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Bhutan Establishment of the Hereditary Monarchy, 1907
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Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Bhutan's
fourth hereditary monarch
Courtesy Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bhutan,
United Nations
Ugyen Wangchuck's emergence as the national leader
coincided
with the realization that the dual political system was
obsolete
and ineffective. He had removed his chief rival, the
ponlop
of Paro, and installed a supporter and relative, a member
of the
pro-British Dorji family, in his place. When the last
shabdrung died in 1903 and a reincarnation had not
appeared
by 1906, civil administration came under the control of
Ugyen
Wangchuck. Finally, in 1907, the fifty-fourth and last
druk
desi was forced to retire, and despite recognitions of
subsequent reincarnations of Ngawang Namgyal, the
shabdrung
system came to an end.
In November 1907, an assembly of leading Buddhist
monks,
government officials, and heads of important families was
held to
end the moribund 300-year-old dual system of government
and to
establish a new absolute monarchy. Ugyen Wangchuck was
elected its
first hereditary Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King, reigned
1907-26; see
The Monarchy
, this ch.). The Dorji family became hereditary
holders of
the position of gongzim (chief chamberlain), the
top
government post. The British, wanting political stability
on their
northern frontier, approved of the entire development.
Britain's earlier entreaties in Lhasa had unexpected
repercussions at this time. The China, concerned that
Britain would
seize Tibet, invaded Tibet in 1910 and asserted political
authority. In the face of the Chinese military occupation,
the
Dalai Lama fled to India. China laid claim not only to
Tibet but
also to Bhutan, Nepal, and Sikkim. With these events,
BhutaneseBritish interests coalesced.
A new Bhutanese-British agreement, the Treaty of
Punakha, was
signed on January 8, 1910. It amended two articles of the
1865
treaty: the British agreed to double their annual stipend
to
100,000 rupees and "to exercise no interference in the
internal
administration of Bhutan." In turn, Bhutan agreed "to be
guided by
the advice of the British Government in regard to its
external
relations." The Treaty of Punakha guaranteed Bhutan's
defense
against China; China, in no position to contest British
power,
conceded the end of the millennium-long Tibetan-Chinese
influence.
Much of Bhutan's modern development has been attributed
by
Bhutanese historians to the first Druk Gyalpo. Internal
reforms
included introducing Western-style schools, improving
internal
communications, encouraging trade and commerce with India,
and
revitalizing the Buddhist monastic system. Toward the end
of his
life, Ugyen Wangchuck was concerned about the continuity
of the
family dynasty, and in 1924 he sought British assurance
that the
Wangchuck family would retain its preeminent position in
Bhutan.
His request led to an investigation of the legal status of
Bhutan
vis-à-vis the suzerainty held over Bhutan by Britain and
the
ambiguity of Bhutan's relationship to India. Both the
suzerainty
and the ambiguity were maintained.
Data as of September 1991
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