The Report of Kishen Kant Bose[1] on Bhutan, 1815

 

After the mission of Samuel Turner in 1783, Bhutan and the British enjoyed a cordial relationship and Bhutan did not receive any mission from the British for nearly two decades after 1783. However, Turner’s mission of 1783 did not see any positive outcomes in resolving the territorial issues in the south. The territorial disputes along the southern border continued to persist with frequent minor clashes and incidents of dacoity. With the help of the British military, the ruler of Cooch Bihar took control over Maraghat, an area in the southwest which was ceded to Bhutan by the British in 1774. On the other hand, the Bhutanese failed to provide any evidence to support the claim but insisted the British reinstate the area. At the same time, the British were suspicious that Cooch Bihar was seeking military support from Bhutan to oust the British from Bihar in return for Maraghat. While the British who were already at war with Nepal (Anglo-Nepalese war 1814-1816)[2] cannot afford to engage in a new conflict with Bhutan and Cooch Bihar. At the same time, the British feared Nepal might instigate China into war and seek military support from Bhutan and other Himalayas countries. It was also said that the British openly requested Bhutan not to support Nepal. Bhutan on the hand assured neutrality in light of the cordial relationship between the two countries.

In such a time of ensuing war and territorial disputes, the British under the governorship of Francis Edward Rawdon (r.1813-1823) sent an Indian official by the name Kishen Kant Bose (Krishna Kanta Basu) on a fact-finding mission to Bhutan in 1815. At the time, Bhutan was under the 30^th reigning Desi Sonam Drukgay. Besides, Bose was to resolve the Maraghat dispute between Bhutan and Cooch Bihar. Unlike his predecessors, Bose approached from Sarpang and passed through Tsirang, and Wangdiphodrang and reached Punakha. Though Bose did not maintain details of his journey, during his months-long stay in Bhutan, he left behind an interesting and in-depth description of Bhutan’s administrative system, lifestyle, economy, agriculture, warfare, people, culture, and natural environment. However, some of his accounts are preposterous and misleading and some historians reason that Bose might have been misinformed and politically motivated too. Although there were no significant outcomes of his mission to Bhutan, later historians commended Bose’s accounts as the finest descriptions of Bhutan’s culture and its people. Bose’s detailed observations of Bhutan are thematised as follows:

1.     Central state Administrative System

Bose observed that Bhutan was ruled under the dual system (Choesi Nyidhen). Except for spiritual and religious matters, Dharma Raja (Je Khenpo) has no authority in internal government and matters related to foreign affairs. People revered Dharma Raja as the spiritual guide. On the other hand, Bose observed that the country is conducted by Deb Raja (Desi) with the advice of counsellors and Dharma Raja in some cases. Bose noted Desi was the principal organ of the government and he compared the Desi to the post of prime minister. The four state counsellors include Zimpoen to Desi, Kalyon to Je Khenpo, Punakha Dzongpoen and Thimphu Dzongpoen. He also noted that Wangdi Dzongpoen, Paro Penlop, Trongsa Penlop, and Dagana Penlop are of the same rank as the four state counsellors. Without the concurrence of these Dzongpoen and Penlops, Desi cannot proceed with the decision. The rest of the rulers of the smaller districts fall under their respective orders. He noticed that during the Punakha Dromchoe, all Penlops and Dzongpoens attend the festival and pay their respect to the Desi. At the time, a great council was held and both the appointment and removal from the different posts and offices takes place.

2.     Military and Warfare

Bose estimated that the total population who can bear arms does not exceed 10,000. He observed that matchlocks in the hands of the Bhutanese were of little use as people hardly hit the target. Mostly, people used bows and arrows and swords to fight. Bose described the Bhutanese as great archers. Preposterously, Bose described the existence of cannibalism at the time he witnessed during the war. He wrote:

“When they fight with a Deb Raja or the Penlops among themselves, they stand at a great distance and fire arrows at each other, and if one of them is killed, both parties rush forward and struggle for their body; whichever of them succeed in getting it, they take out the liver and eat it with butter and sugar; they also mix the fat and blood with turpentine, and making candles thereof, burn them before the shrine of the deity.”

Bose’s distorted claim of the existence of cannibalism in Bhutan is not supported by any of the historians and there are no pieces of evidence to confirm his claim. Even the visit of Bogle in 1774 and Turner in 1783 whose stay of duration in Bhutan was much longer than Bose did not mention such observations anywhere in their journals.

Bose wrote that Bhutanese hardly fights openly. They fire from a distance and attack at night or lay an ambush. Soldiers wear iron caps and quilted jackets. All inhabitants are always armed and men are armed with more than one sword. Bose noticed that most of the conflicts occur during the annual festival and Dromchoe and he explained the reasons for incessant internal conflicts were due to the Desis either retaining power in office for too long or jealousy of the chief officers of the state.

