CHAPTER XXI
BRITISH RELATIONS WITH BHUTAN FROM 1772
Nepalese invasion of Tibet, 1792. The Athara Duars. Friction with Bhutan. Our occupation of the Bengal Duars. Expedition against Bhutan. Loss of guns. Treaty of Rawa Pani. Whole of Duars taken by us. Tongsa Penlop accompanies expedition to Lhasa. Sir Ugyen’s visit to Calcutta. Sir Ugyen elected Maharaja.
So far as records show, the earliest relations between the Government of India and Bhutan began in 1772. In that year the Bhutanese set up a claim to Cooch Behar, invaded the State, and carried off the Raja, Durunder Narain, and his brother the Dewan Deo. The Cooch Behar family solicited the aid of the Government of India, which was at once accorded, and a small force, under Captain Jones, was sent to drive the Bhutanese across the frontier. The expedition was successful. Captain Jones drove the Bhutanese out of Cooch Behar, and captured the forts of Daling, Chichacotta, and Buxa. The Bhutanese then appealed for aid to the Tashi Lama, who at the time was Regent of Tibet during the minority of the Delai Lama. The Lama addressed a very friendly letter to the Governor-General, Warren Hastings, which was read in Council on March 29, 1774, in which he sued for peace on behalf of the Government of Bhutan, and suggested that though they deserved punishment they had been sufficiently chastised. In this letter Bhutan is claimed as a dependency of Tibet. A treaty of peace with Bhutan followed, which was signed at Fort William on April 25, 1774.
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