Timeline Bhutan
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The capital is Thimphu (former capital was
Punakha)
and the total population is 700,000 [650,000]. 85% of the people are
Buddhist
Drukpas of Mongoland Tibetan origin and the national language is
Dzongkha.
The country is barely 100 miles wide and 200 miles long.
(SFEC, 2/23/96, p.T5,6)(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.A1)(SFC, 3/15/01, p.A24)
627-649 The introduction of Buddhism
in Bhutan occurred during the reign of Tibetan king Srongtsen Gampo. He
converted to Buddhism and ordered the construction of two Buddhist
temples, at Bumthang in central Bhutan and at Kyichu in the Paro
Valley.
(http://tinyurl.com/7qlsz)
659 Bhutan’s Kyichu Lhakhang
monastery was built.
(SFC, 3/15/01, p.A24)
700-800 Bhutan’s Taktsang monastery was founded by
tantric master Padmasambhava, often described as “another Buddha.”
(SFEC, 2/23/96, p.T5)
800-900 Ninth century monks called Bhutan “the hidden
world.”
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.A8)
1627 Two Portuguese Jesuits
arrived in Bhutan, the first westerners to do so.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.A8)
1644 Trongsa Dzong was built.
Trongsa was the ancestral home of Bhutan’s royal family.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trongsa)
1783 Captain Samuel Turner, a
British army officer, traveled through Bhutan and Tibet.
(Econ, 1/31/09, p.91)
1907 A Bhutan royal dynasty that
continued to a 4th ruler in 1997 was founded.
(SFEC, 2/23/96, p.T6)
1949 Bhutan decided that its
policies would be guided by relations with India.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.55)
1952 Bhutan enthroned the third
Druk Gyalpo, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.
(http://tinyurl.com/7qlsz)
1955 Nov 11, Jigme Singye Wangchuk
was born. He became king of Bhutan in 1972.
(SSFC, 3/17/02, p.C10)(www.worldwhoswho.com)
1956 Bhutan abolished serfdom.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.55)
1958 Bhutan’s position of gongzim,
held since 1907 by the Dorji family, was upgraded in 1958 to lonchen
(prime minister) and was still in the hands of the Dorji.
(http://tinyurl.com/7qlsz)
1958 Jawaharlal Nehru, prime
minister of India, trekked for a month to make a treaty with Bhutan. He
demanded to be met at the border by someone of equal rank. King
Wangchuk balked at making the trip and quickly appointed his aide,
Jigme Palden Dorji, as prime minister to meet Nehru 127 miles away by
mule and foot.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.A8)(Econ, 5/14/05, p.46)
1958 The cut-off year for granting
Nepalese citizenship. Families living in Bhutan after this year would
be considered as illegals.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.A8)
1960 During the 1960s many
Nepalese migrated to Bhutan for economic reasons.
(Econ, 10/25/03, p.39)
1961 Bhutan constructed its 1st
paved road.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.55)
1967 A national library was
established.
(SFC, 3/15/01, p.A24)
c1968 Michael Aris (d.1999 at 53),
a graduate from Durham Univ., was invited to become the private tutor
of the children of the royal family of Bhutan. Aris spent 6 years in
Bhutan and later married Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma.
(SFC, 3/30/99, p.F4)
1971 Bhutan joined the United
Nations.
(WSJ, 1/25/00, p.A1)
1972 Jul 24, Bhutan’s King Jigme
Dorji Wangchuck died while on safari in Kenya. His son Jigme Druk
Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck (b.1955), the 4th of his dynasty, became
king.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.A1)(SFEC, 2/23/96, p.T5)(SSFC,
3/17/02, p.C10)
1972 Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye
Wangchuck formally launched his Gross National Happiness (GNH) plan.
(SFC, 12/4/08, p.A1)
1974 Jun 2, Jigme Druk Gyalpo
Jigme Singye Wangchuck (18) was crowned king of Bhutan.
(www.worldwhoswho.com)
1974 Bhutan opened up to limited
tourism.