3.     Economy, Trade, and Agriculture

Bose observed that there were bazaars at Paro, Thimphu and Punakha. The main commodities sold were dry fish, tea, butter, coarse cloth, betel, nut, and vegetables. Although Bose did not shed reasons, he noted that rice, pulse, earthen pots, salt, pepper, and turmeric were not procurable. Bhutan exported Tangun horses, blankets, walnuts, musk, cow tails, and oranges to Rangpur and in turn imported woollen clothes, indigo, sandals, dry fish, betel, nut, red sandal, nutmegs, cloves, and coarse cloths. Some of these imported goods are then exported to Tibet along with rice and wheat. From Tibet, the Bhutanese imported tea, silver, gold, and embroidered silk. There was also trade with Assam and Nepal. According to his observations, the chief grains produced in Bhutan are rice, wheat, barley, mustard, and Indian corn and the main fruits grown are walnuts, apples, peaches, oranges, pomegranates, limes, and lemon. There was also one mango tree at Punakha and Wangdiphodrang. Except for ploughing, all other sorts of agricultural work were performed by women.

Interestingly, at the time of Bose’s visit to Bhutan, the country had already started minting the coin using the die which was confiscated from one of the late Raja of Cooch Bihar who was brought to Bhutan in the 1700s. Bose observed that coins were stamped with Narrainee Rupees (coins minted in Cooch Bihar) and Deb Raja add his mark to alter the weight. Other than Deb Raja, nobody has the authority to add a mark on the coin, however, he found mints at Paro, Trongsa and Dagana.

4.     Religion and Beliefs

Bose noted that Bhutanese worshipped images and considered Dharma Raja as a god. People are forbidden to kill an animal for food, but eat which has been killed or died of a natural cause. In contrast, Bose wrote, “They eat the flesh of every sort of animal except pigeon; but if anyone should eat even that he will not lose caste, but merely be exposed to ridicule.” This view is also contradictory and it is less probable in the Buddhist country. People of all walks are religious and found chanting mani. The monks abstain from eating meat every 8^th, 14^th, 24^th, and 30^th of the month. Though monks are forbidden to touch alcohol, Bose wrote monks drink in secret. One of the great religious faith he observed in Bhutanese was sparing the life of all animals (tshethar).

5.     Social and Marriage Custom

Bose made an interesting marriage custom during that time. According to his observation, marriages were contracted through agreements of the parties and no marriage ceremony was conducted during the marriage. After marriage, in most cases, husbands live in the houses of their wives. A rich man is allowed to keep as many wives together whereas two or more poor brothers club together and marry a single woman. In such cases, children call the eldest husband a father and the rest uncles. It was no crime for a man who has relations with any females except a mother.

6.     Judicial and the Legal System

Although there was no written code of law then, the Bhutanese society was strictly regulated by an enforced verbal legal system. Whether this is true or not true, Bose noted that if a man catches another man in adultery with his wife, he can kill the adulterer without scruple. However, in the case of normal manslaughter, a man is liable to pay 125 Rupees to Desi, his counsellors and the family of the deceased. If he fails to pay, the culprit is tied to the dead body and thrown into the river. In case of robbery, the culprit caught is imprisoned for six to one year and sold as a slave, and all his/her relations are subjected to the same punishment. In presence of strict law, Bose had never heard of dacoity or robbery in houses of Bhutan except for a few cases on the highway.

Although the exact date of Bose’s return to Bengal is not known, he is said to have returned the same way he had come. Years later, the British ruled in favour of Bhutan and Maraghat was returned to Bhutan in 1817. Later, Kishen Kant Bose became the collector of Rangpur and it was said that he had set up a bamboo post to mark the frontier. Though Kishen Kant Bose made some exaggerated claims about Bhutan including the existence of cannibalism, he gave a complete description of the country ranging from state administration to lifestyle of the medieval Bhutan.

 

Bibliography

Collister, P. (1987). Bhutan and the British. London: Serindia Publications.

Eden, A., & Pemberton, R. B. (1865). Political missions to Bootan. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Office.

Phuntsho. K. (2013). The history of Bhutan. India: Random House Publishers India Private Limited.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                     

---

[1] A Bengali civil servant working for the East India Company. His original name was Krishna Kanta Basu and transliterated to Kishen Kant Bose.

[2] The Anglo-Nepalese war took place between 1814-1816 due to border tension between Nepal and the British. At the time, the war was caused by the expansionist ambition of the British and Gorkha.