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22. Ladakhi and Bhutanese Enclaves in Tibet
- Author:
- John Bray
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Bhutan Studies
- Institution:
- Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
- Abstract:
- Until the 1950s both Ladakh and Bhutan governed small enclaves of territory in Western Tibet. Ladakh’s enclave consisted of the village of Minsar (Men ser), near lake Manasarovar (Ma pham), and its surrounding land, while Bhutan governed the Darchen (Dar chen) Labrang and several smaller monasteries and villages near Mount Kailas (Gangs rin po che, Ti se). These enclaves were entirely surrounded by the territory of the Dalai Lama, but Ladakh (superseded by the government of Jammu and Kashmir after 1846) and Bhutan continued to raise revenue there for some 300 years. The status of these enclaves was ambiguous. By the 20th century both Kashmir/India and Bhutan claimed to hold their lands in full sovereignty. By contrast the Lhasa government acknowledged that Ladakh/Kashmir and Bhutan held certain rights, but it nevertheless tried to exercise its own authority as though the enclaves were no more than foreign-owned estates in Tibetan territory. These disputes were never fully resolved but came to an abrupt end in the 1950s when the Chinese government took over both sets of enclaves, without paying compensation either to Ladakh/Kashmir or to Bhutan. This paper is a preliminary discussion of the ambiguities surrounding the enclaves. It begins with an analysis of their common origins in the 17th century, and then discusses the disputes surrounding them in the 20th century, making particular reference to British records.1 The paper concludes with a discussion of the enclaves’ standing in the wider context of traditional and contemporary Himalayan politics.
- Topic:
- Politics, History, and Enclaves
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, Tibet, and Bhutan
23. Population History and Identity in the Hidden Land of Pemakö
- Author:
- Kerstin Grothmann
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Bhutan Studies
- Institution:
- Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
- Abstract:
- This study explores the history of migration by different Buddhist peoples from eastern Bhutan, the neighbouring Tawang area and the Tibetan plateau to the ‘hidden land’ (Tib. sbas yul) of Pemakö, and the circumstances that induced migrants to leave their homelands. The descendants of these diverse migrants who settled in the southern part of Pemakö - the Tuting, Geling and Singa Circles of Upper Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh - became officially classified as the Memba and Khamba1 ‘Scheduled Tribes’ (hereafter ST) by the Indian administration during the early 1950s, in order to incorporate them all into the newly independant Indian state. These ST categories were constructed on the basis of supposed common group origins and spoken language, and thus convey the impression that Upper Siang’s Buddhist population consists of two different groups, both of which are internally homogeneous. However, both written sources of the British and post-independence Indian administration and my own fieldwork data demonstrate clearly that Pemakö’s Buddhist population traces its origins back to a wide variety of homelands. Moreover, the ST labels are themselves exonyms that carry certain stereotypes and negative notions, especially the label Memba. Thus, both the Memba and Khampa labels meet with disapproval by local peoples so labeled. The present study retraces the various migration histories and movements of Pemakö ancestor populations. This allows some preliminary explanation of the autonyms used by these migrants themselves, in contrast to the generic exonyms, such as Memba and Khampa, that external agents have applied to them. We can also demonstrate that, in large part due to the religious status of the region as a hidden land, Pemakö became an ethno-linguistic melting pot for migrants from many different places. This diverse group nevertheless developed a common Buddhist identity vis-à-vis their nonBuddhist neighbours, while simultaneously maintaining clear group boundaries among themselves according to place of origin and/or residence.
- Topic:
- Migration, Population, and History
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, Tibet, and Bhutan
24. Trend of Bhutan’s Trade during 1907-26: Export
- Author:
- Ratna Sarkar and Indrajit Ray
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Bhutan Studies
- Institution:
- Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
- Abstract:
- Though the Bhutanese trade with India had been in a flourishing state during the sixteenth-nineteenth centuries, it got added impetus at the debut of the twentieth century because of successive international and domestic events in this Himalayan kingdom. Political activities around Bhutan, especially by Russia, made the British interested to forge a trade relation of India with that country. While an outside impetus had thus been burgeoning for her trade to make a break through, the election of the Tongsa Penlop, Ugyen Wangchuck in 1907 as the first King of Bhutan added further fuel to it as he was a supporter of trade and development in the domestic economy. It is, therefore, expected that trade flourished in Bhutan under the reign of King Ugyen Wangchuck (1907-1926). The objective of this article is to analyse this trend of trade in general, and that of export trade in particular. The organisation of the study is as follows. In section I we analyse the trend of merchandise export of Bhutan to British India during the reign of King Ugyen Wangchuck. Section II explains the destination of export trade of Bhutan. Section III makes an attempt to analyse the composition of exports. The main findings are summarised in section IV.
- Topic:
- History, Exports, and Trade
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, India, and Bhutan
25. Invoking a Warrior Deity: A Preliminary Study of Lo-ju
- Author:
- Dendup Chophel
- Publication Date:
- 10-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Bhutan Studies
- Institution:
- Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
- Abstract:
- Lo-ju1 (blo ‘gyur) is an ancient Pazap (dpa mdzangs pa) festival celebrated every three years across the villages of Shar valley in Wangdue Phodrang. This study focuses primarily on its Chungsekha version. This ritual of propitiating the Dra-lha (dgra lha)2 is conducted for the wellbeing of the Shar community and the nation at large by invoking and appeasing the pantheon of Drukpa protective deities in the martial traditions of the yore. At a glance though, it would seem like a throwback into a warlike past with an enactment of a battle scene by the village pazaps. An in-depth analysis reveals this to be a show of faith, courage and battle preparedness which, by default, is a natural deterrent against possible hostilities. An attempt has been made to bear a historical perspective on this tradition which would otherwise seem like an odd cross between vainglorious machismo, anachronistic extravaganza and mindless superstition.3 The article is based on manuscript of the rituals, hagiography of eminent Drukpa (‘brug pa) hierarchs and other sociopolitical publications though none of them directly relate to the actual rationale and period of the festival’s institution. So, this work is primarily a heuristic recreation of the festival based on stray references found in these sources that are appropriately corroborated with existing myths, legends and other grapevines.
- Topic:
- History, Culture, and Rituals
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and Bhutan
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