In 1907, with the support of the British, the Bhutanese nobleman Uyan Wangchuk deposed King Debu and established the Wangchuk dynasty, becoming the first king of Bhutan, integrating political and religious power, and since then the monastic and secular government that has lasted for more than three centuries in Bhutan has ended. In return, in 1910, Bhutan signed the Treaty of Punakha with the United Kingdom, which legally ended Bhutan's clan relationship with the Qing Dynasty, and Bhutan's foreign relations were "guided by the British", and since then Bhutan, like Nepal and Sikkim, has been completely reduced to a British protectorate.
The death of Sikkim shocked Bhutan
But Bhutan is much luckier than Sikkim, although the Wangchuk royal family of Bhutan is not as old as the royal family of Nanga, Sikkim, 265 years later, and only 116 years later, and has served as 5 kings, but the rule of the Bhutanese royal family is still solid, and the root cause is the "lying flat" of Bhutan. Because it became a British protectorate and lost the motivation and opportunity for foreign exchanges, Bhutan knew that it was unable to get rid of its control, so it simply acted as a pawn in Britain's South Asian policy, and its domestic aristocrats were also at ease receiving British subsidies.
The royal family of Nanga in the former Kingdom of Sikkim
King Wangchuk and Queen Pema of the Wangchuk royal family of Bhutan
In contrast, Sikkim is much more "steel", not only during its fall into a British protectorate, but also when India demanded the inheritance of the British "protectorate" rights to Sikkim after independence in 1947, there were also many anti-India demonstrations in the country, especially the anti-India movement in 1968, which demanded the abrogation of the Indo-Sikkin Treaty. So in 1973, India began to take a series of actions, including marching troops into the capital of Sikkim, Gangtok, promulgating India's proposed constitution, and placing the king of Sikkim under house arrest. Finally, in 1975, under Indian control, Sikkim held a referendum to be annexed by India, becoming its 22nd state.
Of course, Bhutan's peaceful days are also closely related to Bhutan's geographical location. First, Bhutan does not have such a treasure land for growing tea as Darjeeling, you must know that the British invasion of Sikkim began in Darjeeling, which has been analyzed in detail when talking about Sikkim earlier, and will not be repeated here; Second, Bhutan is not a major road to Tibet, and its geographical location is not sensitive, on the contrary, the Sikkim-Yadong line controls the southern gate of Tibet; Third, Britain's positioning of Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal as buffer countries between British India and Tibet in China, as long as they are obedient and pro-British.
After all, Bhutan's small people are poor, and the territory is all mountainous, and rushing to swallow not only does not get much oil and water, but increases management expenses, which is not a "good deal" for the British who are proficient in input-output benefits. Even after the independence of the British Indian colonies, Bhutan signed the Indo-Africa Treaty of Permanent Peace and Friendship with India as early as 1949, satisfying India's eagerness to inherit the "special relationship" between Britain and Bhutan.
Bhutan is always in the camp step by step
But if you think that Bhutan is just lying flat like this, you are underestimating the wisdom of the Wangchuk royal family. Bhutan is deeply aware of its own weakness, whether it is domestic penetration or economic development can not be separated from India, but also knows that if it lies completely flat, it is also likely to be Indianized, and then will follow in Sikkim's footsteps. Therefore, while "following" India's guidance, Bhutan took three steps to stabilize its own basic plate, and carefully expanded its circle of friends to hedge India's monopoly.
The core strategy for stabilizing the fundamentals is to strictly control the migrant population and implement modernization reforms. To know that the reason why India was able to manipulate the Sikkim referendum, in addition to taking advantage of the people's attitude towards the monarchy and democracy, it is important that Sikkim was encouraged by the British in the 19th century to accept a large number of Nepalese plantations in the south of Sikkim, resulting in a population of up to 70%, and the Bodhians and Rebcha people of Sikkim indigenous became a minority, and it is not surprising that the Sikkim royal family, which represents the indigenous ethnic group, was overthrown.
