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The History of Bhutan
In recent years, the remote kingdom of Bhutan has increasingly attracted the attention of the world. In 2008, it emerged as the world’s youngest democracy and in the same year crowned the world’s youngest monarch. This was followed by the new King’s colourful wedding in 2011. Today, it continues to enchant the rest of the world with its policy of Gross National Happiness and has become a very popular destination for travel. But, despite its growing popularity and the rising scholarly interest in the country, Bhutan remains one of the most poorly studied places on earth.
Karma Phuntsho’s The History of Bhutan is the first-ever attempt to cover the entire history of Bhutan in some detail in English, combining both traditional perspectives and modern academic analysis. Written by a leading expert on the country, the book tells the story of Bhutan in a narrative style interspersed with some analytical and topical discussion, and numerous citations and translations from earlier writings. It is primarily a historical account, but it also includes substantive discussions of Bhutan’s geography, culture and society to give the readers an incisive introduction to the country.
Karma Phuntsho’s The History of Bhutan is the first-ever attempt to cover the entire history of Bhutan in some detail in English, combining both traditional perspectives and modern academic analysis. Written by a leading expert on the country, the book tells the story of Bhutan in a narrative style interspersed with some analytical and topical discussion, and numerous citations and translations from earlier writings. It is primarily a historical account, but it also includes substantive discussions of Bhutan’s geography, culture and society to give the readers an incisive introduction to the country.
704 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 8, 2017
I've been reading a lot of dry history lately. "The History of Bhutan" is anything but. If you're interested in A) how to write history, or B) Bhutan, I highly recommend this book which will give you an incredible (incredible) understanding of this mountain kingdom.
Karma Phuntsho isn't without his biases, but he tells the story of Bhutan as is with the warts and all of Bhutan's monarchy and theocracy represented. The Zhabdrung's wars, the Wangchuk's politicking, the recent refugee crisis, and socio-economic damage done by modernization is all represented. While at the same time, giving an (accurate) analysis that Bhutan has navigated the modern world with surprising efficacy, avoiding the fates of neighboring Himalayan Buddhist states that have been absorbed into Nepal, India, or China.
For the full story of how Bhutan developed into a country and a modern state, read this book. It's big and thick and intense, but it's quite the page turner.
Karma Phuntsho isn't without his biases, but he tells the story of Bhutan as is with the warts and all of Bhutan's monarchy and theocracy represented. The Zhabdrung's wars, the Wangchuk's politicking, the recent refugee crisis, and socio-economic damage done by modernization is all represented. While at the same time, giving an (accurate) analysis that Bhutan has navigated the modern world with surprising efficacy, avoiding the fates of neighboring Himalayan Buddhist states that have been absorbed into Nepal, India, or China.
For the full story of how Bhutan developed into a country and a modern state, read this book. It's big and thick and intense, but it's quite the page turner.
August 11, 2020
An essential book as it is - to the best of my knowledge - the only comprehensive history of Bhutan, and a lengthy, detailed account at that. If you're going to Bhutan and wish to get to grips with the history of the place before going then look no further (you won't find much anyway).
At the same time it occasionally falls short of modern scholarly standards - to say Phuntsho is a positivist when interpreting primary sources is an understatement - and long segments of the book feel like they're stuck in a rut with a rather uninspired reign-by-reign narrative without much analysis or purpose to it other than being exhaustive. Speaking of exhaustive, Phuntsho has the typical historian's proclivity towards dropping a whole lot of names, leaving you to figure out which ones are worth noting and which will only be mentioned once.
Luckily the strongest chapters are also the ones covering the most important, transformative periods of Bhutan's history: The unification of the country under Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century and the later chapters dealing with Bhutan's transition from being a monastic state to a constitutional monarchy.
At the same time it occasionally falls short of modern scholarly standards - to say Phuntsho is a positivist when interpreting primary sources is an understatement - and long segments of the book feel like they're stuck in a rut with a rather uninspired reign-by-reign narrative without much analysis or purpose to it other than being exhaustive. Speaking of exhaustive, Phuntsho has the typical historian's proclivity towards dropping a whole lot of names, leaving you to figure out which ones are worth noting and which will only be mentioned once.
Luckily the strongest chapters are also the ones covering the most important, transformative periods of Bhutan's history: The unification of the country under Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century and the later chapters dealing with Bhutan's transition from being a monastic state to a constitutional monarchy.
