Bhutan’s relationship with British India was further
strengthened when the first King Ugyen Wangchuck offered his service as the ‘go-between’
British India and Tibet during Sir Francis Younghusband’s expedition to Tibet in
1904. Although Bhutan and British India had a cordial friendship, from 1905 to
1947, the British government did not station a permanent British representative
in Bhutan, unlike Sikkim and Tibet. The political officers stationed at Gangtok
were responsible to manage relations with Bhutan. As per the historical records,
political officers from Sikkim maintained contact with Bhutan through correspondence,
and physical visits were seldom.
1.
John
Claude White (1853-1918)
John Claude White (Source: Bhutan and Sikkim: Twenty-one
years on the North East Frontier (1887-1908) by John Claude White, 1909)
since the disastrous mission of Eden
in 1864, John Claude White was the first British political officer to visit
Bhutan in 1905. Claude represented the British government and conferred the
K.C.I.E. to His Majesty in 1905 at Punakha Dzong. By 1905, Claude had become a
close acquaintance of the king. At the invitation of the king, Claude also
visited Trongsa and Bumthang. Later year in 1906, Claude made a second
expedition to eastern Bhutan. Claude passed through Dewathang, Pema Gatshel,
Trashigang, Trashiyangtse and Lhuentse and proceeded to southern Tibet and met
His Majesty. In 1907, Claude was a representative of the British government
during the enthronement of His Majesty King Ugyen Wangchuck as the first
hereditary monarch. During his three times visits to Bhutan, Claude forged a
strong personal relationship with His Majesty the king and the people of
Bhutan. Claude played a pivotal role in strengthening the relationship between
Bhutan and the British. Above all, Claude’s photographs of the early 1900s are
an important source of information in understanding Bhutan in the context of
the twentieth century.
2.
Sir Charles Alfred Bell (1870-1945)
Sir Charles Alfred Bell in diplomatic uniform (Source:
Tibet Past and Present by Charles Alfred Bell, 1924)
Sir Charles Alfred Bell succeeded John
Claude White as the political officer in 1908. Unlike his predecessor, Charles
emphasised creating alliances with neighbouring countries to promote the
interest of British India, rather than through the ‘forward policies.’ Bell
proposed the revision of the ‘Treaty of Sinchula 1865’ with Bhutan. Bell
visited Bhutan in 1909-10 and the new treaty, the ‘Treaty of Punakha’ was
signed on 8 January 1910. The annual subsidy was also increased to Rs.100,000.
After the conclusion of the treaty, Bell halted for a few days in Bhutan and
cemented a close friendship with His Majesty and his people. There is no record
of an official visit by Bell after his first visit.
3.
William
Lachlan Campbell (1879-1959)
Major W.L. Campbell with 11th Chogyal of
Sikkim, Sir Tashi Namgyel (Photo: Bridgeman Images)
William
Lachlan Campbell was briefly the British Political Officer in Sikkim, Bhutan
and Tibet from 1918-19. Campbell had earlier visited Bhutan in 1907 with John
Claude White during the enthronement of His Majesty the first king. Though
there is a dearth of information regarding his visit to Bhutan during his
tenure, Peter Collister in his book, “Bhutan and British, 1987” wrote that
Campbell had unsuccessfully tried to recruit soldiers for the Indian army from
the Nepalese settlers in Bhutan.
4.
Sir
William Frederick Travers O'Connor (1870-1943)
and David Macdonald
After
W.L. Campbell, Sir W.F. O’Connor briefly became the political officer in
1921. Later, David Macdonald was the acting political officer in 1921 besides
his role as the trade agent in Gyantse. However, there are no records of their
official visits to Bhutan.
Sir W.F.
O’Connor with young 9th Panchen Lama (Source: Tibet Past and Present by Charles Alfred Bell, 1924)
5.
Lt.
Colonel Frederick Marshman Bailey (1882-1967)
Lt.
Colonel F.M. Bailey was appointed as a political officer to Tibet, Sikkim and
Bhutan in 1921. During his tenure, bailey visited Bhutan in 1922 to confer the
insignia of the ‘Grand Cross of the Indian Empire (G.C.I.E)’ to king Ugyen
Wangchuck. After the presentation of the G.C.I.E to His Majesty on 28 July 1922
at Kuje Lhakhang, Bailey proceeded to southern Tibet after crossing
Monlakarchung Pass. His entire journey was explicitly described in the journal,
“Through Bhutan and Southern
Tibet 1924.” Being a
passionate explorer, Bailey described every place, vegetation, plant and animal
he encountered on his journey to Bhutan. Earlier in 1913, during his expedition
to the Tsangpo river in Tibet, Bailey passed through a few of the eastern
Dzongkhags on his way to Assam.
In 1924,
Bailey visited Bhutan for the second time during the installation of Gongzim
Sonam Tobgye as the governor of Haa. Although Bailey’s proposal to increase the
annual subsidy was rejected by the British government, Bailey succeeded in
securing training opportunities. At the cost of Rs. 50,000, British India
offered training for three teachers, two doctors two veterinary assistants,
four forest rangers; three boys in agriculture and dairy, one each in weaving,
tanning, mining, engineering and civil engineering (Collister, 1987). Bailey
made his last visit to Bhutan in 1927 to represent British India during the coronation
of the second king Jigme Wangchuck. During his tenure, Bailey played a
significant role in taking Bhutan’s development forward.
Lt.
Colonel F.M. Bailey (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
6.
