BHUTAN HISTORY
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| Royal Bhutan and the World. Bhutan is Land-locked, mountainous and difficult to access geographically. But it was hardly ever a closed country historically. It has had close contacts with its neighbours in south and central Asia since ancient times. Tibet in the north was the source and fountain of its civilization, its traditions and culture. Assam in the south was the based of its ancient chiefs : chiefs of Indian descent under the tutelage of the Kings of ancient Assam ruled parts of what is present – day Bhutan. China and India are now its close neighbour, China is a distant neighbour. India has enabled Bhutan to become fully dependent since the Indo – Bhutanese treaty of 1949. The legend of Padmasambhava and the travels of Buddhist monks in Bhutan suggest that trails connected Bhutan with Tibet on one side and Assam and Bengal on another. In later times, traders from Bhutan, and Tibet exchange their good in the trade marts of Rangiya of Assam and Rangpur of Bengal. Masses of Pilgrims from Tibet, and even Mongolia and Siberia, used to visit, through Bhutan, the sacred places of Buddhism in India in the cold months in the past. There is no tradition of direct relation between Bhutan and Bangladesh. Whatever relations there were between them in the pre – British period were due mainly to the political position of Bhutan and the Mughals in relation to the principalities of Koch Hajo, Bijni and Cooch Behar. There are also indications that there was good trade between Bhutan and Bengal in the past. King Jigme Dorji Wangchhuk took keen interest in the liberation of Bangladesh. Bhutan was the second country, after India, to recognize Bangladesh and establish diplomatic relations with it on 7 December 1971. The president of Bangladesh visited Bhutan on the occasion of the coronation of king Jigme Singye Wangchuk.King Jigme Singye Wangchuk paid |
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