Treaty of Punakha

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Treaty of Punakha
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The Treaty of Punakha was an agreement signed on 8 January 1910, at

Treaty of Sinchula of 1865, the prior working agreement between Bhutan and British India.[1]
As such, the Treaty of Punakha is an amendment whose text incorporates all other aspects of the Treaty of Sinchula by reference.

Under the Treaty of Punakha, Britain guaranteed Bhutan's independence, granted Bhutanese Royal Government an increased stipend, and took control of Bhutanese foreign relations. Although this treaty began the practice of delegating Bhutanese foreign relations to another suzerain, the treaty also affirmed Bhutanese independence as one of the few Asian kingdoms never conquered by a regional or colonial power.[2][3]

Background and enactment

Main article: Duar War

For five months, between 1864 and 1865,

Duars, as well as the eighty-three square kilometer territory of Dewangiri in southeastern Bhutan, in return for an annual subsidy of 50,000 rupees.[4]

By the turn of the century, continuing geopolitical developments raised the question of a new treaty. Ugyen Wangchuck had consolidated power as Penlop of Trongsa and was unanimously elected monarch by government and religious cadres just two years earlier, in December 1907.[5]

The Treaty of Punakha was enacted on 8 January 1910, at the signing at

Druk Gyalpo (King of Bhutan) Maharaja Ugyen Wangchuck.[6]

Aftermath and abrogation

The Treaty of Punakha created a precedent for treaty modification and foreign suzerainty, and affirmed the practice of foreign subsidy to the Royal Government.[7] The payments and lands subject to the Treaty of Punakha were accompanied by several contemporary and later agreements, some of which ultimately undid the Punakha amendments.[8][9][10]

The Treaty of Punakha accompanied other contemporary agreements that had the effect of sharing profits from

Treaty of Sinchula in 1865.[12][13] Kazi Ugyen Dorji of the Dorji family settled the land and took advantage of the lucrative trade routes through Kalimpong, and by 1898 assumed the roles of Trade Agent and mediator between the British Empire and Tibet.[14]

On 8 August 1949, Bhutan's independence was recognised by India. On 23 April 1948,

Anglo-Bhutanese War.[9][15]

In February 2007, the

Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck signed a new treaty of friendship with India, replacing the treaty of 1949.[16]

Text of the treaty

Below is the full text of the Treaty of Punakha.

Whereas it is desirable to amend Articles IV. and VIII. of the

Maharaja of Bhutan
.

The following addition has been made to Article IV. of the

Sinchula Treaty
of 1865.

"The British Government has increased the annual allowance to the
Government of Bhutan
from fifty thousand rupees (Rs. 50,000) to one hundred thousand rupees (Rs. 100,000) with effect from the 10th January, 1910."

Article VIII. of the Sinchula Treaty of 1865 has been revised and the revised Article runs as follows: –

"The British Government undertakes to exercise no interference in the internal administration of Bhutan. On its part, the Bhutanese Government agrees to be guided by the advice of the British Government in regard to its external relations. In the event of disputes with or causes of complaint against the Maharajas of Sikkim and Cooch Behar, such matters will be referred for arbitration to the British Government which will settle them in such manner as justice may require, and insist upon the observance of its decision by the Maharajas named."

Done in quadruplicate at Punakha, Bhutan, this eighth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ten, corresponding with the Bhutia date, the 27th day of the 11th month of the Earth-Bird (Sa-ja) year.

This treaty was ratified by the Viceroy and Governor-General of India in Council at

Fort William
, on the twenty-fourth day of March, A.D. one thousand nine hundred and ten (24 March 1910).

S. H. BUTLER,
Secretary to the Government of India,
Foreign Department.[6][Note 1]

— Treaty of Punakha

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The term "Bhutia", which appears in this text, does not refer to the modern Bhutia, but to the Bhutanese.

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 81-7022-887-5
    . Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  2. ISBN 0-8014-0909-8
    . [T]here can be no doubt that since at least the tenth century no external power has controlled Bhutan, although there have been periods when various of its neighbors have been able to exert a strong cultural and/or political influence there.
  3. ISBN 1-932476-21-0
    . [Bhutan was] peripheral to the great empire of power and faith [i.e., Tibet], yet never subjugated to it.
  4. ^ Singh, Nagendra (1978). "Appendix VII – The Treaty of Sinchula". Bhutan: a Kingdom in the Himalayas : a study of the land, its people, and their government (2nd ed.). Thomson Press Publication Division. p. 243. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  5. ^ Singh, Nagendra (1985). Bhutan, a kingdom in the Himalayas: a study of the land, its people and their government (3rd ed.). S. Chand. p. 52. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  6. ^
    Great Britain Foreign Office, India (1904). "East India (Tibet): Papers relating to Tibet". 2–4. Printed for H. M. Stationery Off., by Darling. Retrieved 24 August 2011. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help
    )
  7. ISBN 9780906026441
    . Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  8. ^ Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Worden, Robert L. (September 1991). Savada, Andrea Matles (ed.). Bhutan: A Country Study. Federal Research Division. Foreign Relations – India.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-0-415-46839-8
    . Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  10. ^ "Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty" (PDF). Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 8 August 1949. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  11. ISBN 81-7387-119-1
    . Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  12. ISBN 99946-644-6-8
    . Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  13. ^ Arts of Asia. Vol. 17. Arts of Asia Publications. 1987. p. 107. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  14. ^ Dorji, Khandu-Om (2002). "A Brief History of Bhutan House in Kalimpong" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  15. ^ "Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty" (PDF). Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 8 August 1949. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  16. ^ "Bhutan and India sign new treaty". BBC. 8 February 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2008.

Further reading

  • Matteo Miele, Chinese Shadows on Bhutanese Independence after the Treaty of Punakha. The Tibetan Buddhist Connection and the British Diplomatic Action, in Seiji Kumagai (ed.), Buddhism, Culture and Society in Bhutan, Vajra Publications, Kathmandu, 2018, pp. 215-239
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