When was bhutan founded

Tourism to Bhutan began in , after the Bhutanese government agreed to open its formerly restricted territory to outside visitors. Bhutan is still nominally a monarchy, governed by the 5th Druk Gyalpo, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, but an elected parliament makes most decisions.

The move to democracy was not without problems, and many refugees fled to Nepal in the s, where they continue to live in a legal limbo. Bhutan has also become entangled in conflicts between Assamese and Bodo separatist guerrillas and the government of India. Did you know? The Tantric form of Mahayana Buddhism Drukpa Kagyu is the state religion; the majority of Bhutanese people follow the Drukpa school of the Kagyupa sect. Those living in the south are mainly Hindu. The lifestyle, manners and customs of the Bhutanese are in many respects unique to the area.

The strongest influence on social conventions is the country's state religion, and everywhere one can see the reminders of Buddhism and the original religion of Tibet, Bonism. There are no rigid clan systems and equal rights exist between men and women. There are silk thangkas of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel that dates back to the 17th century and some brought all the way from Tashigang Goenpa in Hongtsho.

There is a jacket kutoe , ceremonial lap cover chagsi pangkhep and auspicious hat uzham belonging to Chogley Jigme Tenzin, one of his reincarnations.

There is a statue of Dorji Chang or Vajradhara, made of gilt bronze and gold, and a thunderbolt dorje and bell drilbu , made of gilt bronze and brass, which were believed to be have been brought from Ralung in Tibet by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel who presented it to his hostess Zumpo Chungmo in Jarogang during his visit in the 17th century.

There is also a statue of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel made of rice during his departure from Jarogang. It is believed that Zhabdrung modelled two small statues of himself out of rice, and presented it to his hostess Zompu Chungmo. It is believed that one flew away to Dare tsho in Tsirang, which sprouted into a tree signifying his teachings will flourish in the region. Sacred artefacts belonging to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel such as prayer beads chag threng numbering 84 from Semtokha Dzong, and miniature stupas tsa tsa and a statue presented by Zhabdrung to Chugpo Lhawang Tshering and his son Druk Tashi during the 17th century brought from Gasa were exhibited.

The traditional name of the country since the 17th century has been Drukyul, Land of the Drokpa Dragon People , a reference to the dominant branch of Tibetan Buddhism that is still practiced in the Himalayan kingdom.

For centuries, Bhutan was made up of feuding regions until it was unified under King Ugyen Wangchuck in The British exerted some control over Bhutan's affairs, but never colonized it. Until the s, Bhutan was largely isolated from the rest of the world, and its people carried on a tranquil, traditional way of life, farming and trading, which had remained intact for centuries. After China invaded Tibet, however, Bhutan strengthened its ties and contact with India in an effort to avoid Tibet's fate.

New roads and other connections to India began to end its isolation. In the s, Bhutan also undertook social modernization, abolishing slavery and the caste system, emancipating women, and enacting land reform.

In , Bhutan made its first diplomatic links with non-Asian countries. A pro-democracy campaign emerged in , which the government claimed was composed largely of Nepali immigrants. 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 In Bhutan, he was welcomed home like a conquering hero.

After this, he assumed respect from the British, met the British Royal party out from Britain in Calcutta one of only two times he ever left Bhutan , and was treated like an Indian prince, complete with a 15 gun salute.

At the meeting with the Prince of Wales and the Viceroy, he brought the traditional gold coins as a gift, which symbolize allegiance, as well as a letter declaring: "As the stars and constellations never fail in loyalty attending on the sun and moon, so do we the entire Bhutanese nation resolve to do likewise to the Supreme Government, hoping that as the sun and the moon are like parents of the whole world, we also will enjoy the blessings of their beneficent rays for ever and ever till the cessation of worldly existence.

At this point, Bhutan took decisive steps to establish its monarchy. In , Ugyen Dorje a longtime adviser to Ugyen Wangchuck, addressed a letter to the council of state. He pointed out that in the absence of a clear procedure for appointing the regent, it was difficult to protect the realms of either religion or state. Clearly, this letter was written to test the waters and to see how far the matter could progress.

While the Shabdrung's spiritual place and role were left central to the conception of the monarchy, providing ultimate legitimacy to the king's line and the whole state, the practically defunct regency was allowed to die a quiet death.

Although there is no record of the deliberations, the decision to establish the monarchy appears to have been genuinely popular not only amongst those responsible for taking it, but also with the public at large.

It was also the occasion on which the long standing friendship between Ugyen Dorji and Ugyen Wangchuck was formalised by the appointment of Dorji as chamberlain a title which Wangchuck wished to be hereditary. Thus on December 17, , Ugyen Wangchuck was enthroned. In , Dorji received the title Rajah from the Viceroy as a personal distinction, and continued in his fiefdom of the Ha valley despite continuing to be based at his family home in Kalimpong, outside Bhutanese territory.

He died in , and was replaced by his son Sonam Topgye as the King wished. The old Paro Penlop continued to make difficulties, and remained powerful enough to make considerable difficulties for Ugyen Dorji. This continued through his death in and replacement by the King's grandson, Tsering Penjor.

Ugyen Wangchuck died in at the age of 64, and was replaced by his 22 year-old son the following year. Up to the present, there have been four kings of Bhutan, and the present ruler Jigme Singye Wangchuck is clearly as popular as the previous three. Because of the way in which the monarchy assumed certain aspects of the pre-existent theocracy, many customs and symbols serve to underline the sacred nature of kingship and its remote position high above the world of ordinary mortals.

However, alongside this there exists a complimentary tradition requiring the King to be wholly accessible to his people. Any subject, however low, has the right to present a grievance. In cases of serious loss or affliction, welfare can always be requested.

The rural setting of the Bhutanese monarchy, in contrast to the urban locale of most others, promotes this contact between the king and his people.