India and Bhutan: A Study in Interrelations 1771-1919

An analytical and interpretative study of the relations between India and Bhutan during the British rule in India in the wider context of the evolution of the British Indian Policy in the Himalayan region. It covers practically the entire, most formative and crucial period, beginning from the first ever encounter which Bhutan had ever had with the English rulers in India and ending with the treaty of 1910 under which the Dragon Kingdom agreed to be aided and guided by the government of India in the conduct of her foreign relations. Based almost exclusively on primary historical records it is an exhaustive study of some of the key phases in the history of the bilateral relations between the two countries. It is also an explanation of the slow and gradual unfolding process of the sentiments and feelings of the people of Bhutan who, because of their centuries long isolated existence, were reserved and inhibited in their reactions towards a strong, centralized and perhaps the most powerful western power of its times.