VI.

History of Bhutan

Little is known of Bhutan’s early history. Archaeological evidence suggests that people may have lived in the area as early as 2000 bc. The state of Monyul is thought to have existed here between 500 bc and 600 ad. The people of Monyul practiced a shamanistic religion that emphasized the worship of nature and the existence of good and evil spirits. Buddhism was introduced into the area in the 7th century, and Buddhist chronicles provide a recorded history of Bhutan. Buddhist temples were built in Bumtang and Paro valleys. At this time there was no central government in the country; separate valleys were ruled by feudal lords. As Buddhism matured within Bhutan, it became a unifying element for the country.

By the 10th century, the monks of the Kargyupa sect of Mahayana Buddhism began to build dzongs (fortified monasteries) in the valleys of Bhutan. The Drukpa subsect of the Kargyupa sect spread through Bhutan and became a dominant religion. In 1616 the theocratic government of Bhutan was founded by a Drukpa monk, Ngawang Namgyal. After a series of victories over rival subsect leaders, Ngawang Namgyal became the leader of Bhutan. He was the first leader to unite the powerful Bhutanese families into one country. During Ngawang Namgyal’s rule, the administration of Bhutan developed a dual system of government including two leaders: a spiritual leader entitled dharma raja and a civil government leader entitled deb raja. The seat of the government was at Thimphu; the winter capital was at Punākha. This system of dual administration for spiritual and civil matters continued until 1907.

In 1774 the deb raja signed a treaty of peace with the English East India Company. In the 1870s and 1880s regional rivalry between the pro-British governor of Tongsa and the anti-British governor of Paro resulted in the rise of Ugyen Wangchuck, the governor of Tongsa. Ugyen Wangchuck defeated his rivals and united the country under his leadership. After the dharma raja died in 1903 and no suitable replacement (who must be determined to be the reincarnation of the dharma raja) was found until 1906, the dual system of government was abolished. In 1907 Ugyen Wangchuck was installed as the first hereditary druk gyalpo (“dragon king”) of Bhutan. He reigned between 1907 and 1926. He was succeeded by his son Jigme Wangchuck, who reigned from 1926 to 1952. The third druk gyalpo, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, ruled from 1952 to 1972. During this period Bhutan began its program of modernization and development. Additionally, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck moved the capital of Bhutan to Thimphu year-round in order to increase efficiency. In 1972 the fourth druk gyalpo, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, began his rule.

In 1949 Bhutan and India signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship to govern their mutual relations. The treaty recognizes Bhutan’s sovereignty, guarantees noninterference by India in the internal affairs of Bhutan, and provides for free trade between the two countries and duty-free transit of Bhutan’s imports across India.

A.

Refugee Crisis

In the late 1980s the monarchy of Bhutan began enforcing measures to promote Bhutanese national identity. New policies required all citizens to wear traditional Bhutanese dress and speak the official language, Dzongkha. The country’s Nepalese minority objected to these measures as cultural oppression. In addition, the government began rigorously checking citizenship registration, especially in the south where many Nepalese had settled illegally. (Bhutan officially banned Nepalese immigration in 1959.) In 1990 some factions of the Nepalese population began an insurgency campaign against the government. During the ensuing violence, which included a government crackdown on dissidents, thousands of Nepalese fled to Nepal.

Formal talks to resolve the refugee problem took place between Bhutan and Nepal in September 1999, but ended in deadlock over differences on the verification procedure. Bhutan claimed that only a few thousand of the refugees were citizens of Bhutan and refused to allow any others to return, while Nepal argued that they all had a right to return. Talks resumed in December 2000, and in early 2001 the two nations formed a joint verification team to determine the status of refugees for repatriation. According to the verification team, nearly 100,000 refugees from Bhutan were living in camps in eastern Nepal.

In 2003 the Royal Bhutan Army raided training camps that had been established in southeastern Bhutan by Maoist guerrillas and Assamese tribal militants in jungle areas. The raids were reportedly successful, but Maoist guerrillas were believed to have infiltrated the refugee camps in Nepal.

B.

Democratic Reforms

In the early 1990s several political organizations emerged to oppose the king’s absolute rule, including the Bhutan National Democratic Party (BNDP). These organizations sought greater representation for Bhutan’s minority groups in government, which was completely dominated by the ethnic majority, the Bhutia. However, political parties remained officially banned in Bhutan.

In 1998 King Jigme Singye Wangchuck introduced a package of reforms in an effort to modernize Bhutan’s political system. The reforms reduced the role of the monarchy in governing the country. The king voluntarily relinquished his role as head of government, giving powers of daily governance to a new Council of Ministers, but retained his position as head of state. Among other changes, the reforms granted power to the legislature to call, through a vote of no confidence, for the king’s abdication in favor of his successor.

In 1999 television and Internet services were introduced to Bhutan for the first time. In 2001 King Jigme issued a decree calling for a special committee to draft a written constitution. The same year the chairman of the Council of Ministers became the country’s first prime minister. A preliminary draft of a constitution was presented to the king in 2002, and the final draft was unveiled to the public in 2005. It envisaged a two-party system with a directly elected legislature. In December 2006 King Jigme voluntarily abdicated the throne, and his son, Crown Prince Jigme Kesar Namgyel Wangchuck, succeeded him as king of Bhutan.

Bhutan held its first direct parliamentary elections in 2007 and 2008, marking the transition to a constitutional monarchy. The elections established a new bicameral legislature. The initial round of voting was held in late December 2007 for the upper house, the National Council, in which political parties are not represented. In March 2008 voters cast ballots for the lower house, the National Assembly, in Bhutan’s first multiparty elections. Two parties participated: the pro-monarchy Druk Pheunsum Tshogpa (Bhutan Harmony Party, or DPT) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The DPT won 45 of the 47 seats and its leader, Jigmi Thinley, was named prime minister.