Treaty of Punakha
Encyclopedia
The Treaty of Punakha was an agreement signed on January 8, 1910, at Punakha Dzong
Punakha Dzong
The Punakha Dzong, also known as Pungtang Dechen Photrang Dzong is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag in Punakha, Bhutan. Constructed by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 1637–38, it is the second oldest and second largest dzong in Bhutan and one of its most majestic structures...

 between the recently consolidated Kingdom of Bhutan and British India. The Treaty of Punakha is not a stand-alone document, but represents a modification of the Treaty of Sinchula of 1865, the prior working agreement between Bhutan and British India. As such, the Treaty of Punakha is an amendment whose text incorporates all other aspects of the Treaty of Sinchula by reference.

Under the Treaty of Punakha, Britain guaranteed Bhutan's independence, granted Bhutanese Royal Government an increased stipend, and took control of Bhutanese foreign relations
Foreign relations of Bhutan
Bhutan has diplomatic relations with 27 states, and with the European Union.In 1971, sponsored by India, Bhutan began to develop its foreign relations by joining the UN, though it has no diplomatic relations with any of the permanent members on the UN Security Council...

. Although this treaty began the practice of delegating Bhutanese foreign relations to another suzerain, the treaty also affirmed Bhutanese independence
Independence of Bhutan
Bhutan is one of the few countries which has been independent throughout its history like Nepal, never conquered, occupied, or governed by an outside power. Although there has been speculation that it was under the Kamarupa Kingdom or the Tibetan Empire in the 7th to 9th centuries, firm evidence...

 as one of the few Asian kingdoms never conquered by a regional or colonial power.

Background and enactment

For five months, between 1864 and 1865, Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

 and British India engaged in the Duar War
Duar War
The Bhutan War was a war fought between British India and Bhutan in 1864–1865.Britain sent a peace mission to Bhutan in early 1864, in the wake of the recent conclusion of a civil war there, under Ashley Eden...

, which Bhutan lost. As a result, Bhutan lost of part of its sovereign territory, accompanied by forced cession of formerly occupied territories. Under the terms of the Treaty of Sinchula, signed on November 11, 1865, Bhutan ceded territories in the Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

 Duars
Duars
The Dooars or Duars are the floodplains and foothills of the eastern Himalayas in North-East India around Bhutan. Duar means door in Assamese, Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Magahi and Bengali languages, and the region forms the gateway to Bhutan from India. There were 18 passages or gateways through...

 and Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

 Duars
Duars
The Dooars or Duars are the floodplains and foothills of the eastern Himalayas in North-East India around Bhutan. Duar means door in Assamese, Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Magahi and Bengali languages, and the region forms the gateway to Bhutan from India. There were 18 passages or gateways through...

, as well as the eighty-three square kilometer territory of Dewangiri in southeastern Bhutan, in return for an annual subsidy of 50,000 rupee
Rupee
The rupee is the common name for the monetary unit of account in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, and formerly in Burma, and Afghanistan. Historically, the first currency called "rupee" was introduced in the 16th century...

s.

By the turn of the century, continuing geopolitical developments raised the question of a new treaty. Ugyen Wangchuck had consolidated power as Penlop of Trongsa and was unanimously elected monarch by government and religious cadres just two years earlier, in December 1907.

The Treaty of Punakha was enacted on January 8, 1910, at the signing at Punakha
Punakha
thumb|right|Punakha Dzong and the [[Mo Chhu]]Punakha is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thimphu and it...

 by Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

 Political Officer Charles Alfred Bell
Charles Alfred Bell
Sir Charles Alfred Bell K.C.I.E. , born in Calcutta, was a British-Indian tibetologist. He was educated at Winchester College. After joining the Indian Civil Service, he was appointed Political Officer in Sikkim in 1908...

 and the first Druk Gyalpo (King of Bhutan) Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

 Ugyen Wangchuck
Ugyen Wangchuck
Gongsa Ugyen Wangchuck was the first King of Bhutan from 1907 to 1926.He was born in 1862 to Jigme Namgyal, penlop of Trongsa and Ashi Pema Choki. He succeeded his father as Penlop of Trongsa...

.