March 24, 2020
Before reading this comprehensive and ginormous book, I did not imagine what a person could learn about place as small and insignificant in world history as Bhutan. I was proven wrong. An exotic, mountain kingdom with thunder dragon on its flag. Bhutan used to be a respectable regional player in Tibetan region. Beginning its existence as a unified nation of theocratic republic in which regents put their authorities upon multiple incarnations of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, father of unified Bhutan state. who were used as convenient excuses for the regents like reincarnations of Lamas in neighbouring Tibet. However, the current modern form of Bhutan as a kingdom was only conceived in 20th century as Ugyen Wangchuck and his descendants were enthroned as Kings of Bhutan. As one of the latest nations on earth to embrace modernization, Bhutan faced unique challenges and threats to its traditional ways of life. As I said first, this book is quite comprehensive in describing Bhutan in many aspects such as tribal compositions, religions, geographical situations, and so on and so on, which can be quite tedious to read.
October 25, 2021
This book is one of the informative books on the modern history of Bhutan, and I enjoyed reading it. However, it is not without biases, thereby resulting in the misinterpretation of the available historical data due to the poor analyses. Karma Phunstho has relied primarily on the legends and mythical narratives of his own village—Ura—and on Bumthang where Ura is one of its villages, portraying it as the site of early Bhutanese civilisation and as the centre of social and cultural hub of the whole pre-17th century Bhutan. These sources written by Buddhists were largely treated as a matter of fact without questioning their validity or telling readers how the author validated these claims of how the original authors arrived at the stated conclusions. What methods did they follow and who were their sources? None of these was mentioned, nor did Karma make an attempt to clarify these issues in relation to the objectivity of early Buddhist sources. While the element of subjectivity is inescapable in writing history, this book is quite simply compounded by biases and over generalisation, and therefore lacks objectivity.
The greatest failure of the book is the treatment of some Buddhist claims as an absolute historical truth or at the very least as a historically verified truth in the sense that whatever historical claims made in the oral or hagiographical writings are historical reality. Caution on the historicity of the legends of the pre-Zhabdrung Bhutan has been surprisingly minimal. One such example is the assertion of the existence of the Kingdom of Bumthang in the 8th century. This is one example of the many gross generalisations in the book, given that there is no evidence (informed by science) of the existence of such a kingdom in Bumthang nor any archaeological studies into the deep history of Bhutan. As history writing is heavily influenced by the historian, this book presents only one-sided information. Further scholarly and unbiased research into the complexities of the history of Bhutan by paying close attention to the historicity of the pre-17th century narratives will help address some of the many problems of the book relating to the presentation of legends, oral stories, and mythologies, as ‘historical facts’.
The greatest failure of the book is the treatment of some Buddhist claims as an absolute historical truth or at the very least as a historically verified truth in the sense that whatever historical claims made in the oral or hagiographical writings are historical reality. Caution on the historicity of the legends of the pre-Zhabdrung Bhutan has been surprisingly minimal. One such example is the assertion of the existence of the Kingdom of Bumthang in the 8th century. This is one example of the many gross generalisations in the book, given that there is no evidence (informed by science) of the existence of such a kingdom in Bumthang nor any archaeological studies into the deep history of Bhutan. As history writing is heavily influenced by the historian, this book presents only one-sided information. Further scholarly and unbiased research into the complexities of the history of Bhutan by paying close attention to the historicity of the pre-17th century narratives will help address some of the many problems of the book relating to the presentation of legends, oral stories, and mythologies, as ‘historical facts’.
February 25, 2020
A beautiful history of Bhutan, though sometimes the flow slows or disrupts as the author stitches together different sources to comprehensively cover the history. At 600 pages, this book starts by presenting the linguistic and geographic diversity of Bhutan, and follows with the semi-historical/semi-mythical background of early Bhutanese history, through the history of unified Bhutan from the mid-1600s, and ending with an epilogue chapter on Bhutan's history since the 1950s. In the process an extremely interesting culture is revealed, similar to and often influenced by Tibet, but distinct as well.
I particularly enjoyed reading about the tertons (revealers of hidden treasures, usually spiritual teachings) and the selection of (and often contests between) reincarnations of significant figures (both concepts that Bhutan shares with Tibet). Though I admit to sometimes getting lost as to who was a reincarnation of who, and which families were fighting or allied together at various times.
I also enjoyed reading about Bhutan's relationship to Nepal, both in opposition to Sikkim and in the modern day mass immigration that has resulted in the southern third of Bhutan being majority Nepali. Finally, I enjoyed the apt ending note of the book - portraying a society in transition and cultural limbo - and evoking both nostalgia and progress. The book made me want to some day visit Bhutan.
I particularly enjoyed reading about the tertons (revealers of hidden treasures, usually spiritual teachings) and the selection of (and often contests between) reincarnations of significant figures (both concepts that Bhutan shares with Tibet). Though I admit to sometimes getting lost as to who was a reincarnation of who, and which families were fighting or allied together at various times.
