t o Tr ongsa and
2 O Lopon Padma Tsewang. , r omper sona1 i nt er vi ew.
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70
r equest ed hi mt o pr edi ct t he f ut ur e of Tr ongsa and Bhut an
and t he necessar y pr ecaut i ons t o be t aken t o aver t any maj or
cal ami t i es. The l ama t hen commanded J i gme Nangyal t o
per f or mt he r eci t at i on of t he MDechog' s Knenpau t en mi l l i on
t i mes. I n Tr ongsa he shoul d const r uct t he ' Dechog St at ueu
or t he I dei t y amv var a' ^^ f aci ng t he West . I f J i gr ne Namgyal
coul d do t hi s, not onl y Tr ongsa, but t he whol e count r y woul d
benef i t and hi s son and t hei r sons woul d l at er r ul e as ki ngs
of Bhut an. Al 1 t hese necessar y pr ecaut i ons wer e ai med at
br i ngi ng bet t er CO- oper at i on among t he l eader s of Bhut an.
But t he r oughest par t of J i gme Namgyal ' s car eer was
j ust about t o begi n. J i gme Namgyal ' s f i r st t r i p t o t he West
i n 1849 was t he begi nni ng of a nur nber of campai gns t hat he
woul d l ead i n t hat di r ect i on. I n t he West , t he pol i t i cal
si t uat i on was sl owl y unf ol di ng i t sel f . Mor e and mor e i t
began t o l ook t owar ds Tr ongsa f or mi l i t ar y ai d and
medi at i on. I t was obvi ous t hat t he pol i t i cal scene i n t he
West was spr eadi ng t o engulf t he East and Tr ongsa coul d no
l onger r emai n her cor npl acent sel f . Thus f ar , Tr ongsa pl ayed
l i t t l e par t i n t he f euds of t he West . But t he scene was
f ast changi ng and many pol i t i cal pl ayer s i n t he west began
t o l ook t owar ds Tr ongsa as a f or mi dabl e power and sought her
as an al l y.
2' Ar i s Mi chael : THE RAVEN CROWN. The or i ai ns of
Buddhi st Monar chv i n Bhut an. p. 53.
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71
Dur i ng t he t er mof desi Tashi Dor j i ( 1838- 1849) , when
he r ul ed j oi nt l y wi t h desi Dor j i Nor bu, ( t he f or mer di ed i n
1849 and t he l at t er i n 1849?1*~ t he Punakha dzong had bur ned
dom. The cent r al gover nment i n 1849 summoned l abour f or ces
r omal 1 t he dzongkhags of Bhut an f or t he r econst r uct i on of
t he r ui ned Dzong. Thi s br ought J i gme Namgyal , aged 24, as
Tr ongsa zi mpon t o super vi se t he l abour f or ce t hat he had
gat her ed r omt he East er n Dzongkhags. Al 1 t he st r ong men,
( ngar gays) of Bhut an, dzongpons and penl ops had gat her ed i n
Punakha. Al ong wi t h t he r egul ar r enovat i on wor ks, games and
compet i t i ons, l i ke l i f t i ng and t hr owi ng St ones, cut t i ng wood
and t ug- of - war wer e hel d t o t est t he physi cal st r engt h of
t he Ngar gays. 2 3 Even i n t hi s f i el d J i gme Namgyal pr oved
hi msel f t o be i nvi nci bl e. None of t he ot her ngar gays wer e
abl e t o def eat hi m.
However , t r oubl e st ar t ed i n Punakha t hat woul d have f ar
r eachi ng consequences f or J i gme Namgyal . Accor di ng t o one
ver si on, some West er n of f i cer s had concei ved a pl ot t o
suppr ess t he power of t he Tr ongsa penl op and t he peopl e of
t he East er n dzongkhags. Tr ongsa cont r ol l ed al 1 of t he
East er n r egi ons and t he peopl e under t he penl op enj oyed a
r el at i vel y peacef ul life. The West , on t he ot her hand, had
seen numer ous pet t y ci vi l war s and t her e was a const ant
- - -
2 2 Nado, Lopon : Dr uk Kar~o. p 62.
23 Ar i s: The Raven Crown. p. 53. Al so Lopon Padma
Tsewangt s, Hi st or v of Bhut an, p. 483.
Page 79
7 2
scr ar nbl e f or power ei t her f or t he post of t he desi or t he
dzongpon. I n such a si t uat i on i t may not be f ar f et ched t o
mai nt ai n t hat t he West er n l or ds wer e j eal ous of t he power of
t he Tr ongsa penl op and t he vast t er r i t or y under hi m. On t he
ot her hand t he cl ose pr oxi mi t y of t he West er n dzongkhags
l i ke Punakha, Thi mphu, Par o and Wangduephodr ang gave r i se t o
di sput es and t hei r of f i cer s coul d easi l y i nt er f er e i n each
ot her ' s af f ai r s. Conver sel y Tr ongsa was geogr aphi cal l y
f ar t her r omt hese const ant f euds. Thei r of f i cer s wer e al so
unabl e t o i nvol ve Tr ongsa i n t hei r game of power pol i t i cs,
bei ng cut of f and beyond t hei r r each. Thi s gave Tr ongsa and
t he ot her r egi ons under her t he peace t hat she enj oyed.
An i nt er est i ng st udy i s wr i t t en about t he West and
Tr ongsa r egi ons by AS. Si nha in hi s book, Bhut an: Et hi c
I dent i t v and Nat i onal Dilemma. Accor di ng t o Si nha t he West ,
especi al l y Par o, was mor e exposed as i t was t he mai n por t of
ent r ance ei t her f r omTi bet or I ndi a. The East ( Tr ongsa) was
i sol at ed rom bot h t he Nor t h and t he Sout h by a ser i es of
mount ai ns, and i n
" East er n Bhut an, one f i nds soci al cont r ol on t he
economi c r esour ces, and t he ki nshi p t i es and l i neage
af f i l i at i on ~t r onger " . ~~
The best show of uni t y of ki nshi p and l i neage af f i l i at i on
was dur i ng t he East er n campai gn i n 1865 i n Dewangi r i .
23 Si nha, AOC: BHUTAN: Et hni c I dent i t v and Nat i onal
Dilemrna.
( Rel i ance Publ i shi ng House, New Del hi . 1991) p.
120- 121.
Page 80
73
I n Punakha, a new pr oposal was made t hat was di r ect l y
chal l enged by J i gme Namgyal . I n or der t o avoi d t he f ut ur e
nui sance of r ecr ui t i ng l abour f or r enovat i on, i t was
pr oposed that t hey shoul d appl y seven l ayer s of shi ngl es on
t he r oof of t he dzong, ( t he t r adi t i onal number f or dzongs
was f i ve and t he commoner s wer e per mi t t ed t o appl y t hr ee) .
Thi s woul d t hus make t he r oof mor e dur abl e and Save much
l abour and t i me. But J i gme Namgyal saw t hi s as di r ect
oppr essi on of hi s peopl e, not onl y f or t he pr esent gr oup i n
Punakha but f or t he f ut ur e gener at i on. He i r nmedi at el y
opposed t hei r pr oposal . J i gme Namgyal mai nt ai ned t hat i n
t i r ne t hi s new pr oposa1 woul d become a f or mof t axat i on and
t he East er n peopl e coul d not af f or d t o come al 1 t he way,
t r ekki ng over mount ai ns and val l eys wi t h t hei r r at i ons and
f ace t he pr obl emof accommodat i on i n t he West . Conver sel y,
the peopl e of t he West er n r egi ons woul d f ace l i t t l e or no
di f f i cul t y. The di st ance was j ust a st onel s t hr ow away f r om
t hei r homes. He, t her ef or e, suggest ed t hat t hey mai nt ai n
t he ol d t r adi t i on. 25 J i gme Namgyal l s st ubbor nness and hi s
downr i ght r ef usal t o depar t r omwhat he bel i eved was r i ght
is evi dent i n t wo pr omi nent cases, bot h of whi ch got hi m
i nt o deep t r oubl e.
His bol d def i ance won hi mt he wr at h of t he West er n
of f i cer s, who wer e not onl y i nsul t ed but al so t hr eat ened.
I n t hei r anger and j eal ousy, t hey may have r ead far t oo much
9 G
'-
Dasho l ama Sangya. , rom per sonal i nt er vi ew.
Page 81
74
i nt o t hi s si ngl e r ebel l i ous act of J i gme Namgyal . They saw
hi mr ebel , not onl y agai nst hi s mast er , Tr ongsa penl op
Tshoki Dor j i , ( who t hey t hought was power l ess and compl et el y
i n t he hands of hi s zi mpon) , but al so agai nst t he aut hor i t y
of t he cent r e. They seemt o have become al 1 t he mor e
det er mi ned t o r emove, not onl y J i gme Namgyal , but al so hi s
mas t er , Tshoki Dorj i .
J i gme Namgyal was smar t enough t o under st and t hat hi s
act i on had won t he anger of t he cent r al of f i cer s and t hey
woul d not l et hi mgo easi l y. Mor eover , he became awar e of a
pl ot t o assassi nat e hi s mast er , Tshoki Dor j i . 26 HOWsuch a
pl an was t o be car r i ed out was not known even t o J i gme
Namgyal , but he never l et hi s mast er out of si ght . Ther e i s
no pr oper expl anat i on of t he r eal mot i ves behi nd t he West er n
of f i cer s det emi nat i on t o assassi nat e Tshoki Dor j i . I t
coul d not possi bl y have been due t o J i gme Namgyal ' s
bol dness, or t he excuse t hat t he penl op had no cont r ol over
hi m. What ever t he r easons t her e seems t o have been a uni t ed
act i on among t he host s t o el i mi nat e t he guest s i n Punakha.
A bi g ar cher y game was hel d and J i gme Namgyal sensed
t hat such an ent er t ai nment was a di st r act i on cr eat ed by hi s
enemi es. Accor di ng t o or al account s, t he conspi r at or s had
pl anned t he assassi nat i on f or t he cel ebr at i on af t er t he
game. The assassi ns had al so been pi cked. An or al
2 6 Ar i s, The Raven Crown, p 53. Al so Lopon Padma
Tsewang, The Hi st or v of Bhut an. p. 482- ' 3 and Lopon Nado' s,
Dr uk Kar ~o, p. 77.
Page 82
7 5
t r adi t i on of t he det ai l s of J i gme Namgyal l s pr epar at i on t o
pr ot ect hi s mast er i s r emember ed by a f ew. I t i s bel i eved
t hat he gat her ed a gr oup of st r ong and l oyal men, ( pr obabl y
f r omt he di st r i ct s under Tr ongsa) who had di spl ayed t hei r
mer chandi se at t he gr ound. He t ol d t hemt hat he suspect ed
f ou1 pl ay and a maj or cr i me. He qui ckl y managed t o gat her a
gr oup of st r ong men and t hey f ol l owed hi mand t he penl op
ever ywher e. Thi s cr eat ed a st r ong ci r cl e of def ence and
t i ght secur i t y ar ound t he penl op. I f t her e had been any
pl ot , t hey wer e def i ni t el y unabl e t o br eakt hr ough t he t i ght
secur i t y . 27
One of t he f ew wr i t t en sour ces on t hi s per i od has
ment i oned at gr eat l engt h t he assassi nat i on at t empt on t he
Tr ongsa penl op i n Punakha. The accept ed ver si on of t he pl ot
t o assassi nat e t he Tr ongsa penl op was i n the Puna dzong when
he woul d be al one wi t h t he ot her cent r al of f i cer s i n t he
dzong chamber s. But t hey coul d not t r ust J i gme Namgyal and
t r i ed t o get hi mout of t he way. J i gr ne Namgyal was
per suaded t o l eave f or Tr ongsa ahead of t he penl op t o make
pr epar at i ons f or t he penl opt s ar r i va1 i n Tr ongsa. J i gr ne
Namgyal , however , r ef used t o l eave wi t hout hi s penl op on t he
pr et ext t hat hi s agi ng mast er needed hi mat hi s beck and
cal 1 .
