The Bhutan (Duar) War

01Eden at Punakha

Bhutan had held the Duars for generations and drew its grain and revenue from them. Raids into British territory and disputes over runaway subjects led Calcutta to send Ashley Eden to Punakha in 1864. Bhutan was then divided between rival chiefs, and the mission was received roughly; Eden was made to sign an agreement returning the Assam Duars, which the Government of India at once disowned. In November 1864 the Governor-General, Sir John Lawrence, declared the Bengal Duars annexed, and four columns moved up to the hill passes.

02Dewangiri lost and retaken

The forts in the foothills fell quickly. Then, in January 1865, the Bhutanese under the Tongsa Penlop Jigme Namgyal struck back at Dewangiri, cut its water and forced the British garrison to abandon it by night, leaving guns behind. It was an embarrassment that Calcutta answered with a stronger force under Henry Tombs, who retook Dewangiri in April 1865. Bhutan then negotiated. The Treaty of Sinchula, signed on 11 November 1865, ceded all the Duars and Dewangiri; the British agreed to pay Bhutan a yearly sum for them.