Major
J.L.R. Weir
Major
J.L.R succeeded F.M. Bailey as the political officer in 1928. In his report between
1928-1931, Weir mentioned the outbreak of cholera in Bhutan which claimed 500
lives and the world trade depression had not affected the country. In January
1931, Weir visited Bhutan to confer the insignia of the K.C.I.E to His Majesty
Jigme Wangchuck. The presentation of the insignia of the K.C.I.E took place at
the temple of Bumthang Kuje. Weir and his party spent two months long in
Bhutan. Weir returned via Dewathang on the road. He reported lengthy
observations about Bhutan’s administration, economy, and people.
7.
Frederick
Williamson (1891-1935)
Frederick
Williamson succeeded Weir in 1933. Williamson visited Bhutan in June 1933. He
was accompanied by his wife Margaret Williamson who later wrote, ‘Memoirs of
Political Officer’s Wife in Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan (1987). Williamson and
his wife passed through Haa, Paro, and Wangdiphodrang and reached Trongsa. They
were accompanied by Gongzim Sonam Tobgye. On the way, they visited Paro
Taktshang and Punakha Dzong. Before travelling to Trongsa, Williamson halted
for a few days in Paro where Penlop Tshering Penjor hosted the party. Williamson
noted that Penlop at the time was thirty-four and unmarried. Interestingly,
Williamson wrote that he had given a cinema show of Charlie Chaplin which
Penlop and people greatly enjoyed. At Trongsa, Williamson and his wife were
warmly treated with utmost hospitality and Williamson wrote that his wife had
become close friends with the royal family. At Trongsa, Williamson joined
George Sheriff and Frank Ludlow who were
on the botanical expedition on behalf of the British Museum. The duo later
departed for eastern Bhutan after spending a month at Trongsa. Williamson
returned to Sikkim via Talung in Tibet in July 1933.
Frank Ludlow (standing), Major George Sherriff, and
Frederick Williamson, 1933 (Photo: Williamson Collection, Cambridge University Museum of
Archaeology and Anthropology)
In 1934, Williamson reciprocated the hospitality he and
his wife received in Bhutan from the royal family by taking His Majesty and
Queen to Calcutta. Their Majesties took along the seven-year-old prince Jigme
Dorji Wangchuck and were accompanied by 200 retainers. His Majesty arrived in
Calcutta on 11 December 1934. During their stay in Calcutta, Williamson accompanied
His Majesty everywhere from visiting mills to a munition factory. Before
returning to Bhutan on 27 January 1935, His Majesty visited the Buddhist shrine
near Benaras. Unfortunately, Williamson’s tenure as the political officer was
terse and died tragically of kidney disease in November 1935 in Lhasa.
8.
Sir
Basil Gould (1883-1956)
Sir
Basil Gould (Photo: The Pitt Rivers Museum, 2006)
After the untimely death of
Williamson, Sir Basil Gould succeeded in 1935 and became longest serving
political officer. After assuming the post, Gould made his first visit to
Bhutan in 1938. After crossing Haa and Paro, Gould arrived at Bumthang and met
His Majesty. He was accompanied by the medical officer and Gongzim Sonam
Tobgye. Gould was impressed by the king and the hospitality received in Bhutan.
He wrote about the king as, “A man of entire openness and honesty of mind and
naturally inclined to seek the good of his people.” Like his predecessors,
Gould insisted and proposed the government to increase the annual subsidy to
fund developmental activities. Unlike his predecessors, he succeeded in
securing another one hundred rupees for the annual subsidy in 1942.
Gould officially visited Bhutan again in 1941 and 1943. Gould
made his last report before the end of his tenure in 1945. Gould recommended
the government return Dewangiri (Dewathang) which Bhutan lost to the British in
1865. He suggested that with the return
of Dewathang, Bhutan could construct a motor road to Trashigang and Bumthang
and bring it closer to Assam, thus promoting the country’s development. The
recommendation he made did not materialise on the ground that the area holds
the immense prestige of the British empire.
9.
Arthur
Hopkinson (1894-1953)
Arthur
Hopkinson became the last British political officer to visit Bhutan after
succeeding Sir Basil Gould in 1945. Accompanied by his wife, Hopkinson visited
Bhutan in 1947, shortly before Indian independence to confer the insignia of
the Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (K.C.S.I) to His Majesty
king Jigme Wangchuck. Like his all predecessors, he was a firm supporter of
Bhutan and wrote to the new government of India to continue the friendly
relationship. Hopkinson was officially succeeded by Indian successor Harishwar
Dayal in September 1948. Hopkinson marked the end of centuries of the British
empire’s influence and interest in Bhutan.
Arthur
Hopkinson (Photo: The British Museum, 2006)
From 1905 to 1947, although there was no permanent
resident, more than nine political officers represented British India from
their base in Sikkim. All the political officers in their capacities have
strengthened the cordial relationship between the two governments. Bhutan
greatly benefited from the presence of political officers in moving the country
forward. Although it was not forthcoming, all officers who visited Bhutan have
proposed the increase of subsidies and aid in the developments. Regarding the
historical aspects, the journals of the visiting officers provided first-hand
information about Bhutan’s journey from the medieval to the twenty-first
century. Medical officials accompanying every political officer’s visit to
Bhutan have benefited thousands of people through their medical assistance.
Their contributions are significant in the history of the Anglo-Bhutan
relationship which will go down the line in Bhutanese history.
Bibliography
McKay, A. (2004). British-Indian
Medical Service Officers in Bhutan, 1905-1947: A historical outline.
Thimphu: Centre for Bhutan Studies.137-159
Balikci, A. (2008). The British residency
in the Himalayan State of Sikkim: A heritage building restored to Its former glory. Bulletin
of Tibetology, 171-180.
Collister, P. (1987). Bhutan and the British.
London: Serindia Publications.
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