Ther e i s a det ai l ed account of t he scene i n Punakha
whi ch has become a popul ar st or y. The unsuspect i ng penl op
7 7
"
as ho Lama Sangya. , r ompersona1 i nt er vi ew.
Page 83
76
was i n t he dzong chamber s wi t h t he ot her l or ds and of f i cer s.
I t has been gener al l y accept ed t hat whi l e t he ot her s wer e
get t i ng r eady t o st r i ke Tshoki Dor j i , J i gr ne Namgyal r ushed
i nt o t he chamber s and wi t h one hand on t he hi l t of hi s swor d
and t he ot her hol di ng hi s penl op, gal l ant l y l ed hi s mast er
out of t he r oomi nt o saf et y. 28
What di f f er s i n t hi s popul ar her oi c st or y i s how Jigme
Namgyal managed t o bur st i nt o t he r oomr eady t o dr aw hi s
swor d. One ver si on mai nt ai ns t hat Tshoki Dor j i , i n t he
dzong chamber s was bei ng r epr i manded by t he ot her l or ds over
t he i nsol ent behavi our of hi s zi mpon. The penl op was
unwor t hy of hol di ng such a post i f he coul d not cont r ol t he
r ash and bol d act of one j uni or of f i cer . Tshoki Dor j i was
supposedl y st andi ng and was " shaki ng wi t h f ear " . 29 J i gme
Namgyal , who was i n t he cour t yar d, out si de t he mai n chamber ,
di d not t r ust t he si ncer i t y of t he l or ds and of f i cer s who
wer e i n t he r oomwi t h hi s mast er . I n an at t empt t o make
sur e of what was t r anspi r i ng i nsi de he went over t he
t hr eshol d and st ood out si de i n a dar k cor ner behi nd t he
heavy cur t ai n, ( t hat ser ved as a par t i t i on) and peeped i n.
Whi l e he was l i st eni ng t o hi s mast er bei ng scol ded he hear d
t wo voi ces behi nd t he door , appar ent l y maki ng pr epar at i ons
28
Arist @aven Cr own. p. 53, Lopon Padma Tsewang, The
Hi st or v of Bhut an. p. 482- 3 and Lopon Nado, Dr uk Kar no.
77.
P
2 9
Ar i s. Raven Cr own. p 53 and Lopon Padma Tsewang,
The Hi st or v of Bhut an. p 483.
Page 84
t o st r i ke as t he penl op t ook l eave of t he ot her of f i cer s.
J i gme Namgyal bur st i nt o t he r oomand l ed hi s mast er out
bef or e t he assassi ns knew what was happeni ng. "
The ot her ver si on t el l s of t he conver sat i on of t he
l or ds i n t he chani ber s. Sl owl y t hey wer e l ed t o a di scussi on
of swor ds and dagger s, wi t h each of f i cer dr awi ng t hei r swor d
t o make compar i son, wi t h t he ot her s. The most excel l ent
Y 1
swor ds of Bhut an ar e known as " DungsamThur mat . ' - The l or ds
had ci r cl ed Tshoki Dor j i when suddenl y hi s zi mpon ent er ed
t he r oomunannounced and uni nvi t ed and l ed hi s penl op
Tshoki Dor j i was ver y gr at ef ul t o J igrne Namgyal f or
savi ng hi s l i f e, an act he sai d t hat shoul d have nat ur al l y
f al l en upon hi s son. He, t her ef or e pr omi sed t o make hi mt he
Tr ongsa penl op af t er hi s r et i r ement , bef or e hi s own son
Tsondr ue Gyal t sen. I n 1850 J i gme Namgyal was pr omot ed t o
Tr ongsa dr oenyer . " I t was i n t he same year t hat t he
dzongpons of J akar . Lhunt si and Shemgang wer e pl anni ng a
'O Dasho Lama Sangya. . r omper sona1 i nt er vi ew.
" The f mous ' DungsamThur mar swor ds came f r omt he
East and i t was an excel l ent br and of swor ds. Ver y f ew ar e
t o be f ound t oday i n Bhut an, but it i s bel i eved t hat t he
bl ade of t he swor d was so f i ne t hat one coul d act ual l y bend
and make a r ol e and t hr ow i t i n t he ai r . The bl ade woul d
act ual l y st r ai ght en out by i t sel f .
3 2 Lopon Padma Tsewang. , rom per sonal i nt er vi ew.
3 3 Tsewang, Lopon Padma: The Hi st or v of Bhut an. p.
483. The of f i ce of t he dr oenyer was never quite cl ear l y
def i ned. Ther e wer e dr oenyer s i n t he cent r al gover nr nent as
wel l as i n t he di st r i ct s, much l i ke t he zi mpons. Al t hough
he f unct i oned mor e or l ess at r ni ni st er i al l evel , hi s of f i ce
woul d r esembl e t hat of ' Chi ef of Pr ot ocol t .
Page 85
r ebel l i on and wer e r epor t ed t o have been r ecr ui t i ng a f or ce
i n Mongar . They wer e af so suppor t ed by t he di f f er ent
r egi ons of Tr ashi Yangt si , Tr ashi gang, Shongar and Dungsam.
A br i ef backgr ound of t hese r egi ons wi l l be necessar y i n
or der t o under st and t he posi t i on of t hese dzongkhags and t he
al l egi ance t hey owed t o t he cent r e or t o Tr ongsa.
Unt i l t he 1640s- 1650s, t he West ( under t he Shabdr ung,
Ngawang Namgyal ) had ver y l i t t l e pol i t i cal hol d over Cent r al
and East er n Bhut an. These r egi ons had a soci o- r el i gi ous
pat t er n qui t e di f f er ent r omt he cent r e. The maj or i t y of
t he peopl e of t he East and t he Cent r e bel onged t o t he
Nyi ngmapa sect of Mahayana Buddhi sm. The West was
pr edomi nant l y Kar gue. Even bef or e t he Shabdr ung came t o
Bhut an i n 1616, smal l r egi ons i n t he East suppor t ed t he
spi r i t ual and pol i t i cal aut hor i t y of many l ocal l amas and
l aymen who bel onged t o t he " Choej i N ( " r el i gi ous nobi l i t yw )
f ami l i es who cl ai med di vi ne ancest or s. j 4
Dur i ng t he maj or par t of t he 1600s, t he Shabdr ung
concent r at ed on consol i dat i ng hi s power i n t he West . Though
he r nay have had pl ans f or expandi ng hi pol i t i cal and
r el i gi ous r ul e t o t he r est of Bhut an, he had no oppor t uni t y
t o do so. But i n 1646, when t he Shabdr ung was about 57
year s of age, j 5 a mi nor quar r el bet ween t wo l ocal l eader s i n
3 3 Nado, Lopon. , p. 45.
-
" Tsewang , Lopon Padma. , p. 170.
Page 86
79
t - he East pr ovi ded t he Shabdr ung wi t h t he per f ect oppor t uni t y
t o i nt er vene. 3 6
Mi nj ur Tenpa, a monk and t he most dynami c of t he
Tr ongsa penl ops, was sol el y r esponsi bl e f or t he f i r st
East er n campai gn and i n br i ngi ng t he East er n chi ef s under
t he r ul e of t he Dr ukpas. The pet t y quar r el s of t he numer ous
chi ef s i n t he East made t hemeasy vi ct i ms, who f el l i nt o t he
hands of t he i nvadi ng Dr ukpa f or ces r omt he West . However ,
not hi ng seems t o have been done t o st r engt hen or consol i dat e
t hei r hol d i n t he East and i n al 1 pr obabi l i t y, t hey went
back t o t hei r ol d syst emof ' one val l ey ki ngsl as soon as
t he West er n f or ces t ur ned t hei r backs.
Ver y l i t t l e of t he hi st or y of t he East i s ment i oned
af t er t hese event s of 1646 t o 1656. Al t hough t he Dr ukpa
ar my was successf ul i n br i ngi ng t he whol e of t he East er n and
Cent r al r egi ons under i t s cont r ol and domi nance, t hey seem
t o have been mor e embr oi l ed i n t he pol i t i cs of t hei r o m
r egi ons of Thi mphu, Punakha, Par o and Wangdue. The peopl e
of t he east seemt o have owed t hei r al l egi ance t o hi gh l amas
and men of nobl e bi r t h i n t hei r r egi ons, as wel l somet i mes,
t o t he Tr ongsa penl op. Thi s depended on t he i ndi vi dual
penl op and hi s abi l i t y t o command al l egi ance.
The most ef f ect i ve Tr ongsa penl op i n a l ong t i me was
J i gme Namgyal . What Mi nj ur Tenpa and J i gme Namgyal shar ed
'6 I maeda- Fr ancoi se Pommar et : I 1Hi st or y of Bhut an,
Par t I I 1616 - 1928" . Unpubl i shed, ( Thi mphu 1988), p. 41.
Page 87
80
i n comr non, ot her t han t hei r t i t l e, was t he cr edi t f or t he
uni f i cat i on of t he East and Tr ongsal s cont r ol of t he r egi on.
J i gme Namgyal , however , was Tr ocgsa dr oenyer when t he
r ebel l i on br oke out i n t he East . He was cor nmanded by hi s
mast er , Tr ongsa penl op Tshoki Dor j i t o suppr ess t he
r ebel l i on. J i gme Namgyal successf ul l y cr ushed t he r ebel l i on
and even br ought t he r ebel dzongpons and j adr ungs ( Bhut anese
of f i cer s i n t he Sout h East ) bef or e t he Tr ongsa penl op.
Af t er t hi s event , t he ent i r e r egi on East of t he Pel e La
came di r ect l y under t he aut hor i t y of t he Tr ongsa penl op and
t he t em, ' Shar chok Khor l o Tsi p Gyet or t he ' Wheel of Ei ght
spokes i n t he East 1, r ef er r i ng t o t he Wheel of Law of
Buddhi smcame t o be appl i ed. " Thi s t i t l e came t o be
appl i ed t o t he t er r i t or y now under Tr ongsa, ( see map 2) .
These dzongkhags wer e Dungsam, Shongar , Tr ashi gang,
Tr ashi yangt si , Lhunt si , Shemgang, J akar and Mangde.
Wi t h such an accompl i shment , t her e was l i t t l e doubt
t hat J i gme Namgyal was t he most power f ul f i gur e i n Bhut an.
Even bef or e he became t he Tr ongsa penl op J i gme Namyyal had
achi eved much f ame and r espect . Hi s enemi es f el t
i nt i mi dat ed by hi m, as he was wel l known f or bot h hi s
physi cal st r engt h and pol i t i cal shr ewdness. He had l ed a
ver y successf ul campai gn t o t he East and t he pr omi se of t he
gover nor shi p of Tr ongsa was al r eady made t o hi m. Wi t hi n a
- -
" Nado, Lopon., P. 48.
