#shertukpen

[nerdhistorian]

Lost history of Bhutan

After the Second First Battle of Simtokha Dzong, where the campaign of the Tibetan forces were defeated by several chieftains of Bhutan supporting the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal who was also known as ‘the bearded lama’ and the victory over the invasion of the Mongol leader Gushi Khan in 1644 who invaded Bhutan with a vast army who invaded again in 1647, and was again defeated. Namgyal set about establishing a system of government and laws for the country and unifying Bhutan. The country was divided into regions, which were administered by governors known as Penlops, with Dzongpons appointed below them to administer civil affairs locally.

  But after the death of the Zhabdrung in 1651, it is believed that the death of the Zhabdrung 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 Zhabdrung 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 Zhabdrung 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. During such wars among the local chieftains and royals two family Dunghkar(Royals) and Ebi/Ubi/Ribi(Royal Guards) left their controlled region and palaces after their defeat to save themselves and to regroup themselves for a future attack.

Leaving Bhutan for ‘Sun’s nest in the east’, these two clans who left Bhutan in the 17th century never returned back and are believed to have settled in present day Arunachal Pradesh in India. Evidence suggest that after the civil war, the royal administration sent out delegates with several gifts and ornaments to bring back the lost families back to their regions but were denied by the tribals who had integrated them with their community in the region.   

    References

  Ardussi (1977)

Richardson, Hugh. A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions

 Stein, R. A. (1972) Tibetan Civilization

Ancient Tibet: Research Materials from The Yeshe De Project

Lee, Don Y. The History of Early Relations between China and Tibet: From Chiu t'ang-shu, a documentary survey

Muktinath Bardoloi (1970). Land of the Hornbill and Myna