China's annexation of Tibet as a province drastically demonstrated to Bhutan, that isolation has no place in modern times. A process of gradual planned opening was introduced in 1961. Bhutan became a member of the postal union, two years later was admitted to the UN, opened full diplomatic relations with India, created a National Assembly and instituted a modern code of law with a High Court as well as an army and police corps.
speaking before the Parliament.
In contemporary Bhutan, His Majesty will be the protector of
the nation’s security, the guardian of the Constitution, and
the inspiration for Gross National Happiness.
Rinzin Wangchuk, Kuensel Online
Official coronation took place on Nov. 6th, 2008.
Chronicled history of the region however begins with the advent of Buddhism. Earlier the animistic Bon-Religion was widespread in the Himalayas and still today some elements are integrated in himalayan tantric Buddhism.
Dark centuries followed, king Langdarma (a fierce adversary of Buddhism) and his assasination plunged Tibet into religious anarchy, many Tibetians fled to the south and established new dominions there. The area became a missionary field for various sects of tantric Buddhism, but never a political entity.
The Desi (ruler) from Tsang in central Tibet however, wanted his own favorite for this position and Ngawang Namgyal feared for his life and exiled to western Bhutan in 1616, taking with him many valued relics. Here, he established as Shabdrung, acknowleged religious teacher, his first Dzong (fortress), Simtokha.
Apart from the Drukpa-lineage all other buddhist sects were against the Shabdrung. United they set out to Simtokha and even called for tibetan
assistance after their first defeat. Shabdrung's fighters however beat even the Tibetans on several occasions and in 1639 his sovereignty over Bhutan was aknowledged also by Tibet.
The concept of Dzongs - fortified monasteries with administrative functions - was extended consistently over the whole country and the Dzongs of Simtokha, Paro, Punakha, Trongsa and Jakar still operate this way.
The Shabdrung also united the monkery by forming the "sangha" overseen by he highest abot, the "Je Khenpo", comparable with the Dalai Lama of the Gelugpa Order. To give his country its own identity the Kagyu (buddhist Canon) has been codified into bhutanese, a national dress and the Tshechus have been established as well as a code of law to govern the relationship between the Dzongs and the farmers.
In 1651 the Shabdrung retreated to a meditation chamber at Punakha Dzong where he died. For 50 years his death has not been disclosed to the public for fear of instability. His embalmed body is still kept at Punakha Dzong in a sealed casket, although only 4 persons (2 Lamas, the Je Khenpo and the king) have access to this room.
Shortly after his death also central and eastern Bhutan were finally conquered and the unified country took the shape of today's Bhutan. Until the introduction of the monarchy in 1907, the Shabdrung's dual administrative system of Penlops administering provinces and a Desi heading a theocratic government, has been in place.
However, continuous rivalry between factions over the position of the (elected) Desi caused power struggles and civil unrest for 200 years, dragging also Tibet, China and Cooch Behar (Sikkim) into the feud.
Disagreements to whom the Duars - plains between the Brahmaputra river and the rising hills of southern Bhutan - are appertaining, brought the country into conflict with the British administration in India. After fierce fightings Bhutan had to relinquish the Duars to India and lost valuable fertile land and some townships, a major part of its riches.
The close relationship of the new king with the British led to the Treaty of Punakha, signed in 1910 and stating, the British Government would abstain from interference in internal affairs of Bhutan, on the other hand Bhutan's external relations would be guided by the advice of the British Government. An agreement, which was transfered to Delhi after India's independence. After the death of Ugyen Wangchuk in 1926, the hereditary monarchy was continued by his son Jigme and then his son Jigme Dorji in 1952.