Page 88
81
shor t span of t i r ne he had achi eved a mar vel l ous f eat . J i gme
Namgyal was onl y 25 year s ol d.
I f Jigme Namgyal t hought t hat he and t he West had seen
t he l ast of each ot her af t er t hei r abor t i ve at t empt on
Tshoki Dor j i ' s l i f e, he coul d not have been f ar t her r omt he
t r ut h. His pr obl ems wi t h t he West wer e j ust begi nni ng and
i n ever y way t he pol i t i cal si t uat i on t her e seemed t o be
beckoni ng hi m. He was t o have anot her st r uggl e i n t he West
much l i ke t he one he had f aced i n t he ser vi ce of t he Tr ongsa
penl op. But t her e was a mar ked di f f er ence bet ween hi s
st r uggl es i n Tr ongsa and i n Punakha. I n t he f or mer he seems
t o have st ar t ed as a ser vant and sur vi ved on hi s physi cal
st r engt h. I n Punakha he woul d r ub shoul der s wi t h equal s and
i t woul d be a bat t l e of wi t s.
I n Pur i akha, t he Shabdr ung J i qme Nor bu , ( 183 1 - 186 1 ) , who
ws act i ng as t he r egent , r esi gned af t er bei ng st r uck by
smal l pox and r et i r ed t o Par o. Fol l owi ng t he r esi gnat i on of
t he r egent , t he Wangdue dzongpon, Chakpa Sangye, sei zed the
t hr one i n 1851 and became t he Deb. The ex- Par o penl op,
Tsul t r i mNamgyal , who was not onl y a st r ong candi dat e f or
Deb but was al so an al l y of t he Thi mphu dzongpon, Tsaphupa
Tsewang, ( who was ki l l ed by Chakpa Sangye) , i r nmedi at el y
asked t he Tr ongsa penl op Tshoki Dor j i f or assi st ance t o oust
Chakpa Sangye f r omt he t hr one . 'E
Page 89
82
J i gme Namgyal was sent at t he head of a l ar ge ar my t o
assi st Tsul t r i mNamgyal . On t hi s campai gn, J i gme Namgyal
was accor npani ed by hi s br ot her Dungkhar Gyal t sen and cousi n
Kyi t sel pa Dor j i Namgyal . When t he t hxee br ot her s at t he
head of a l ar ge ar my r eached Punakha t hey f ound t hat the
Desi had t aken shel t er t o t he vi l l age of Nor bugang, a l i t t l e
di st ance r omPunakha, t o avoi d t he smal l pox epi demi c. The
t hr ee br ot her s had t o f ace t he desi st Tapon, or hor se
mast er , Mi kt hoem,
The st or y of Mi kt hoemmay sound f or ei gn and
unbel i evabl e t o a West er ner . Mi kt hoemwas r omTangsi bi
under Tr ongsa di st r i ct , and was bel i eved t o have been
mi r acul ousl y i mpr egnat ed by t he l ocal dei t y Mukt sen, or
Dorji Dr akt sel . He was bor ne by an unmar r i ed young woman.
Since he was f at her ed by a spi r i t , Mi kt hoempossessed
super human st r engt h and he came t o be empl oyed by Chakpa
Sangye as hi s per sona1 at t endant , Hi s r eal name is unknown
but when he became angr y, i t i bel i eved t hat one coul d
al most see t he f or mat i on of a t hi r d eye i n t he cent r e of hi s
f or ehead and hence he was popul ar l y known as Mi kt hoem,
( f t mi k" = eye, " t hoemn=come out or appear 1I ) . "
When t he t hr ee br ot her s wer e unable t o def eat Mikthoem
i n f ai r combat t hey deci ded t o r el y on decei t and f ou1 pl ay.
The t hr ee br ot her s wai t ed one ni ght f or Mi kt heomi n a dar k,
deser t ed cor ner and pounced on hi m, whi l e he was r et i r i ng
=c
-- Dasho Lama Szngya., f r omper sona1 i nt er vi ew.
Page 90
r omdut y f or t he ni ght . I t was onl y af t er hour s of
st r uggl e t hat t hey managed t o ki l l hi m. Whi l e t he t hr ee
br ot her s t ook on Mi kt hoem, hi s at t endant escaped t o Punakha
and al er t ed Chakpa Sangye s men. J i gme Namgyal and hi s
t wo br ot her s managed t o dodge Mi kt hoeml s suppor t er s 5y
t aki ng shel t er at t he Ta10 Monast er y. The Shabdr ung and
J i gme Namgyal wer e r emot el y r el at ed t hr ough di st ant
ancest or s. The Lamats zi mpon, SonamDhondup of Dr amet se.
was t he l ama' s r el at i ve. He had accompani ed t he mi nor
r ei ncar nat e when he was r ecogni zed and i nst al l ed as t he
Shabdr ung i n Punakha. However , SonamDondup was unabl e t o
gi ve shel t er t o t he t hr ee br ot her s f or mor e t han a ni ght .
He was af r ai d t hat Chakpa Sangye mi ght st or mt he monast er y.
The next mor ni ng t he t hr ee br ot her s made t hei r escape.
escor t ed by si xt y zi nkaf f s pr ovi ded by SonamDondup. They
t r avel l ed vi a Gasa t o Ti bet and t hen r e- ent er ed Bhut an vi a
Bumt ha and t r avel l ed back t o Tr ongsa.
Ther e i s much mi ssi ng i n t hi s par t i cul ar st or y. A f ew
sour ces mai nt ai n t hat Mi kt hoemwas act ual l y t r i cked i nt o
comi ng home t o Tr ongsa. He was ki l l ed i n a compet i t i on t o
t est physi cal st r engt h. Some of hi s per sona1 bel ongi ngs ar e
st i l l t hought t o be i n Tr ongsa dzong. I f t hi s i s t o be
bel i eved, t hen i t becomes di f f i cul t t o expl ai n why J i gme
Namgyal was sent t o Punakha. What exact l y di d he do t her e
t o gai n t he wr at h of t he desi ? Al t hough t he desi 1s f or ces
4 Ci Dasho Lama Sangya. , f r omper sona1 i nt er vi ew.
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wer e unabl e t o cat ch up wi t h t he t hr ee br ot her s, who had by
t hen al r eady made t hei r escape, Chakpa Sangyes' men set i r e
t o t he house wher e t he si xt y escor t s wer e r est i ng and ki l l ed
t hemal 1 .
Ther e i s anot her mi ssi ng pi ece t o t he puzzl e. Why di d
t he t hr ee br ot her s escape l i ke f ugi t i ves af t er ki l l i ng
Mi kt hoem, when t hey had been sent wi t h a l ar ge ar my t o
assi st t he Par o penl op t o oust Chakpa Sangye. I nst ead
Chakpa Sangye seems t o have shown hi s wr at h on t he si xt y
i nnocent zi nkaf f s who had been sent t o escor t J i gme Namgyal
and hi s br ot her s. I f J i gme Namgyal l ef t Tr ongsa at t he head
of an ar my t her e i s no i ndi cat i on of a bat t l e f ought . I t i s
a st r ange case of not one or a f ew mi ssi ng men but an ent i r e
col umn of an ar my. Event ual l y t he ol d Par o penl op di sposed
of hi s enemy by decei t when al 1 ot her means f ai l ed. "
Back i n Tr ongsa, J i gme Namgyal hear d t hat hi s agi ng
mast er was devel opi ng second t hought s about hi s pr omi se t o
hi mand pl anned t o appoi nt his son, Tsondr ue Gyal t sen, as
t he next Tr ongsa penl op. J i gme Namgyal i nt ent i onal l y st ayed
away r omt he dzong and shunned hi s dut i es f or a f ew days.
He st ayed at home and sl ept as a f or mof si l ent pr ot est .
4 1 The Par o penl op or der ed a f i ne si l k r obe t o be
st i t ched f or t he desi , Chakpa Sangye. He t hen gave i t t o a
ser vant t o al l ow a sr nal l pox sur vi vor t o Wear i t f or a whi l e
unt i l t he r obe was i mpr egnat ed wi t h t he ger ms. Whi l e i t was
st i l l cont agi ous, he sent i t t o t he desi as a gi f t and a
si gn of peace wi t h a ver bal message t hat i f it di d not f i t
he woul d have i t al t er ed t o t he r i ght si ze. The
unsuspect i ng desi wor e t he r obe and di ed r om: he dLease.
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85
Tshoki Dor j i was evi dent l y advi sed by hi s counci l t hat i t
woul d be best t o nomi nat e J i gme Namgyal as Tr ongsa penl op
f or t hr ee year s bef or e Tsondr ue Gyal t sen.
I n 1853, Tshoki Dor j i i nst al l ed dr oenyer J i gme Namgyal
as t he f our t eent h Tr ongsa penl op and a cer t ai n zi nkaf Tashi
Dr ugyel , r omKhal i ng, was despat ched t o Ti bet t o i nvi t e
Lama J angchub Tsondr ue t o Tr ongsa. The Lama came and
bl essed bot h t he penl ops and t he new Tr ongsa gover nment
under J i gr ne Namgyal . 4 2 He i mmedi at el y const r uct ed t he
Dechog l hakhang wi t h t he st at ue f aci ng West , as he was
i nst r uct ed by hi s l ama. The const r uct i on of t hi s st at ue was
t o br i ng about CO- oper at i on bet ween Tr ongsa and Punakha.
The quarrel i n t he West , however , coul d nei t her be
squashed over ni ght , nor sr noot hed over by pr ayer s and
medi at i on. I t was t o t ake J i gme Namgyal sever al year s of
war f ar e and har dshi p bef or e t he pr ophesy coul d be f ul f i l l ed.
As Tr ongsa penl op, one of t he most i mpor t ant t ask t hat J i gme
Namgyal per f or med, ( al t hough not much det ai l i s pr eser ved) ,
was t he medi at i on bet ween t he desi , Damcho Lhundr up and
kal yon Kasha. His successf ul medi at i on br ought hi mwhat he
may not have been abl e t o wi n i n bat t l e. He was gi ven
absol ut e aut hor i t y i n t he appoi nt ment of t he dzongpons of
t he East er n r egi ons and was al l owed t o keep t he f our l oads
.l
"
Nado, Lopon . , p. 7 8.
Page 93
86
of r upees t hat t he Br i t i sh pai d as compensat i on f or t he
AssamDooar s. 4 3
I t was no doubt a gener ous gi f t f or such a si mpl e j ob
of medi at i on and cont r adi ct s al 1 West er n ef f or t s of
cont r ol l i ng t he power of Tr ongsa. J i gme Namgyal t hen
appoi nt ed hi s ki nsmen and l oyal suppor t er s as dzongpons of
t he var i ous East er n r egi ons. No f ur t her det ai l s of t he men
he appoi nt ed ar e f ound, but i t may be saf e t o concl ude t hat
t hei r l oyal t y t o hi mwas seen dur i ng t he campai gn i n t he
East . Ther e was a r emar kabl e show of ki nsmanshi p and st r ong
f ami l y t i es.
