Bhutan experiments with democracy. Government of Bhutan. Image source, Getty Images. Read full media profile. Bhutan has had limited exposure to the outside world.
Read full timeline. Related Topics. Published 15 September As a result, some , Nepali civil servants were either evicted or encouraged to emigrate. Most of them crossed the border back into Nepal, where they were housed in UN-administered refugee camps. They continue to languish there a decade later. In , King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who is Bhutan's fourth hereditary ruler, voluntarily curtailed his absolute monarchy, and in March released a draft constitution not yet put to a referendum that outlined plans for the country to shift to a two-party democracy.
In Dec. Prime Minister Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk resigned in July so he could join a political party in anticipation of the country's first elections, scheduled to be held in early Lyonpo Kinzang Dorji took over as the interim prime minister. The election marked Bhutan's transition from an absolute monarchy to a democracy.
A new constitution went into effect in July. Universal suffrage was implemented under the new constitution. Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was crowned king in November.
At age 28, he is the world's youngest monarch. Jigme studied in India and the U. See also Encyclopedia: Bhutan. State Dept. Country Notes: Bhutan. Next Index Bhutan Profile History Geography Mountainous Bhutan, half the size of Indiana, is situated on the southeast slope of the Himalayas, bordered on the north and east by Tibet and on the south and west and east by India.
Government Bhutan's first national elections in March marked the country's shift from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. History Although archaeological exploration of Bhutan has been limited, evidence of civilization in the region dates back to at least B. Next: History. A Jey Kempo head abbot was appointed to manage the religious institutions, while civil power was invested in a Druk Desi, or Deb -- a sort of Prime Minister.
The country was divided into regions, which were administered by governors known as Penlops, with Dzongpons appointed below them to administer civil affairs locally. Although he died in , it is believed that the death of the Shabdung was kept quiet for 50 years so that a legitimate successor might be found.
This system presented few problems in the first few years, but gradually, power devolved into the office of the Druk Desi, and local civil wars ensued. The two seeds of the problem were that the system of choosing successive Shabdrungs was reincarnation, and that as the successor was chosen at birth, for the first 18 years of his birth he was a minor, and power again devolved onto the Druk Desi.
Successive Druk Desis proved reluctant to part with their acquired power, and the power of the Shabdrung gradually waned. Namgyal's efforts at establishing central authority were gradually wasted as the Druk Desi lost control to the regional governors and the Penlops. The country degenerated into a series of semi-independent regions, each controlled by a Penlop.
But the overall identity of Bhutan remained, and with it, the possibility of reunification. By the midth century, Moghul power was declining in Northern India, and Bhutanese influence in the adjacent region of Cooch Behar increasing. By , the Bhutanese held almost total control over the region. At this stage, they first came into contact with the British in India. The East India Company were anxious to secure the northern frontiers of their domain at the time, and looked upon Bhutanese activities with disfavour.
In , a small British force was dispatched to the area with the connivance and financial backing of the pretender to the Cooch Behari throne, Khagenda Naryan. This force defeated the Bhutanese and captured two forts in the foothills. This alarmed the Bhutanese, who called on the Panchen Lama to intercede with Warren Hastings, the governor general of India at the time. This led to the signing of a treaty between the Bhutanese and the British, and a period of increased contact.
Meanwhile, the Bhutanese desire for expansion turned elsewhere, particularly to the east. In Assam, still independent of the British, the Ahom dynasty was in disarray, and Bhutan found no difficulty in increasing its influence there. By , the Bhutanese had gained control over all of the duars passes into Assam. In , however, the British occupied Assam and once again came into contact with the Bhutanese.
For several years, there were minor clashes as the British gradually regained control of the Duars, and eventually, this turned into the second Anglo-Bhutanese war. By , the British were in total control of all the passes in Bengal and Assam, and were in a position to push the Bhutanese back on all fronts.
The war ended in with the Treaty of Sinchaula, which signalled the end of hostilities and provided for conditions of mutual peace and friendship. Trade became open and duty free, Bhutan ceded all claims to the 18 Duars, and received an annual payment of 50, rupees from the British government. This agreement has continued with independent India since the signing of a treaty in In the latter half of the 19th century, chaos fairly reigned in Bhutan, and the power factions had become centerd predominantly upon the Penlops of Paro and Tongsa, who had become the most powerful men in Bhutan.
These two factions battled for power, with considerable disagreement between them on whether to maintain their traditional ties with Tibet or to side with the new force, Britain. The British inadvertently helped to end the conflict and establish the hereditary monarchy that rules Bhutan today.
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