(WSJ, 1/25/00, p.A1)
1981 Bhutan’s King Jigme Druk
Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck introduced 20 district committees elected
by households in an effort to decentralize authority. In 1991 this was
extended to 201 committees.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.57)
1983 The Paro Airport, 40 miles
from the capital, was constructed.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.A8)
c1985 The government invoked codes
that mandated the use of dress, language and architectural style that
reflected the majority Drukpas.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.A1)
1985 The South Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with
the aim of promoting economic cooperation and alleviating poverty in
South Asia. Members included Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
(AP, 11/13/05)
1986 Bhutan’s first newspaper, the
government weekly Kuensel, began publishing. It recorded its first
crime in 1989, the same year that the first satellite dish arrived.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.A8)
1988 A census found that southern
Bhutan had a lot of illegal Nepalese settlers. Protestors of the census
were jailed, some expulsion orders were issued and others were harassed
out.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.A1)(Econ, 10/25/03, p.39)
1988 Jamie Zeppa of Canada began a
teaching assignment in Bhutan. In 1999 "Stranger in the Strange Land of
Bhutan," a memoir of her experiences was published.
(SFEC, 8/8/99, p.T10)(WSJ, 9/10/99, p.W7)
1988-1993 Thousands of Nepali speakers left Bhutan
after they failed to produce documents to prove their citizenship.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.56)
1989 A conservation trust fund was
created for the country.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.A8)
1989 Telephones were introduced to
Bhutan.
(WSJ, 1/25/00, p.A1)
1995 Bhutan’s national assembly
declared that 60 percent of the country must be forested, including 26
percent that is set aside as protected.
(AP, 12/18/05)
1998 Apr 19, In Bhutan a fire
destroyed the Taktsang Monastery, that dated back in some form to the
9th century.
(SFC, 4/22/98, p.A9)
1998 Jul 7, King Jigme Singye
Wangchuck gave the legislature power to fire him and to choose a
Cabinet.
(SFC, 7/8/98, p.A12)
1998 Bhutan’s King Druk Gyalpo
Jigme Singye Wangchuck formalized a plan dubbed the Four Pillars of
Happiness: sustainable economic development, conservation of the
environment, the promotion of national culture and good governance.
This was based on his belief in Gross National Happiness (GNH) as
opposed to Gross National Product (GNP).
(WSJ, 10/13/04, p.A14)(Econ, 12/18/04, p.56)
1999 Bhutan introduced television
and access to the Internet.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.55)
2000 Aug 8, In Bhutan flash floods
and mudslides left at least 50 people dead.
(SFC, 8/9/00, p.A14)
2001 Sep 9, In Damak, Nepal, a
Bhutanese leader, R.K. Budhathoki, was attacked and killed with
khukris, the traditional Nepalese curved knives.
(SFC, 9/10/01, p.B2)
2001 Bhutan and Nepalese
authorities agreed on a joint screening system to determine on which
refugees would be allowed to go back to Bhutan. Over 100,000 people
were in refugee camps in Nepal.
(Econ, 10/25/03, p.39)
2002 Jul, The National Assembly
passed a resolution saying the military will expel Bodo guerrillas if
they do not leave peacefully.
(SFC, 10/28/02, p.A7)
2002 Oct 27, In India separatist
guerrillas in Assam state killed 22 villagers. Members of the National
Democratic Front of Bodoland operated out of bases in Bhutan. The
10-year insurgency has left over 10,000 dead.
(SFC, 10/28/02, p.A7)
2003 Jan 5, In Bhutan Indian
separatists said 50 Indian soldiers attacked their camps. 15 soldiers
and 7 rebels were reported killed.
(SFC, 1/8/03, p.A16)
2003 Dec 15, The royal army of
Bhutan seized a camp near its border with India that they believe
housed the headquarters of a major Indian separatist group.
(AP, 12/16/03)
2003 Dec 18, Bhutan's royal army
killed at least 90 Indian separatist guerrillas in three days of
fighting to shut down their bases in the tiny Himalayan nation. the
Bhutanese army reported six to seven fatal casualties.
(AP, 12/18/03)
2004 Dec 17, Bhutan began to
enforce a total ban on tobacco sales and smoking in public. The royal
National Assembly passed the resolution in July.