Af t er hi s pr of i t abl e medi at i on i n t he t r oubl ed wat er s
of West er n pol i t i cs, and unt i l t he commencement of
host i l i t i es f or t he gover nor shi p of Tr ongsa, J i gne Namgyal
seems t o have devot ed much of hi s t i me t o r el i gi on. He
i nvi t ed l ama J angchub Tsondr ue once agai n t o Tr ongsa, but
t he l ama was r el uct ant t o come al 1 t he way r omTi bet due t o
t he l ong and r ough j our ney. J i gme Namgyal per f or med many
act s of mer i t , abol i shed f i shi ng and hunt i ng and even
f or bade hi s peopl e t o set t hei r f i el ds on i r e t o i nduce hi s
lama t o come dom. He even sent hi s per sona1 at t endant
Pal bar Tenzi n al 1 t he way t o Kham, Ti bet t o make copi es of
t he entire pr i nt s of t he Kanjur, ( Buddhi st cannons) .
3 3 Nado, Lopon: Dr uk Kar ~o. p. 79, al so, Lopon Padma
Tsewang, Hi st or v of Bhut an. p 484.
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87
Lama J angchub Tsondr ue f i nal l y r el ent ed and came t o
Bhut an vi a Phar i , Par o. I n Tr ongsa, J i gme Namgyal r ecei ved
many i ni t i at i ons f r omhi s l ama. Al 1 t hat t he l ama best owed
on J i gme Namgyal was r ecor ded by Lopon Gangchen, al so known
as Shenphen Ral pai Dor j i , a cl ose f r i end of J i gme Namgyal
and a ver y i nt el l i gent and l ear ned man. 4 4
Af t er t he ser i es of i ni t i at i ons, i t i s bel i eved t hat
J i gme Namgyal r ecei ved anot her name Shekhar Dr i me or Drime
Shekhar f r omhi s l ama as choe mi ngt ( sacr ed name) ."
Dur i ng t hat t i me, i t was t he cust omof t he Tr ongsa penl ops
t o st ay away f r omt hei r wi ves whi l e i n of f i ce, i f t hey wer e
not or dai ned monks. J i gme Namgyal consul t ed hi s l ama on t he
i ssue. Hi s l ama absol ved hi mof t hi s obl i gat i on. He al so
t ol d J i gme Namgyal t hat hi s wi f e was dest i ned t o hel p hi mi n
hi s car eer . Mor eover , t hey wer e t o have a son who was goi ng
t o be a gr eat l eader i n t he count r y. 4 6
Expl ai ni ng al 1 of t hese t hi ngs, t he l ama t hen made
J i gme Namgyal an of f er i ng. The t r adi t i on was t hat t he l ama
r ecei ved t he homage and of f er i ngs r omt he di sci pl e, but i n
t hi s case l ama J angchub Tsondr ue r ever sed t he pr ocess
J angchub Tsondr ue desi gned t he Raven Cr own f or J i gme
. Lama
4 4 Lopon Padma Tsewang. , f r omper sona1 i nt er vi ew.
4 5 Dasho Lama Sangya. , f r omper sona1 i nt er vi ew wi t h t he
aut hor .
4 6 Thi s r ef er ence may have been made f or Ugyen
Wangchuk, t he second son. The f i r st bor n son, Thi nl ay
Tobgyal became a monk under hi s mat er na1 uncl e, t he
i ncar nat i on of Pemal i ngpa i nst al l ed i n Lhal ung Monast er y.
Page 95
Namgyal , bl essed i t and i nvoked t he speci al pr ot ect i ng
power s of J angdue ( Mahakal a) and Legon J ar ok Dongchen ( t he
Raven headed Mahakal a) . i7
Then as t he st or y goes, t he l ama
sel ect ed a bl ack hor se, 'Ta ngak Ti nkag as t he guar di an
dei t yt s chi p, or cer emoni al nor se. Thi s hor se woul d be
saddl ed and l ed besi de J i gme Namgyal wher ever he went . The
pr oof t hat hi s dei t y had made use of t he hor se coul d be seen
r omt he ani mal ' s exhaust ed st at e, al t hough no r i der coul d
be seen by t he naked eye? The l ama t hen made anot her
pr edi ct i on of t he comi ng of a man r oma di f f er ent count r y
who woul d be usef ul t o J i gme Namgyal . He was t ol d t o l ook
af t er t hi s st r anger . Fai t hf ul l y J i gme Namgyal t ook i n t hi s
man, whose house st i l l st ands i n Tr ongsa. " Lama J angchub
Tsondr ue passed away at Tr ongsa Ta dzong i n 1856. Hi s
f uner al and t he l ast r i t es wer e per f omed at t he J ambay
Lhakhang. I n 1857, Thi nl ay Tobgyal was bor n t o J i gme
Namgyal and Ashi Pema Chuki .
" Ar i s, Raven Crown. p. 56 and Lopon Padma Tsewang,
Historv of Rhut an, p. 489.
4 a
Lopon Padma Tsewang. , f r omper sona1 i nt er vi ew.
Thi s man was Padshah Raj a, pr obabl y an absconder
f r omt he Br i t i sh I ndi an ar my dur i ng t he Sepoy Mut i ny. He
was J i gme Namgyal ' s advi sor and dur i ng t he Br i t i sh mi ssi on
of 1864 he r ode pr oudl y al ongsi de J i gme Namgyal . His t r ue
i dent i t y is st i l l not known al t hough he cl ai med t o be t he
gr andson of t he Ranj i t Si ngh, t he f ounder of t he Si khs. The
Padshah r aj a, a t i t l e appl i cabl e t o t he Moghul emperor, was
ant i - Br i t i sh and Eden even suspect ed hi mof t r yi ng t o
i nf l uence t he Bhut anese agai nst t he Br i t i sh.
Page 96
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When Tshoki Dor j i i nst al l ed J i gme Namgyal as Tr ongsa
penl op, hi s son, Tsondr ue Gyal t sen, was made J akar dzongpon.
The agr eement was t hat J i gme Namgyal woul d r esi gn af t er
t hr ee year s and Tsondr ue Gyal t sen was t o ascend as t he next
Tr ongsa penl op. As a wi t ness t o t hi s agr eement Dr oenyer
Pasang was appoi nt ed by Tshoki Dor j i at t he cour t i n
Tr ongsa.
Whet her or not J i gme Namgyal was i nvol ved i n t he deat h
of dr oenyer Pasang can onl y be specul at ed. Tshoki Dor j i ,
hi s son, and t hei r suppor t er s t ook t he deat h of Pasang as a
di r ect assaul t r omJ i gme Namgyal . Pasang on t he ot her hand
was wel l known or hi s over bear i ng nat ur e and got i nvol ved
i n a br awl wi t h some of t he of f i cer s at t he cour t . He was
l at er ki l l ed by Kur t oep Khor l ong- At once J i gme Namgyal was
suspect ed of f ou1 pl ay and Tsondr ue Gyal t sen decl ar ed war on
t he Tr ongsa penl op i n 1857.
The bat t l e of Samkhar dr agged on l onger t han expect ed
wi t h nei t her si de maki ng any headway. J igrne Namgyal won a
l ar ge t r act of l and, wher e he had est abl i shed camp and l at er
bui l t t he pal ace of Wangduechoel i ng over t he same spot .
Unabl e t o def eat hi mon hi s own, t he J akar dzongpon,
Tsondr ue Gyal t sen, who was al so assi st ed by hi s f at her , t he
ex- penl op Tshoki Dor j i , sought mi l i t ar y ai d f r omt he desi ,
Kunga Pal den. I n 1858 peace was r est or ed at l ast . The J e
Khenpo (head abbot ) Yont en Gyal t sen and t he f our l opons
( seni or monks or t eacher s) f r omt he cent r al monk body came
Page 97
90
t o medi at e bet ween t he t wo war r i ng par t i es. Dr amet se l ama
Sonam Dondup, who was act i ng as Lamai zi mpon, ( chamber l ai n
t o t he Shabdr ung) al so ar r i ved at t he scene t o of f er hi s
ser vi ces at t he medi at i on.
The post of J akar penl op was cr eat ed and Tsondr ue
Gyal t sen was el evat ed rom dzongpon t o J akar penl op. The
East was equal l y di vi ded bet ween t he Tr ongsa and J akar
penl op. Tt is di f f i cul t t o under st and why J i gni e Namgyal
ever agr eed t o such a set t l ement . I t was no doubt a ver y
sr nar t pol i t i cal move at weakeni ng J i gr ne Namgyal t s power .
Thi s ar r angement WES successf ul i n r est or i ng peace, but mor e
i mpor t ant l y i t br ought down t he power of J i gme Namgyal .
Geogr aphi cal l y he l ost hal f of t he t er r i t or y t hat he hi msel f
had won and uni t ed af t er much bl oodshed and har dshi p. The
power of Tr ongsa was al so cr i ppl ed wi t h t he cr eat i on of a
J akar penl op, a r ank equal i n st at us and pr est i ge t o t hat of
t he of f i ce of Tr ongsa penl op. But t hi s seems t o have onl y
been a t empor ar y set t l ement . The deat h of t he newl y cr eat ed
J akar penl op, Tsondr ue Gyal t sen, i n 1864-'65 caused hi s
of f i ce and hi s shar e of t he East er n r egi ons t o nat ur al l y
r ever t back t o Tr ongsa.
Though t he si t uat i on i n t he East was br ought under
cont r ol , t he same coul d not be sai d f or t he West . Once
agai n a di sput e br oke out bet ween t he Punakha dzongpon
Dar l ung Tobgyal and desi Phunt sho Namgyal . J i gme Namgyal
and Tsondr ue Gyal t sen wer e asked t o medi at e i n t hi s di sput e.
Page 98
91
Phunt sho Namgyal , al so known as Ngazi Pasang, was made t o
r esi gn and t he Thi mphu dzongpon Tsewang Si t hub was made t he
new desi . He had t o shar e t he post wi t h anot her , Tsul t r i m
Yont en, and J i gme Namgyal appoi nt ed r el at i ve, Khasar
Tobgyal as t he new Thi mphu dzongpon. Dar l ung Tobgyal became
Wangdue phodr ang dzongpon i n 1863. 5 C Tsul t r i mYont en st ayed
as desi f or onl y ni ne mont hs. Be was succeeded wi t hi n one
year by Kar gyu Wangchuk and Tsendr ue Pekar . Nei t her of t hem
st ayed i n power f or l ong. Bot h di ed wi t hi n a year and
Tsewang Si t hub r et ur ned a second t i me as Dr uk desi .
Dur i ng t hi s t i me J i gr ne Namgyal was i n Punakha and
pl ayed a si gni f i cant r ol e i n t he appoi nt ment of t he desi s
and ot her peopl e i n key posi t i ons. Accor di ng t o Bhut anese
sour ces J igrne Namgyal was i n Punakha dur i ng t hi s cr uci al
per i od of Bhut an' s hi st or y, super vi si ng t he const r uct i on of
a st at ue of t he Buddha i n t he Punakha dzong. Wi t hi n t wo
year s Punakha saw i ve desi s and none of t hemst ayed i n
power l ong enough t o br i ng st abi l i t y t o t he count r y. I n
such a si t uat i on J i gme Namgyal was gi ven t he dual
r esponsi bi l i t y of bot h Tr ongsa penl op and Lamai zi r npon,
( chamber l ai n) t o t he mi nor Shabdr ung Sungt r ul , ( ver bal
i ncar nat i on O t he Shabdr ung) , Yeshi Ngodr up, (1851 - 1917) ,
who was al so act i ng as t he Dhar ma r aj a. Meanwhi l e, Tsondr ue
Gyal t sen was al so gi ven t he dual r esponsi bi l i t y of Jakar
penl op and Shung gongzi m.
