Kingdom of
Bhutan
- Anthem: Druk Tsendhen Gyalkhab
- Capital:
Thimphu
- Official languages : Dzongkha
- Government : Constitutional monarchy since 2008
- King :
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
- Prime Minister : Jigme Y.
Thinley
- Wangchuk Dynasty:
Since 17 December 1907
- Currency Ngultrum (Nu.): US dollar 1 : Nu. 45 (as of May, 2008)
- Population : 7 million
The Kingdom of Bhutan is a
landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the
Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by the
Republic of India and to the north by Tibet. Bhutan is separated from
Nepal by the Indian state of Sikkim. The Bhutanese call their country
Druk Yul which means "Land of the Thunder Dragon".
Bhutan used to be one of the most isolated nations in the
world, but developments including direct international flights,
internet, mobile phone networks, and cable television have increasingly
opened the doors. Yet, Bhutan has balanced modernization with its
ancient culture and traditions under the guiding philosophy of Gross
National Happiness (GNH). Rampant destruction of the environment has
been avoided. The government takes great measures to preserve the
nation's traditional culture, identity and the environment. Accordingly,
in 2006 Business Week rated Bhutan the happiest country in Asia and the
eighth happiest country in the world citing a global survey conducted by
the University of Leicester in 2006 referenced to as the "World Map of
Happiness". The landscape ranges from subtropical plains in the
south to the Himalayan heights in the north, with some peaks exceeding
7,000 metres (23,000 ft). The state religion is Mahayana Buddhism, and
the population is predominantly Buddhist, with Hinduism being the
second-largest religion. The capital and largest city is Thimphu. After
centuries of direct monarchic rule, Bhutan held its first democratic
elections in March 2008. Among other international associations, Bhutan
is a member of the United Nations and the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC). History of BhutanStone
tools, weapons, elephants, and remnants of large stone structures
provide evidence that Bhutan was inhabited as early as 2000 BC, although
there are no existing records from that time. Historians have theorized
that the state of Lhomeon (literally, "southern darkness", a reference to
the indigenous Mon religion), or Monyul ("Dark Land", a reference to the
Monpa, the aboriginal peoples of Bhutan) may have existed between 500 BC
and AD 600. The names Lhomon Tsendenjong (Sandalwood Country), and
Lhomon Khashi, or Southern Mon (country of four approaches), have been
found in ancient Bhutanese and Tibetan chronicles.
The
earliest transcribed event in Bhutan was the passage of the Buddhist
saint Padma Sambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche) in 747.Bhutan's early
history is unclear, because most of the records were destroyed after
fire ravaged the ancient capital, Punakha, in 1827. By the 10th century,
Bhutan's political development was heavily influenced by its religious
history. However, there is no sufficient information stating that all
historical records were available before the fire. Various sub-sects of
Buddhism emerged which were patronised by the various Mongol warlords.
After the decline of the Mongols in the 14th century, these sub-sects
vied with each other for supremacy in the political and religious
landscape, eventually leading to the ascendancy of the Drukpa sub-sect
by the 16th century. Until the early 17th century, Bhutan existed as
a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms, when the area was unified by the
Tibetan lama and military leader Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal who fled
religious persecution in Tibet. To defend the country against
intermittent Tibetan forays, Namgyal built a network of impregnable
dzong (fortresses), and promulgated a code of law that helped to bring
local lords under centralised control. Many such dzong still exist and
are active centers of religion and district administration. After
Namgyal's death in 1651, Bhutan fell into civil war. Taking advantage of
the chaos, the Tibetans attacked Bhutan in 1710, and again in 1730 with
the help of the Mongols. Both assaults were successfully thwarted, and
an armistice was signed in 1759. 
In the 18th century, the
Bhutanese invaded and occupied the kingdom of Cooch Behar to the south.
In 1772, Cooch Behar appealed to the British East India Company which
assisted them in ousting the Bhutanese, and later in attacking Bhutan
itself in 1774. A peace treaty was signed in which Bhutan agreed to
retreat to its pre-1730 borders. However, the peace was tenuous, and
border skirmishes with the British were to continue for the next 100
years. The skirmishes eventually led to the Duar War (1864-1865), a
confrontation for control of the Bengal Duars. After Bhutan lost the
war, the Treaty of Sinchula was signed between British India and Bhutan.
As part of the war reparations, the Duars were ceded to the United
Kingdom in exchange for a rent of Rs. 50,000. The treaty ended all
hostilities between British India and Bhutan. During the 1870s,
power struggles between the rival valleys of Paro and Tongsa led to
civil war in Bhutan, eventually leading to the ascendancy of Ugyen
Wangchuck, the ponlop (governor) of Tongsa. From his power base in
central Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck defeated his political enemies and
united the country following several civil wars and rebellions in the
period 1882-1885. In 1907, an epochal year for the country, Ugyen
Wangchuck was unanimously chosen as the hereditary king of the country
by an assembly of leading Buddhist monks, government officials, and
heads of important families. The British government promptly recognised
the new monarchy, and in 1910 Bhutan signed a treaty which "let" Great
Britain "guide" Bhutan's foreign affairs. In reality, this did not mean
much given Bhutan's historical reticence. It also did not seem to apply
to Bhutan's traditional relations with Tibet. The greatest impact of
this treaty seems to be the perception that it meant Bhutan was not
totally sovereign. | 