I also enjoyed reading about Bhutan's relationship to Nepal, both in opposition to Sikkim and in the modern day mass immigration that has resulted in the southern third of Bhutan being majority Nepali. Finally, I enjoyed the apt ending note of the book - portraying a society in transition and cultural limbo - and evoking both nostalgia and progress. The book made me want to some day visit Bhutan.
May 6, 2016
The fact that it is hard to find a detailed English language volume of Bhutanese history means this should be given an automatic 4 at least, but there are numerous past-romanticizing segments that undermine the soberness of the rest of the text-even when talking about the massive positive increases in living standards of the past several decades.
Still, if you want to learn about Bhutan and its unexpectedly interesting history, this is your best bet.
Still, if you want to learn about Bhutan and its unexpectedly interesting history, this is your best bet.
August 18, 2017
The book is so big, I could only complete a third of it during my 2 weeks in Bhutan.
But what I did read was very fascinating.
What's unique about the "history" of Bhutan is that there is only a gradual blending from older mythological history into current modern history, since what we know about its past is only what we can decipher from its myths of gods and rebirths.
It certainly lends a very mystical aura to visits to its historical sites like Taktsang monestry.
But what I did read was very fascinating.
What's unique about the "history" of Bhutan is that there is only a gradual blending from older mythological history into current modern history, since what we know about its past is only what we can decipher from its myths of gods and rebirths.
It certainly lends a very mystical aura to visits to its historical sites like Taktsang monestry.
March 23, 2016
Meget grundig gjennomgang av Bhutans historie over 600 sider. Velskrevet og balanser, men så detaljert at kun spesialister har mulighet til å skille de mange aktørene fra hverandre: skogen forsvinner av og til for alle trærne.
July 11, 2020
A country and its people can be only fully understood by unravelling their past.
That is what pulls me to history. And this book is one of the firsts in the series of world histories I aim to acquaint myself with.
While reading this book it is abundantly clear that Buddhism has played an important role throughout the historical evolution of Bhutan which the author roughly demarcates into five separate periods viz:
The pre-historic period of which there are hardly any known historical records.
Early Historic period distinguished by the introduction of Buddhism after arrival of the famous Guru Padmasambhava.
Medieval or the period of Theocracy.
Monarchical rule or the Early Modern Period.
Modern Period marked by introduction of the legislative assembly, secular education, biomedicine and motor roads.
Though largely nestled high up in the mountains, it is amazing to realize that this small country of some 7 lac odd people has so much history and diversity burrowed in it.
Blending the mythological with the historical, the book tells the tale of this country from the point of the people, the languages they spoke and the Kings they had: from the popular Songsten Gampo through the establishment of the dual system of government-the Desis and Je Khenpo-by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the unifier of the present day Bhutan to the incumbent monarch.
We learn how the constant feuds as well as reconciliations between different clans and different schools of Buddhism have shaped the history of Bhutan. Another interesting topic dealt with is the country's shared history with its neighbors like India, Nepal, China and particularly Tibet which seems to have played the role of both the warmest ally and the coldest foe, the admired and the despised.
Also,though briefly the issue of Lhotshampa ethnic cleansing is discussed too providing a short background and the road ahead.
Woven through the book there are then sporadic commentaries on the country's interaction with modernity and the strain caused on the social fabric of the community because of the tussle between the traditional and the modern, which is aptly captured in these lines:
Paradoxically, not all can speak their ‘native tongue’ fluently. This linguistic conundrum of multiple imperfect tongues with no solid grounding in one as the first language aptly reflects the very fragmented but dynamic personality of many young Bhutanese, who are grappling between the traditional past and postmodern future. They have neither fully relinquished the old world and embraced the new, nor fully inherited the old and rejected the new; they linger in a limbo halfway between tradition and modernity, the East and the West, simplicity and sophistication, between linguistic poverty and proficiency. Out of such a diachronic situation emerges an interesting Bhutanese character, which is aptly captured by the state’s search for the Middle Way.
The linguistic landscape of Bhutan is changing very fast and dramatically. It is very likely that in a few decades most dialects and many minor languages will be dead. A few major languages may survive the onslaught of English and globalization but will nonetheless have changed significantly. As each word represents an idea, the death of each language will mean the loss of a whole set of ideas and culture. The situation of Bhutan’s languages in the long future will be the best yardstick to measure cultural changes, indicating both how much was lost and how much has changed due to the homogenizing affects of modernization.
Some bonus Interesting facts:
The modern habit of attaching the father’s or husband’s name to one’s name in imitation of foreign cultures is another case of a modern accretion. Bhutanese traditionally received their names from religious figures individually and did not have the tradition of a family name. However, many parents today choose either the whole or part of their children’s names, and some children and female spouses add the second name of the father as their surname. Trendy as it may seem, this has its own practical and social problems. Bhutanese first names are generally gender-neutral and one has to tell the gender of the person by their second name. This is now impossible in the case of a girl who adopts her father’s second name as her second name. It is also a socially regressive practice in embracing a patriarchal symbol in favour of Bhutanese tradition with gender equality.