-
5 O Aris, Raven Crown, p 58.
Page 99
92
I t was cl ear t hat t he pol i t i cal si t uat i on of Bhut an was
f ast changi ng. Whi l e t he West coul d never r i se out of i t s
const ant r i val r y and squabbl es, J i gme Namgyal had cl ear l y
made hi r nsel f i ndi spensabl e t o Bhut an, bot h East and West .
Ther e was har dl y any r oomf or pol i t i cal manever i ng at t hi s
t i me and J i gme Namgyal coul d not have pl anned such a change
of event s.
I t was pr eci sel y at t hi s t i me t hat t he Br i t i sh I ndi an
gover nment deci ded t o send t hei r envoy t o set t l e t he
f r ont i er i ssues. I t was i ndeed i r oni c t hat , whi l e t he
i nt er nal si t uat i on i n Bhut an needed a dr amat i c f ace l i f t ,
t he Br i t i sh f ound t hemsel ves i n Punakha aski ng f or t he ver y
same t hi ng of t he f r ont i er .
The honour abl e Ashl ey Eden ar r i ved i n Punakha i n Mar ch
1864 wi t h a dr af t t r eat y t o be pr esent ed t o t he gover nment
of Bhut an. The Dhar ma r aj a was a mi nor and t he desi had
har dl y been i nst al l ed f or mor e t han a coupl e of mont hs.
Eden f ound hi msel f i n t he mi dst of a domest i c pr obl em, I t
was no sur pr i se t hat t he mi ssi on was a f ai l ur e. Ther e was
no one wi t h ef f ect i ve aut hor i t y i n Bhut an at t he t i me of t he
mi ssi on, Eden wr ot e t o hi s gover ment t hat J i gme Namgyal
had usur ped the t hr one and was danger ousl y hol di ng t he cour t
wi t h t he suppor t of a f ew l oyal men. But t he chai n of
event s i n t he i nt er nal pol i t i cs of Bhut an i ndi cat e t hat
J i gme Namgyal coul d not have had a hand i n t he event s of
1864.
Page 100 Page 101
FOUR.
PROBLEMS ON THE FRONTIER AND THE EARLY
ANGLO-BHUTAN RELATIONS, 1772 - 1860.
The f i r st r ecor ded cont act bet ween t he Br i t i sh and t he
Bhut anese was i n 1772. The Bhut anese cont act wi t h t he
Br i t i sh was a f asci nat i ng encount er . I t has been descr i bed
as
" a gr eat , moder n, west er n and t he st r ongest col oni al
power [ meet i ng] wi t h one of t he smal l est count r i es of
t he wor l d, t r adi t i onal , al mos t medi eval and
unexposedu. 1
The 1700s was a cent ur y of Br i t i sh i mper i al i smand
Gr eat Br i t ai n sought ways and means of consol i dat i ng her
power i n I ndi a. At t he same tirne Gr eat Br i t ai n hoped t o
open mor e mar ket s f or t r ade. The Br i t i sh, i n t hei r pol i cy
of openi ng up new t r ade l i nks i nt o Ti bet and Chi na
di scover ed Bhut an as a I t gat eway t o ~i bet " ' i n 1772.
Bhut an' s st r at egi c posi t i on may have been anot her sour ce of
i nt er est . The comr nand and cont r ol of t hi s hi 11 count r y
became of vi t al i mpor t ance t o bot h t he Br i t i sh and Ti bet .
Angl o- Bhut anese r el at i ons st ar t ed wi t h a st or y of
conf l i ct bet ween Bhut an and t he i ndependent st at e of Cooch
Bi har . I n 1771- 1772 t her e was a power st r uggl e i n Cooch
' ~ohl i , Manar ama: INDIA AND BHUTAN: A St udv i n
I nt er r el at i ons. 1772- 1910. ( Munshi r amMahohar l al Publ i sher s
Pvt Lt d. 1982) . P.2.
Page 102
Bi har . Bhut an i nt er vened on one si de and ki dnapped t he
cr own pr i nce and t he queen. The next year t hey went t o t he
ext ent of ki dnappi ng t he ki ng, Dhar endr a Nar ayan, and pl aced
t hei r own nomi nee on t he t hr one. A desper at e mi ni st er ,
Nazi r Deo t ur ned t o t he Br i t i sh and appeal ed t o War r en
Hast i ngs, t he t hen Gover nor Gener al of I ndi a, f or
assi st ance.
The Br i t i sh, by t hen, wer e al r eady i n Bengal but had
ver y l i t t l e knowl edge of t hei r Nor t her n nei ghbour s. The
appeal r omCooch Bi har and t he cr i si s of 1772 gave t he
Gover nor Gener al , War r en Hast i ngs, t he per f ect oppor t uni t y
t o f ur t her ext end t he East I ndi a Company' s t r ade act i vi t i es
t o t he Noxthem fctiers. N ~ r e i mpor t ant l y, t hi s si t uat i on
gave hi mt he chance t o f ul f i l t he wi shes of t he Cour t of
Di r ect or s i n London.
' We desi r e t hat you wi l l obt ai n t he best i nt el l i gence
you can whet her t r ade can be opened wi t h Nepaul , and
whet her cl ot h and ot her Eur opean cor nmodi t i es may not
f i nd t hei r way t hen t o Ti bet , Lhasa and t he West er n
par t s of Chi nau. '
A det achment of " f our compani es of sepoys wi t h t wo guns
wer e di spat chedu under t he command of Capt ai n J ones, t o
dr i ve back t he Bhut ar i ese. ' Capt ai n J ones was not onl y abl e
3 Si ngh, Amar Kaur J asbi r : HI MALAYA. TRI ANGLE.
A
Hi st or i cal Sur vev of Br i t i sh I ndi a' s Rel at i ons wi t h ~ibet.
Si kki mand Rhutan, 1765 - 1950. ( The Br i t i sh Li br ar y,
1988) . P. 293.
%den, Hont bl e Ashl ey: Reaor t on t he State of Boot an
and the Pr oar ess of the Mi ssi on of 1863-'64 i n POLITICAL
MISSIONS TO BOQTAN. (Manjusri, New Del hi , 1972) . P. 2
Page 103
96
t o dr i ve back t he Bhut anese but was al so abl e t o t ake t hr ee
f or t s, " f or t s of Dar l i ng, Chi chachot t oh and Passakhan. The
Bhut anese t hemsel ves wer e f or ced t o seek t he i nt er ver ei ~r i of
t he Ti bet ans. '
I t i s not cl ear how t he Ti bet ans came t o medi at e
bet ween t he t wo war r i ng par t i es. One ver si on mai nt ai ns t hat
t he Gur khas, al ar med at t he Bhut anese def eat and wor r i ed
about t hei r own secur i t y, sent an embassy t o t he cour t of
t he Panchen Lama ( t hen known as Teshoo Lama t o t he Br i t i sh)
t o i nt er vene. Such a swi f t Br i t i sh vi ct or y i n t hat par t of
t he Hi mal ayas t hr eat ened t he ver y secur i t y and i ndependence
of not onl y t he Bhut anese but al so t he ki ngdoms of Nepal and
Ti bet . Bhut anese i ndependence appear ed ver y i mpor t ant t o
t he Ti bet an gover ment , j ust as t he f r i endshi p of t he
Ti bet ans, especi al l y t hat of t he Panchen Lama, was essent i al
t o War r en Hast i ngs i n hi s pl ans of est abl i shi ng t he Tr ans-
Hi mal ayan t r ade.
The host i l i t i es bet ween Bhut an and t he Br i t i sh ceased
wi t h t he si gni ng of t he Fi r st Angl o - Bhut anese Tr eat y of
Apr i l 25t h, 1774. Wi t h t he execut i on of t hi s t r eat y, bot h
war r i ng par t i es agr eed t o r et ur n t o t he ol d boundar y t hat
exi st ed bef or e t he commencement of t he host i l i t i es. The
Bhut anese sur r ender ed t he r aj a of Cooch Bi har and pr omi sed
Page 104
t o pay a t r i but e G i ve Tangun hor ses f or t he r et ur n of
chi chachot t ah.
The Br i t i sh t ook advant age of t he f r i endshi p of t he
Panchan Lama t o est abl i sh communi cat i on and t r ade wi t h Lhasa
and pr ompt l y di spat ched Mr Bogl e t o t he cour t of t he Panchen
Lama on May 6t h, 1774. ' Al t hough t he mi ssi on was t o t r avel
t hr ough Bhut an, i t s pr i mar y obj ect i ve was t o see t he
possi bi l i t y of openi ng t r ade and di pl or nat i c r el at i ons wi t h
Ti bet .
Bogl e was det ai ned i n Bhut an f or many mont hs whi l e
awai t i ng per mi ssi on t o t r avel i nt o Ti bet . I t was her e t hat
he was abl e t o st udy t he soci o- economi c st r uct ur e of t he
Bhut anese, t hei r gover nment , r el i gi on, f ood habi t s,
geogr aphy and agr i cul t ur e. Bogl e' s account s of Bhut an ar e
f ul l of pr ai se f or t he Bhut anese peopl e and t hei r way of
l i f e. He f ound t he Bhut anese peopl e si mpl e and r el i gi ous
and devoi d of t he many vi ces t o whi ch peopl e of Eur opean
count r i es wer e accust omed. Whi l e i n Bhut an, he was al so abl e
t o st udy t he possi bi l i t i es of t r ade r el at i ons bet ween t he
Br i t i sh East I ndi a Company, Bhut an and Ti bet .
Af t er spendi ng mont hs i n Bhut an Bogl e was f i nai l y gi ven
t he per mi ssi cn t o ent er Ti bet . Hi s mi ssi on appear ed
opt i mi st i c and he was abl e t o i mpr ess t he Panchen Lama.
Unf or t unat el y bot h of t hemdi d not l i ve l ong. I n 1783
Page 105
War r en Hast i ngs hear d of t he r ei ncar nat i on of t he Panchen
Lama. He t ook t hi s oppor t uni t y t o once agai n r e- open
r el at i ons wi t h Ti bet . On J anuar y 29t h, 1783, anot her
mi ssi on was di spat ched t o Ti bet t hr ough Bhut an. War r en
Hast i ngs sel ect ed Capt ai n Tur ner t o head t he mi ssi on.
Tur ner was accor npani ed by Li eut enant Samuel Davi s as
sur veyor and doct or Rober t Saunder s as sur geon.
The mi ssi on spent t hr ee mont hs i n Bhut an bef or e t hey
coul d pr oceed t o Ti bet . The account s of Bogl e and Tur ner
ar e some of t he ear l i est and pr obabl y t he onl y ones t he
Br i t i sh had of Bhut an. The sur vi vi ng r ecor ds of bot h t hese
mi ssi ons gi ve a gl owi ng pi ct ur e of Bhut an. Up until t hi s
poi nt , bot h t he Br i t i sh and t he Bhut anese shar ed a ver y
cor di al r el at i onshi p wi t h each ot her . The Br i t i sh, i n t hei r
ef f or t s t o make a br eakt hr ough i nt o Ti bet , needed a f r i endl y
buf f er st at e i n Bhut an.