(SFC, 11/30/04, p.A2)
2005 Mar, Bhutan’s King Wangchuck
published a draft constitution. It included freedom of thought and
speech, a 2-party electoral system, and a mandatory retirement age of
65 for the king, to be endorsed by two0thirds of the National Assembly.
(Econ, 5/14/05, p.46)
2005 Nov 12, In Dhaka, Bangladesh,
a 2-day summit aimed to alleviate poverty and boost trade and
cooperation among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Leaders called for greater cooperation within
the region to deal with the aftermath of disasters like the Kashmir
earthquake and last year's devastating tsunami.
(AFP, 11/12/05)
2005 Dec 18, Bhutan state media
reported that the king has said he will step down as ruler in 2008 and
hold the country's first national elections for a parliamentary
democracy. King Jigme Singye Wangchuck said he will be succeeded by his
son (25), the crown prince.
(AP, 12/18/05)
2006 Dec 2, A bomb exploded in
southwest Bhutan near the border with India, seriously injuring four
people and shattering the calm of the isolated Himalayan kingdom.
(AP, 12/3/06)
2006 Dec 14, The king of Bhutan,
Jigme Singye Wangchuck (51), signed a royal decree giving charge of the
kingdom to Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (26) at a
special session of the Bhutanese Cabinet in the capital, Thimphu. This
was more than a year ahead of schedule.
(AP, 12/16/06)
2006 Bhutan’s economy grew this
year by 12% and GDP per person was reckoned to be about $1,400.
Hydroelectric power sent to India accounted for 87.5% of Bhutan’s
exports.
(Econ, 4/28/07, p.50)
2007 Apr 28, It was reported life
expectancy for the Bhutan’s 700,000 people had increased to 64 years.
(Econ, 4/28/07, p.50)
2007 May 22, The UN's top refugee
official arrived in Nepal for a visit aimed at resolving the fate of
around 100,000 refugees from Bhutan stuck in Nepal for 16 years.
(AP, 5/22/07)
2007 May 30, In Nepal some 10,000
Bhutanese refugees demonstrated at the India-Nepal border, where a day
earlier Indian troops had opened fire, killing one refugee.
(AP, 5/30/07)
2007 Jun 19, Indian police said
they have discovered a stash of hundreds of human skulls and thigh
bones and arrested a gang for allegedly smuggling them to the Himalayan
kingdom of Bhutan for use in Buddhist monasteries.
(Reuters, 6/19/07)
2007 Jul 26, Bhutan's prime
minister and six members of his Cabinet resigned to pave the way for
the 1st parliamentary elections in the Buddhist kingdom and its
transition to democracy.
(AP, 7/27/07)
2008 Jan 1, Bhutan election
officials announced that the Himalayan nation will begin its
transformation from an absolute monarchy to a democracy with several
leaders fresh out of college at the helm. The size of the country's
population is unknown. Estimates put it between 700,000 and 2.2 million.
(AP, 1/2/08)
2008 Mar 24, Bhutan held its first
democratic elections. A new parliament and new constitution diluted the
powers of its popular monarch. The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) or
Bhutan United Party, led by ex-premier Jigmi Thinley (55), won 44 of 47
seats. Thinley has pledged to boost development and happiness in the
Himalayan nation.
(AP, 3/25/08)(Econ, 3/29/08, p.58)
2008 Aug 2, In Sri Lanka a two-day
summit of leaders of the 15th South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC), opened amid extraordinary security. Leaders of
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka attended the summit. Government troops captured
rebel-held Vellankulam village in Mannar, the last rebel stronghold in
the area. Fresh fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger
separatists killed 14 rebels and two soldiers across the embattled
northern region.
(AP, 8/2/08)(AP, 8/3/08)
2008 Nov 6, The Himalayan kingdom
of Bhutan crowned a new king, placing a charismatic Oxford-educated
bachelor as head of state of the world's newest democracy. Jigme Khesar
Namgyel Wangchuck (28) became the world's youngest reigning monarch.
(AFP, 11/6/08)
2008 Nov 24, Bhutan opened its 4th
annual Gross National Happiness (GNH) conference.
(SFC, 12/4/08, p.A1)
2008 The population of Bhutan
numbered about 642,000.
(SFC, 12/4/08, p.A1)
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