Aftermath and abrogation

The Treaty of Punakha created a precedent for treaty modification and foreign suzerainty, and affirmed the practice of foreign subsidy to the Royal Government. The payments and lands subject to the Treaty of Punakha were accompanied by several contemporary and later agreements, some of which ultimately undid the Punakha amendments.

The Treaty of Punakha accompanied other contemporary agreements that had the effect of sharing profits from elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....

 hunting inequitably in Britain's favor; assigning land in Motithang
Motithang
Motithang is a north-western suburb of Thimphu, Bhutan. The Chubachu River divides the district from Kawajangsa further north and Chubachu district lies to the east....

 (Thimphu Province
Thimphu Province
Thimphu Province was one of the nine historical Provinces of Bhutan.Thimphu Province occupied lands in western Bhutan, corresponding approximately to modern day Thimphu District...

) and a hill station between Chukha
Chukha
Chukha District is one of the 20 dzongkhag comprising Bhutan. The major town is Phuentsholing which is the gateway city along the sole road which connects India to western Bhutan . Chukha is the commercial and the financial capital of Bhutan...

 and Thimphu
Thimphu
Thimphu also spelt Thimpu, is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's dzongkhags, the Thimphu District. The city became the capital of Bhutan in 1961...

 to the British; and assigning a portion of British Kalimpong to Bhutan, which later became Bhutan House
Bhutan House
Bhutan House is an estate located in Kalimpong, West Bengal, India, owned by the Dorji family of Bhutan. The site is the traditional administrative Dzong for southern Bhutan, and also functioned as the administrative center for the whole of western Bhutan during the early years of consolidation...

 owned by the Dorji family
Dorji family
The Dorji family of Bhutan has been a prominent and powerful political family in the kingdom since the 19th century. The family has produced Chief Ministers, Prime Ministers, governors, and even monarchs...

. The land around the Kalimpong estate had previously been ceded from Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

 to British India at the conclusion the Bhutan War and as a condition of the Treaty of Sinchula in 1865. Kazi Ugyen Dorji
Ugyen Dorji
Raja Ugyen Dorji was a member of the elite Dorji family and an influential Bhutanese politician. He served as the closest adviser to Ugyen Wangchuck, the hereditary Penlop of Trongsa and later First Druk Gyalpo...

 of the Dorji family
Dorji family
The Dorji family of Bhutan has been a prominent and powerful political family in the kingdom since the 19th century. The family has produced Chief Ministers, Prime Ministers, governors, and even monarchs...

 settled the land and took advantage of the lucrative trade routes through Kalimpong, and by 1898 assumed the roles of Trade Agent and mediator between the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

.

In August 1947, after India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 gained independence as a sovereign nation, the British presence upon which the Treaty of Punakha depended was no longer. Kingdoms such as Bhutan were given the option to remain independent, or join the Indian Union. Bhutan chose to remain independent and on August 8, 1949, Bhutan's independence was recognized by India. On April 23, 1948, Sonam Topgay Dorji
Sonam Topgay Dorji
Sir Raja Sonam Topgay Dorji , also called Tobgay, was a member of the Dorji family and Bhutanese politician who served between 1917 and 1952 in the Royal Government under the First and Second Kings of Bhutan...

, also of the Dorji family
Dorji family
The Dorji family of Bhutan has been a prominent and powerful political family in the kingdom since the 19th century. The family has produced Chief Ministers, Prime Ministers, governors, and even monarchs...

, headed the Bhutanese delegation to recently independent India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, meeting Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

. Topgay and Nehru established Bhutan–India relations, prompted by a growing security concern over Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

 China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. Bilateral negotiations lasted through August 8 1949, culminating in the Indo-Bhutan Treaty. Under this agreement, India returned the land around Deothang
Deothang
Deothang is a town in south-eastern Bhutan. It is located in Samdrup Jongkhar District at an altitude of 870 metres . Population 2,644 ....

, subject of part of the 1865 Anglo-Bhutanese War.

In February 2007, the Fifth King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck
Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is the 5th and current reigning Dragon King of the Kingdom of Bhutan. He became king on 14 December 2006 being crowned on 6 November 2008.-Family:...

 signed a new treaty of friendship with India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 in February 2007, replacing the treaty of 1949.

Text of the treaty

Below is the full text of the Treaty of Punakha.
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