Therefore, the Bhutanese royal family, which has learned the lesson, in order to strictly prevent foreign expansion, expelled 20% of the Nepalese population in the 90s of the 20th century, and even caused a human rights crisis. So far, its tourism industry is also very strictly controlled, generally only accepting group travel, and from 2022, for environmental reasons, it will charge a "sustainability fee" of US$200 per person per day for overseas tourists. The factors considered may not be just for environmental protection.
As for modernization reforms, Bhutan's Wangchuk royal family began to reform its internal and foreign affairs in 1952, beginning with the accession of the third king, Jigme Dorji Wangchuk. It not only abolished serfdom and established a modern education and economic system, but also persuaded the people to accept the democratic parliamentary election system, give up absolute power in their hands, and change the absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. In 2008, the first democratic elections were held, and the world's first goal was to be based on gross national happiness (GNH).
Bhutan is quite sophisticated in enhancing independence and expanding its circle of friends. First, after 1962, when China was beating the Indian army in the counterattack war against India, it repeatedly proposed amending the "Treaty of Peace and Friendship between India and Africa" to recover part of its diplomatic sovereignty. In 1968, India had to establish the first modern diplomatic relations with Bhutan in order to appease Bhutan, and Bhutan also successfully joined the United Nations in 1971, eliminating a large number of Indian advisers, and since then it has been free from the possibility of being annexed by India.
But Bhutan is also well aware that India does not want the P5 to enter Bhutan and thus free Bhutan from control, and understands that the P5 values India's relations far more than it does. Therefore, in order not to overstimulate India, Bhutan has been carefully operating for decades, and although it has established diplomatic relations with 54 countries and joined 45 international organizations, it has not yet established diplomatic relations with the five permanent members of China, the United States, Russia, Britain and France. Of course, Bhutan also actively participates in the India-led South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and cooperates with India in implementing the South Asian "hegemony" policy.
This kind of "self-isolation" and only India and horses are unique among global sovereign countries, and there are many reasons for this situation, both Bhutan itself is not more involved in international affairs diplomatic ideas, but more affected by historical reality factors, after all, nearly 80% of Bhutan's foreign trade, major commodity supply must pass through India, once India closes the port, Bhutan will soon fall into a material crisis. It can be said that the special geopolitical environment has shaped Bhutan's special diplomatic strategy.
India's geopolitical claim to Bhutan
For India, influence over Bhutan is a matter of its strategic weakness, the "security depth" of the Siliguri Corridor, which is linked to India's control of its 178,500 square kilometers of territory in six northeastern states, where there has long been a tendency to become independent, both ethnically and religiously. Therefore, India not only obstructed the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and China, but even deliberately interfered in the border negotiations between China and China.
For example, in 2017, Indian border guards crossed into the mainland in the Sikkim section of the China-India border, obstructing our road construction in the Lower Doklam area, triggering the 6.18 China-India Doklam confrontation incident, the purpose of which is to use Bhutan as an excuse to intervene in and obstruct the process of China-Bhutan border negotiations. Due to historical factors and the complex topography of the Himalayas, there is only one traditional customary line between China and Burundi, and the two sides are disputed on the demarcation of the border, and since the 80s of last century, China and Burundi have held 24 rounds of border talks and reached a broad consensus.
Although the formal demarcation of the border has not yet begun, the two sides have carried out joint surveys of the border area, and there is a basic consensus on the actual situation of the border area and the direction of the boundary line, and the basis for demarcation has been established. Once China does not complete the demarcation of the border, the next step will inevitably expand economic and trade cooperation, which will greatly reduce Bhutan's dependence on India's material imports and investment trade, and Bhutan, which is tightly bound to India's foreign policy, will also have more confidence to say no.
As China continues to improve the railway and road network connecting Tibet with the mainland, once the transportation network is connected to Bhutan and Nepal in the future, the southern foothills of the Himalayas will change dramatically, and the cycle of reincarnation two hundred years ago may be reversed again.
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Note: This article is the 13th chapter of the "Undetermined National Border" series, in view of the total more than 6,000 words, it is too long, it is specially divided into the upper and lower parts, only a word, welcome to correct and forward. In addition, the picture part in the article is quoted from Weibo 1002, if there is a copyright private connection, please delete.