I n 1787 t he Dhar ma and t he Deb r aj as of Bhut an sent t he
Thi mphu dzongpon t o Cal cut t a as an envoy t o adj ust a cer t ai n
bor der i ssue bet ween Bhut an and t he zami ndar of Rangpor e and
J ul pesh. The i ssue was set t l ed t o t he sat i sf act i on of t he
Bhut anese. Eden l at er cr i t i ci zed,
" on t hi s occasi on t he f r i endshi p of t he Boot anese wer e
pur chased at t he expense of t he Bykant por e zami ndar ,
and t he unf or t unat e Bengal l ee r yot s l i vi ng i n t hi s
mehal ( est at e) who wer e t hus pr act i cal l y handed over as
ser f s t o t he bar bar i ous r ul er s of t he hi l l t r act t o
t hei r Nor t h, had j ust cause of cor npl ai nt i n t he
t r ansf er t hus so hast i l y r nade. ~~
Page 106
I n t he absence of Bhut anese r ecor ds i t i s i mpossi bl e t o
ascer t ai n t he cl ai ms of t he Bhut anese over t he I ndi an
zami ndar ( l andl or ds) of Rangpor e and J ul pesh. Ther ef or e,
t he set t l ement of t he case by t he Br i t i sh i s al so
quest i onabl e, I f at al l , as Eden suggest s, t he Br i t i sh
pl ayed unf ai r l y wi t h t he Bengal l e r yot s, i t does pr ove t hat
Bhut ant s goodwi l l was, at t he t i me i mpor t ant . The count r y
was, af t er al 1 t he t hr eshol d t o Ti bet .
Dur i ng t he 1700s t her e seems t o have been l i t t l e
conf l i ct bet ween Bhut an and t he Br i t i sh. The t wo mi ssi ons,
t hat of Bogl e and Tur ner , wer e mor e gear ed t owar ds secur i ng
a t r ade r el at i on wi t h Ti bet and had l i t t l e t o do wi t h
Bhut an, However , i n t he 1800s t her e was a mar ked change i n
t he at t i t udes of t he Br i t i sh as wel l as t he Bhut anese. I n
t he i nt er na1 pol i t i cs of Bhut an, t he cent r e or t he Dhar ma
and t he Deb r aj as became l ess and l ess compet ent whi l e t he
scr ambl e f or power among t he of f i ci al s became mor e
compet i t i ve. Ext er nal l y, t he pol i ci es of t he Br i t i sh i n
I ndi a gr adual l y shi f t ed f r or n ear nest t r ader s t o r nani pul at i ve
i mper i al i st s.
I f t he Br i t i sh bel i eved t hat t he Bhut anese i nt er vent i on
wi t h i t s Sout her n nei ghbour s ended wi t h t he f i r st ar med
cl ash and t he subsequent t r eat y, t hey coul d not have been
mor e wr ong. And i f t he Panchen Lama t hought t hat he had
ef f ect i vel y r epr i manded t he so cal l ed, " r ude and i gnor ant
r acew of peopl e and commanded t hemt o bel " submi ssi ve t o
Page 107
you at al 1 t i r nesug, he was al so wr ong. The Bhut anese wer e
nei t her submi ssi ve t o t he Br i t i sh af t er t hei r ar med cl ash
and t he t r eat y, nor wer e t hey wi l l i ng t o accept t he
aut hor i t y of t he Panchen Lama or Ti bet , The i nt er na1
pol i t i cs of Bhut an det er i or at ed wi t h each year and t he
count r y saw mor e ci vi l war s i n t he 1800s t han she had seen
i n her ent i r e hi st or y. The chaos at t he bor der was equal l y
out of cont r ol . It is i nt er est i ng t hat whi l e t he Bhut anese
i n t he cent r e f ought over each ot her f or power and
aut hor i t y, t hey t ur ned t hei r backs on t he mor e f r agi l e and
vol at i l e si t uat i on i n t he Dooar s,
The Dooar s was a st r i p of l and bet ween Bhut an and
I ndi a. I t ext ended r omt he " Dhunseer ee r i ver on t he East
t o t he Teest a r i ver i n t he West n, and was appr oxi mat el y t en
1 O
t o t went y mi l es i n br eadt h. Thi s l and was ver y r i ch,
consi st i ng of t he r i chest bl ack soi 1 and capabl e of
pr oduci ng al most any cr op i f pr oper l y managed and
cul t i vat ed. Thi s st r i p of l and was al so l ocal l y known as
t he At har a Dooar s, or t he ei ght een Dooar s - el even i n t he
Bengal Di st r i ct and seven i n t he AssamDi st r i ct . The el even
Bengal Dooar s wer e, Dal i mcot e, Zumer cot e, ( known t o t he
Bhut anese as Moi nagor oo) , Chamoor chee, ( Samchee) , Luckee
Dooar , Buxa ( Passakha) , Bhul ka, Bar a, Goomar , Reepoo ,
Page 108
101
Cher r ung and Bagh or Bi j nee. The seven AssamDooar s wer e,
Boor ee- Goomah, Kal i ng, Ghaur kol l a, Banska, Chappagoor i e,
Chappakhamar and Bi j ne.
Al t hough t he Dooar s bel onged t o t he Bhut anese si nce
ear l y t i mes, t he l and was i nhabi t ed and cul t i vat ed by t he
Mechi s and Kachar i s, nat i ves of Assamand Bengal . The
l ocat i on bei ng t oo hot f or t he hi 11 peopl e t o i nhabi t , was
gi ven t o t hese peopl e t o cul t i vat e. Al t hough t he l ocal
admi ni st r at i on was i n t he hands of t he f r ont i er of f i cer s, or
dzongpons, appoi nt ed by t he cent r al aut hor i t y, t he Bhut anese
enj oyed absol ut e cont r ol over t he Bengal Dooar s.
The case of t he AssamDooar s was, however , di f f er ent
and sor newhat compl ex, al t hough i t had f unct i oned smoot hl y
ear l i er . Boor ee- Goomah and Kal l i ng Dooar wer e admi ni st er ed
j oi nt l y by t he Bhut anese and Assamese. The Assamese hel d i t
rom J ul y t o November ; and t he Bhut anese r omDecember t o
J une. The r est of t he i ve AssamDooar s wer e hel d by t he
Bhut anese i n exchange f or an annual t r i but e. The Bhut anese
had won t he AssamDooar s r omt he weak Assamese ki ngs, who
wer e unabl e t o mai nt ai n l aw and or der . Event ual l y t hey
r el i nqui shed t he Dooar s t o t he Bhut anese, i n exchange f or an
annual t r i but e of yak t ai l s, poni es, musk and gol d dust .
I r oni cal l y, i n t he end t he Bhut anese l ost t he Dooar s t o t he
Br i t i sh, j ust as t he Assamese had l ost i t t o Bhut an. Eden,
however , mai nt ai ns t hat t he Bhut anese had har assed t he poor
Page 109
Assamese ki ngs so much, t hat t he l at t er sought peace by
gi vi ng t he Dooar s t o t he Bhut anese f or an annual t r i but e.
The admi ni st r at i on i n t he f r ont i er weakened, ai ded by
t he i nt er na1 st r i f e and const ant f euds i n t he gover nment .
Mor e and mor e, compl ai nt s wer e made of Bhut anese r ai ds i nt o
I ndi an t er r i t or i es and some count er r ai ds i nt o Bhut anese
t er r i t or i es. The Br i t i sh st i l l di d not possess enough
i nf or mat i on about t he gover nment of Bhut an. They wer e
uncer t ai n about Bhut anl s r eal aut hor i t y and per pl exed about
i t s dual syst emof gover nment . Thei r scant i nf or mat i on on
t he count r y was based on t he account s and r ecor ds of Bogl e
and Tur ner . I nf or mat i on may have al so t r i ckl ed down r om
some of t he mer chant t r ader s at t he bor der as wel l .
I n 1815 t he Br i t i sh deci ded t o send a mi ssi on i nt o
Bhut an. Babu Ki shan Kant Bose, a Bengal i ci vi l ser vant of
t he Company, was appoi nt ed t o t he cour t of t he Dhar ma and
Deb r aj as of Bhut an. Thi s seems t o have been t he f i r st r eal
mi ssi on sent t o Bhut an. The mai n obj ect i ves of Bose wer e,
i ) t o set t l e t he bor der di sput es and i i ) ascer t ai n t he
gover nment of Bhut an and t he peopl e of t he hi 11 count r y. "
Kant was abl e t o pr oduce an el abor at e account of
Bhut an, t he geogr aphy and agr i cul t ur e, t he peopl e and t he
gover nment . However , hi s account s wer e not accur at e. He
gat her ed hi s i nf or mat i on f r omt he peopl e he met wi t h and
i nt er vi ewed, but t her e ar e i nst ances t hat cl ear l y i ndi cat e
. -
- - I bi d. . P. 5.
Page 110
some of t he peopl e he i nt er vi ewed r nust have gi ven f al se
i nf or mat i on. He, however , gi ves el abor at e det ai l s about
Bhut an bei ng pol i t i cal l y and cul t ur al l y ( r el i gi on) dependent
upon Chi na and Ti bet r espect i vel y. Cul t ur al l y per haps, as
even t oday Ti bet i s consi der ed t he har t of Buddhi st
l ear ni ng. Pol i t i cal l y t he count r y was i ndependent and he
rnay have r ead f ar t oo much i n t he annual t r i but es t hat t he
gover nment of f er ed Ti bet and Chi na.
He f ur t her wr i t es t hat Bhut an r ecogni zed t he
" supr er nacy of t he emper or of Chi na i n secul ar , and t hat
of t he Dal ai Lama i n spi r i t ual , af f ai r sM. ' *
However , hi s ot her obser vat i on concer ni n t he i mpor t ance of
t he Dooar s t o t he Bhut anese, may have been cl oser t o t he
t r ut h. The count r y was t ot al l y dependent on t he pr oduce of
t he Dooar s f or
" al most ever y ar t i cl e of consumpt i on or l uxur y ... t he
si l ks of Chi na, and t he wool l ens of Thi bet , ar e
pur chased i n bat t er f or t he Cot t on, r i ce and ot her
pr oduct s of t he pl ai nsv"
However , i n hi s i nt er vi ew wi t h t he Deb r aj a, t he l at t er
cl ear l y r ej ect ed t he i dea of est abl i shi ng a Br i t i sh r esi dent
i n Bhut an t o manage t he Br i t i sh i nt er est i n t he Dooar s. The
Br i t i sh mi ssi ons t hat f ol l owed Kant ar r i ved i n Bhut an wi t h a
ver y di f f er ent agenda, and a much mor e asser t i ve t one.
:
2 Bose, Babu Ki shan Kant :
POLITICAL MISSIONS TO BOOTAN,
Account of Boot an. (1815) id
( Manj usr i , New Del hi , 1972) ,
Page 111
Pr i or t o t he vi si t of Ki shan Kant Bose, Br i t i sh
i nt er est s i n I ndi a had been t o seek out possi bl e t r ade
r out es i nt o Ti bet and Chi na, vi a Bhut an. Bot h t he t wo
Br i t i sh mi ssi ons t o Bhut an, bef or e Kant ' s deput at i on, had
been pr i mar i l y ai r ned at est abl i shi ng a bet t er l i ne of
communi cat i on wi t h Bhut ant s Nor t her n nei ghbour s. Kant ' s
vi si t had, i n f act , been t he f i r st Br i t i sh mi ssi on i nt o
Bhut an.
