Bhutan was in the news recently when our PM Modi visited it along with other Indian officials.
Bhutan is just one of the 5 Kingdoms which were referred to as the 5 Fingers of Tibet- Ladhak,Nepal,Sikkim and Tawang being the other 4.
Other than Nepal,the other 4 states have Buddhism as the dominant religion and swore allegiance to Tibet.
When the British entered India, they wished to take over Darjeeling which they felt were ideally suited for tea gardens.
Darjeeling was under the control of Sikkim and its King (called Chogyal) but the British managed to get the land as lease from Sikkim and paid rent of Rs.3,000 per year for it.
The British administrators,astute as they were, realized that this would not work in the long term.
Their long term solution was encouraging Nepali immigration in these lands.
In the words of Risley,the British official in 1878:
“Here also religion will play a leading part.In Sikkim,as in India,Hinduism would assuredly cast out of Buddhism, and the praying wheel of the lama will give place to the sacrificial implements of the Brahman.The land will follow the creed.Thus race and religion, the prime movers of the Asiatic world,will settle the Sikkim difficulty for us, in their own ways.”
These words proved to be prophetic.The influx of the Nepali Hindus into Sikkim made the original inhabitants a minority in their own land and paved the way for a smooth annexation of Sikkim to India in 1975.
Bhutan learnt its lessons.For all those gushing about Bhutan and its charms, its rulers followed a ruthless policy of maintaining ethnic purity.
It did not allow Nepali Hindus to settle nor did it allow the Bangla Muslims in.The people who entered were forcibly thrown out
As a result,Bhutan still enjoys its independence .