The year 1825 br ought a si gni f i cant change i n t he
Angl o- Bhut anese r el at i ons, a change t hat was t o have f ar
r eachi ng consequences, especi al l y f or Bhut an. I n 1825- '26
t he Br i t i sh def eat ed t he Bur mese i n t he f i r st Angl o- Sur mese
war and assumed cont r ol of t he whol e of Assam . The Bur mese
wi t hdr ew t hei r cl ai mr omt he ar ea af t er t he Tr eat y of
-.
Yandabo, of Febr uar y 14t h, 1826 ." The r esul t of t he
British occupat i on of Assamwas t hat she now shar ed a common
bor der wi t h Bhut an. The t wo count r i es al so shar ed j oi nt
admi ni st r at i on of t he t wo Dooar s i n Assam, namel y Boor ee-
Gomah and Kal l i ng. But mor e i mpor t ant l y t he Br i t i sh
i nher i t ed t he compl ex t r i but e syst emt hat Bhut an and Assam
shar ed r egar di ng t hei r Dooar s. The t r i but e had al ways been
pai d i n ki nd. The Br i t i sh i mmedi at el y began t o pr ot est
agai nst t he payment of t r i but e i n ki nd t hat had been
pr act i sed bet ween t he Bhut anese and Assamese, The Dooar s
and t he t r i but e syst embecar ne t he r eal pr obl embet ween t he
Page 112
105
t wo count r i es, t hat f i nal l y cul mi nat ed i n t he Dooar war of
1864- '65.
The t r i but e syst em, af t er t he Br i t i sh occupat i on of
Assam, was one of t he i mpor t ant causes of t he const ant
f r i ct i on bet ween t he Br i t i sh and t he Bhut anese. The Br i t i sh
compl ai ned t hat t he t r i but e sent by t he Bhut anese f el l shor t
O t he f i xed val ue. The goods sent by t he Bhut anese wer e
put up f or publ i c auct i on by t he Br i t i sh, who t hen
compl ai ned t hat t hey wer e unabl e t o r ecover t he act ual
val ue. The Bhut anese, on t he ot her hand, cor npl ai ned t hat
t he goods wer e bei ng subst i t ut ed wi t h i nf er i or qual i t y i t ems
by t he f r ont i er of f i ci ai s. As such, when i t was put t o
auct i on i t di d not br i ng t he act ual val ue. To make mat t er s
even wor se, t he Bhut anese wer e bl amed f or a ser i es of r ai ds
i nt o Br i t i sh- I ndi an t er r i t or y, and f or car r yi ng of f men and
women, as wel l as pr oper t y.
Ther e i s l i t t l e doubt t hat t he Bhut anese wer e i nvol ved
i n a number of r ai ds i nt o I ndi an soi l . They not onl y
pl under ed but al so car r i ed of f men and women and somet i mes
even chi l dr en f or l abour i n t hei r f i el ds and f ar ms. The
maj or r ai d i nt o I ndi an soi l , af t er t he Br i t i sh t ook over t he
AssamDooar s, was i n Oct ober 1828, i n t he Dur r ung di st r i ct .
The r ai d was l ed by t he Doompa r aj a of Boor ee Goomah. l 5 The
" ~r eci s by Ai t chi son, i n PAPERS RELATI NG TO BOOTAN:
Pr esent ed t o Par l i ament by Her Maj est yt s Command. ( House
Commons, London, 1866) . P. 1.
Page 113
106
r aj a made of f wi t h a number of Bhut anese and one I ndi an.
Davi d Scot t , t hen agent i n t he f r ont i er , wr ot e t o t he
Bhut anese aut hor i t y demandi ng t hei r r el ease. He r ecei ved no
r epl y. A sr na11 t r oop of sol di er s managed t o r el ease t he
pr i soner s and t he Boor ee Goomah Dooar was at t ached t o
Br i t i sh t er r i t or y t empor ar i l y. Si nce t her e was no r esponse
f r omt he Bhut anese cour t , t hi s t empor ar y at t achent l ast ed
unt i l t he J ul y 31st , 1834. I t was t hen t hat t he Deb r aj a
f i nal l y asked f or t he r est or at i on of t he Dooar ( t hat i s
Boor ee Goor nah) a t er t he mai n cul pr i t , t he Doompa r aj a, had
di ed. Boor ee Goomah was r est or ed t o t he r i ght f ul owner
af t er t he news of t he deat h of t he r aj a was ~onf i r med. ' ~
But t he ver y next year , t he Bhut anese showed up agai n
and Bi j ni Dooar was r ai ded. Cor npl ai nt s t o t he Bhut anese
cour t met wi t h no r esponse whi ch l ed t o anot her t empor ar y
t akeover of Bi j ni Dooar . Thi s t i me, t he Br i t i sh r ecr ui t ed
t he AssamSebundy Cor ps f or t he sol e purpose of r nai nt ai ni ng
l aw and or der i n t he f r ont i er . The Bhut anese, however , di d
not st op t her e. I nst ead t hey r noved t hei r scene t o Kal l i ng
Dooar i n t he Dur r ung Di st r i ct . The pr ompt ness of t he
Br i t i sh r esul t ed i n t he sur r ender of some of t he cul pr i t s by
one Ghumbeer Wazi r . Wi t hi n t he next coupl e of mont hs, an
at t ack was made on Banska Dooar f r omKamr up Di st r i ct . The
Dewangi r i r aj a was f ound gui l t y f or glving shel t er t o some
161bi d. , P. 1. Al so Si nghl s Hi mal avan Tr i anal e. P.
301.
Page 114
107
of t he r ai der s but he wi sel y sur r ender ed when f aced wi t h t he
AssamSebundy Cor ps. The Banska Dooar was sei zed by Capt ai n
Bogl e on Febr uar y 14t h, 1836, af t er he sent a l et t er t o t he
Bhut anese aut hor i t i es expl ai ni ng t he ci r cumst ances t hat had
l ed t o i t , 17
The l oss of t hei r most val uabl e Dooar seemed t o have
shaken t he Bhut anese. For once t her e was a pr ompt r esponse
f r omt he gover nment . On May lOth, 1836, f our zi nkaf f s, sent
by t he Dhar ma r aj a, Deb r aj a and t he Tr ongsa penl op r eached
Gauhat i f or t al ks wi t h t he Br i t i sh agent . The zi nkaf f s
deni ed t hat t he aut hor i t i es i n Bhut an had r ecei ved any of
t he l et t er s t hat wer e sent by t he Br i t i sh. The Br i t i sh
agent r et ur ned t he Dooar s t hi s t i me under r at her f i r m
condi t i ons. 18
Ther e seemed t o be l i t t l e possi bi l i t y of sol vi ng t he
pr obl er n, especi al l y when t he Bhut anese aut hor i t i es i n t he
cent r e wer e ei t her obl i vi ous t o t he si t uat i on i n t he
f r ont i er or si mpl y chose t o l ook t he ot her way. The Br i t i sh
knowl edge of t he count r y and r el at i ons wi t h her nei ghbour s
was st i l l i r nper f ect . They coul d sei ze t he Dooar s
t er npor ar i l y until t he Bhut anese agr eed t o CO- oper at e, but
such a met hod di d not pr ovi de a per manent sol ut i on f or t he
f ut ur e. Mor eover , such a measur e mi ght f or ce t he Bhut anese
i nt o t he ar ms of t he Ti bet ans, or even t he Chi nese. The
- -
17 Si ngh, P. 301.
' " bi d. , P. 301.
Page 115
Br i t i sh def i ni t el y needed mor e i nf or mat i on on Bhut an
concer ni ng i nt er na1 and ext er nal pol i t i cs, geogr aphy and
popul at i on, and t r ade pot ent i al s. The next mi ssi on was t o
br i ng back t he answer s t o al 1 of t hese concer ns.
As ear l y as 1834, t he f r ont i er agent Thomas Rober t son
had been eager t o send a mi ssi on t o Bhut an t o est abl i sh a
l i ne of communi cat i on. The var i ous Br i t i sh f r ont i er agent s
and t hei r pol i ci es had a maj or i nf l uence on Angl o- Bhut anese
r el at i ons. The admi ni st r at i on of t he bor der was i n t hei r
hands. Thei r pol i ci es and r epor t s on t he f r ont i er wer e
r egul ar l y subr ni t t ed t o t he Br i t i sh gover nment and shaped
f ut ur e r el at i ons of t he t wo count r i es. The i ndi vi dual
per sonal i t y and pol i cy of t he Br i t i sh agent s wer e equally
i mpor t ant i n t he management of t he f r ont i er . I n J une, 1836,
Rober t son became a member of t he Supr eme Counci l and t hi s
gave hi mt he much needed i nf l uence t o enf or ce hi s i dea of
sendi ng a mi ssi on t o Bhut an.
Captain Pember t on was chosen t o head t he mi ssi on t o
Bhut an i n 1836. Al t hough t he Br i t i sh cl ai med t hat t he
mi ssi on was a peacef ul one, par t i cul ar l y ai med at sol vi ng
t he exi st i ng pr obl emat t he bor der , i t di d cont ai n a hi dden
agenda. I n 1836, Pember t on, accompani ed by Dr Gr i f f i t h and
t went y i ve sepoys r eached Gauhat i . Her e t hey wai t ed f or
al most t wo weeks ant i ci pat i ng a l et t er f r omt he Deb r aj a
acknowl edgi ng t hat t he mi ssi on shoul d proceed. No l et t er s
came rom Bhut an, but Pember t on deci ded t o pr oceed anyway.
Page 116
109
Thi s was t he f i r st t i me t hat t he Br i t i sh l i t er al l y f or ced
t hei r way i nt o Bhut an, agai nst t he wi shes of t he Bhut anese.
Pember t on chose t o ent er Bhut an r omt he East , vi a
Banska and t hr ough Dewangi r i . l9 I n Dewangi r i , t hey wer e met
by some zi nkaf f s who i nf or med t hemt hat i t was unsaf e t o
t ake t hat par t i cul ar r out e, as t her e was a ci vi l war r agi ng
i n t he ar ea. The zi nkaf f s advi sed t hat t he al t er nat i ve r out e
r omDewangi r i t o Punakha woul d t ake t oo l ong. They wer e
asked t o r et ur n t o t he pl ai ns and r e- ent er Bhut an r omt he
West , vi a Buxa Dooar t o Thi mphu and Punakha, as t hei x
pr edecessor s, Bogl e and Tur ner had done. Pember t on refused
t o r et ur n, t el l i ng t hemt hat he was wi l l i ng t o t ake
whi chever r out e t hey asked hi mt o f ol l ow f r omDewangi r i t o
Punakha. Pember t on admi t s t hat such a l ong and ci r cui t ous
r out e ( f r omDewangi r i vi a Tr ashi gang, Tr ongsa and t hen t o
Punakha)
" as more ampl e woul d be t he oppor t uni t y af f or ded of
ef f ect i ng many i mpor t ant obj ect s of t he mi ssi onM. 2 O
The mi ssi on, t her ef or e, made an i l l egal sur vey of t he
cou, ~t r y, wi t hout t he knowl edge of t he Bhut anese. The t eam
t r avel l ed f or si xt y ei ght days, r omDewangi r i t o Punakha.
The or i gi nal r out e woul d have taken onl y t went y si x days.
19 Pember t on, Capt R. B. 1837:, Renor t on Boot an, i n
PQLITICAL MI SSI ONS TO BOOTAN, Cal cut t a, 1865) . P. 187.
Page 117
110
On 25t h of Apr Fl 1838, a dr af t t r eat y was submi t t ed
bef or e t he Deb r aj a by Pember t on. The Bhut anese wer e
sur pr i sed as t hey had not expect ed t o be si gni ng a t r eat y
wi t h t he Br i t i sh. The t er ms of t he dr af t t r eat y demanded
f r ee passage f or Bhut anese and I ndi an subj ect s, t he
ext r adi t i on of cr i mi nal s, and t he r i ght of t he I ndi an pol i ce
t o ent er Bhut anese Dooar s, i f t he Bhut anese f ai l ed t o
appr ehend t he cr i mi nal s. The Br i t i sh al so asked f or payment
of t he t r i but e i n cash, i nst ead of i n ki nd as had been t he
ear l i er pr act i ce. The payment was al so t o be made by a
zi nkaf f di r ect l y t o t he col l ect er i n Kamr up or Dur r ung. I f
a Dooar f ai l ed t o pay t he l and would be sei zed until t he
ear l i er ar r ear s had been f ul l y cl ear ed. The Bhut anese cour t
was t o appoi nt r el i abl e zi nkaf f s or of f i cer s t o assi st i n
t he demar cat i on of t he di sput ed boundar i es of Assam.
Fi nal l y, t he Br i t i sh demanded t he post i ng of t wo aut hor i zed
of f i cer s t o r esi de per manent l y, one i n Gauhat i , i n Assam,
and t he ot her i n Rangpur , i n Bengal . Thi s was done f or t he
sol e pur pose of pr event i ng t he subor di nat e of f i cer s r om
i nt er cept i ng t he cor r espondences meant f or t he Deb and t he
Dhar ma r aj a. 2 1
The t r eat y was r ej ect ed handsdown by t he Bhut anese and
Pember t on had no ot her opt i on but t o wi t hdr aw on May 9t h,
1838. He bl amed t he f ai l ur e of t he mi ssi on ent i r el y on t he
nomi nal power s of t he deb r aj a and t he ant agoni smof t he
Page 118
i l 1
- A
Tr ongsa penl op. The Tr ongsa penl op who Pember t on met i n
1838 woul d have been Tamshi ng Choej i Ugyen Phunt sho.
Pember t on ment i ons t hat t he Tr ongsa penl op had
" st r engt hened hi s posi t i on by i nduci ng t he pr i est hood
t o r ecogni ze hi s son as t he i ncar nat i on of t he Dhar ma
r aj awz2
Thi s i s most unl i kel y, as t he Tr ongsa penl op, Ugyen
Phunt sho, was f r omTamshi ng, Bumt ha. He had t wo sons,
Kungzang Tenpai Ni ma, who was r ecogni zed as t he Lhal ung
Sungt r ul or t he ver bal i ncar nat i on of t he Head Lama of
Lhal ung monast er y i n Ti bet . The ot her son was Per na Tenzi n
who became J akar Dzongpon onl y af t er t he war of 1865.
At t he t i r ne of Per nber t on' s vi si t t o Bhut an, t he
i ncar nat i on of t he Dhar ma r aj a was Ngawang JFgme
Nor bu, (1831-1861). He was bor n i n Dr amet se, East er n Bhut an,
and was r ecogni zed and duel y i nst al l ed i n P~nakha. ~' The
onl y connect i on t hat t he Tr ongsa penl op and t he Dhar ma r aj a
had was t hat t hey bot h wer e descendant s of t he s a e br anch
of f ami l y, st ar t ed by t he Ter t on Pemal i ngpa. I n sor ne way,
t hey wer e r er nt el y r el at ed.
Pember t on was unabl e t o secur e anyt hi ng t angi bl e r om
t he Bhut anese gover nment . However , he was successf ul i n
pr ovi di ng t he Br i t i sh gover nment wi t h i nf or mat i on concer ni ng
2 2 Paper s Rel at i ng t o Boot an. , P. 2.
- - ;.
- - Nado, Lopon: . DRUK KARPO. ( Thar pal i ng and New Del hi .
1986. Engl si h version not publ i skeo) , P. 54.
Page 119
t he st at e of Bhut an' s ext er nal r el at i ons wi t h Ti bet and
Chi na. The ci r cui t ous r out e t hat he i nsi st ed on t aki ng
f ur ni shed him wi t h a det ai l ed account of t he count r y' s
geogr aphy and r out es i n t he i nt er i or of t he count r y. He
al so di scover ed t hat t her e : J as l i t t l e i n t he way of any
al l i ance bet ween Bhut an, Ti bet and Chi na. Cont r ar y t o what
t he ~r i t i sh bel i eved ear l i er , Pember t on was abl e t o r epor t
on t he vul ner abi l i t y of Bhut an i n t he case of an ext er nal
at t ack. I t was most unl i kel y t hat t he Ti bet ans woul d cor ne
t o t he assi st ance of t he Bhut anese i n a war ; r at her , t he t wo
count r i es had been host i l e t o each ot her f or a number of
year s and had even gone i nt o bat t l e. The not i on t hat Bhut an
accept ed t he aut hor i t y of Chi na and t he Chi nese emper or i n
secul ar mat t er was al so pr oven f al se. Chi na was qui t e
obl i vi ous t o t he exi st ence of Bhut an.
The di scover y of such i mpor t ant i nf or mat i on on Bhut an
coi nci ded wi t h t he appoi nt ment of Col onel J enki ns as t he
f r ont i er agent . Col onel J enki ns began t o pur sue a f i r mer
pol i cy t owar ds Bhut an, unl i ke hi s pr edecessor s, who
basi cal l y f ol l owed a conci l i at or y pol i cy. Ther e wer e al so
ot her r easons f or t hi s mar ked change i n Br i t i sh pol i cy and
at t i t ude t owar ds Bhut an. Besi des t he f act t hat Bhut an di d
not enj oy much of an al l i ance wi t h Ti bet and Chi na,
Pember t onl s account al so r eveal ed t hat t he Russi ans wer e
cl oser t o Ti bet i n t hei r t r ade act i vi t i es t han t he Br i t i sh
had ant i ci pat ed. Thi s obvi ousl y made t he cont r ol and
Page 120
113
domi nance of t he whol e Hi mal ayan r egi on even mor e pr ecar i ous
t han ever bef or e. Bhut anl s i nt er na1 condi t i ons al so pr oved
t hat t he Bhut anese woul d har dl y be i n a posi t i on t o def end
t hei r own t er r i t or i es. Bhut an was i n a st at e of anar chy and
chaos. Ther e was no supr eme aut hor i t y. Even t he l or ds who
came i nt o power di d not st ay i n of f i ce l ong enough t o
cont r ol t he count r y and br i ng about l aw and or der . The
count r y and t he peopl e wer e poor and t he r ough, and r ugged
geogr aphi cal condi t i ons made t r avel and communi cat i on even
wor se. But most i r npor t ant l y, t he Dooar s wi t h al 1 t he
f er t i l e l and and i t s gr eat pot ent i al f or t he cul t i vat i on of
t ea, t i mber and ot her cr ops was l yi ng wast e. The
ent er pr i si ng Br i t i sh bel i eved t hat under t hei r gui dance, t he
Dooar s was capabl e of pr oduci ng t hr ee or f our t i mes mor e
r evenue t han i t di d under t he mi sr ul e of t he ~hut anese. ~~
J enki ns, i n 1838, pr oposed t o usur p t he Bhut anese and
t ake over al 1 of t he AssamDooar s- or as an al t er nat i ve t he
Dooar s of Boor ee Goor nah and Kal l i ng- t o br i ng t he Bhut anese
t o heel . He was i nst r uct ed t o wr i t e t o t he Bhut an r aj as
demandi ng t he payment of t r i but e and t he r el ease of t he
peopl e abduct ed by the Bhut anese. I n Oct ober , 1838, t he t wo
Dooar s wer e annexed by t he Br i t i sh. A l et t er was sent t o
t he r aj as st at i ng t hat t he r et ur n of t he t wo Dooar s was
cont i ngent upon t he payment of t he t r i but e, t he r el ease of
t he ki dnapped subj ect s of t he Br i t i sh gover ment , and
Page 121
" t i l l t he Br i t i sh gover nment wer e sat i sf i ed t hat t he
cent r al gover nment i n Boot an wer e abl e t o cont r ol t hei r
f r ont i er of f i cer s" . 2 5
The Bhut anese accept ed nei t her t he annexat i on nor t he
compensat i on t hat was of f er ed f or t he t wo Dooar s. A l et t er
r omt he Deb and t he Dhar ma r aj as, expl ai ni ng t hat t he ci vi l
war s i n Bhut an had made i t di f f i cul t f or t hemt o admi ni st er
t he Dooar s, was i gnor ed. I nst ead J enki ns wr ot e a r epor t t o
t he Bengal gover nment per t ai ni ng t o t he oppr essi on of t he
Dooar s, due t o t he st at e of anar chy i n Bhut an. Re f ur t her
expl ai ned t hat t he ext or t i on of t he l ocal of f i cer s had
r educed t he r yot s i n t he Dooar s t o ext r eme pover t y.
A l et t er of war ni ng was t hen sent ta t he Deb r aj a. I t
st at ed t hat , i f he al l owed hi s count r y t o r emai n i n t hi s
chaot i c st at e r nuch l onger , wi t h t he f r ont i er s vi ol at ed, t he
Br i t i sh gover nment woul d be compel l ed t o annex t he r est of
t he AssamDooar s. No r esponse came r omBhut an and t he r est
of t he Dooar s wer e annexed. One t hi r d of t he net r evenue
f r omt he annexed AssamDooar s was t o be pai d t o t he Bhut an
gover nment as cor npensat i ~n. ~~ The f i nal set t l ement seems t o
have been made f or 10, 000 r upees, but ' no wr i t t en agr eement
was made r egar di ng t hi s ar r angement w. 27
2 5 Paper s Rel at i ng t o Boot an. , P. 2.
27 Ai t chi son, C.U, E3.C.S:
( compl i ed) : , A Col l ect i on of
Tr eat i es, Enf f aaement s and Sanads Rel at i ns t o I ndi a and
Nei ohbour i na Count r i es. Vol . XI V. ( For ei gn and Pol i t i cal
Depar t ment , Cal cut t a, 1929) . P. 73.
Page 122
115
The Bhut anese made f eebl e and r epeat ed at t empt s t o
r ecover t hei r mai n sour ce of i ncome, but wer e unsuccessf ul .
I n 1855, a desper at e at t empt was made by t he Bhut anese. ~n
uncl e of t he Dhar ma r aj a, accompani ed by t he Dewangi r i r aj a,
ar r i ved i n Gauhat i t o hol d t al ks wi t h t he Br i t i sh agent i n
char ge of t he t er r i t or y. The Bhut anese r epr esent at i ves
asked f or an i ncr ease i n t he compensat i on f or t he Dooar s,
r om10, 000 t o 12, 000 r upees. I t i s di f f i cul t t o i dent i f y

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J igme Namgyal's life and career, 1825-1881

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J igme Namgyal's life and career, 1825-1881

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The Emergence of Modern Bhutan. Jigme Namgyal's Life and Career, 1825-1881