Ceremonies for nuptial bonds were rare in the past and limited to certain areas and some aristocratic families who adopted Tibetan customs. The Buddhist tradition does not have wedding rituals. However, today, new wedding rituals incorporating an element of Buddhist prayers and a big luncheon are common in Thimphu and other urban centres. Such invention of tradition, inevitably, comes with its own set of problems and challenges. While most people still approach such public displays of affection and novel rituals with some discomfort, the rituals have led to economic pressures amongst peers to throw grander parties or give more expensive presents. In a small society where most people know each other, it is also causing a stigma for those who cannot have these ceremonies.
May 27, 2025
This book is a great choice for people interested in the region. It is (mostly) easy to read and doesn’t require any prior knowledge. However, the book will also appeal to those who already know a lot about Bhutan (or the region). While the book is quite voluminous and dense, it covers the entire history of Bhutan—from prehistoric times to modernity. This makes it very unique, as this topic is not well-researched in English-speaking literature.
In general, this is a very interesting book. However, I struggled with the numerous names and local toponyms. There were simply too many names. Some parts of the book read like a mere chronology of rulers’ successions, presented without sufficient context. I understand this is likely due to the limitation of sources, but perhaps this aspect could be improved to enhance readability. Additionally, there were occasional deviations from the main topic of certain chapters, which added to my confusion.
I would really appreciate a separate chapter dedicated to the administration and political system of Bhutan during the medieval period, as I feel this subject got somewhat lost within the broader narrative.
Lastly, the book lacks sufficient maps. The author references many locations and uses numerous toponyms that aren’t depicted on any map, making it difficult to follow where events occurred. It would be beneficial if the maps were more detailed, including additional cities, villages, and possibly even battle sites. Since Tibet is frequently mentioned, a map of Tibet showing the locations of important places would also be helpful. Another benefit could be a linguistic map showing clearly the locations of language/dialects groups: eastern languages/dialects spoken and separatley marked the group of western languages/dialects + others.
To conclude, this book is truly a masterpiece. It is a remarkable and courageous choice to capture the entire history of Bhutan in one book, in English, given the scarcity of reliable sources. Bravo!
In general, this is a very interesting book. However, I struggled with the numerous names and local toponyms. There were simply too many names. Some parts of the book read like a mere chronology of rulers’ successions, presented without sufficient context. I understand this is likely due to the limitation of sources, but perhaps this aspect could be improved to enhance readability. Additionally, there were occasional deviations from the main topic of certain chapters, which added to my confusion.
I would really appreciate a separate chapter dedicated to the administration and political system of Bhutan during the medieval period, as I feel this subject got somewhat lost within the broader narrative.
Lastly, the book lacks sufficient maps. The author references many locations and uses numerous toponyms that aren’t depicted on any map, making it difficult to follow where events occurred. It would be beneficial if the maps were more detailed, including additional cities, villages, and possibly even battle sites. Since Tibet is frequently mentioned, a map of Tibet showing the locations of important places would also be helpful. Another benefit could be a linguistic map showing clearly the locations of language/dialects groups: eastern languages/dialects spoken and separatley marked the group of western languages/dialects + others.
To conclude, this book is truly a masterpiece. It is a remarkable and courageous choice to capture the entire history of Bhutan in one book, in English, given the scarcity of reliable sources. Bravo!
June 18, 2020
It is nothing like the history text we read during our school days in Bhutan,where I found most of the interesting oral histories we heard from our elders were omitted. In this book we get to hear the troubles our monarchs had with Zhabdrung and the feud between Dorji family and the Wangchuk family and many more. Dr. Karma Phuntsho have incandescently captured all these and the effect of modernaisarion, how it changed the outlook of Bhutanese today.
I highly recommend this book to all the Bhutanese👍
I highly recommend this book to all the Bhutanese👍
March 30, 2019
Very detailed and lots of information to go through. If you're in anyway interested in Bhutan and its history, this is a book to read.
It does contain plenty of detail, some of which may be too much if you're only interested in something a bit more brief and concise.
The author deserves plenty of praise on this marvellous piece of work which his country should be proud as well.
It does contain plenty of detail, some of which may be too much if you're only interested in something a bit more brief and concise.
The author deserves plenty of praise on this marvellous piece of work which his country should be proud as well.
June 12, 2024
Overall, this is a great choice for learning more about Bhutan. Pretty much the only option available in English also. I think it could have benefited from some closer editing. Parts of it read like an exhaustive list rather than a narrative or analysis.
November 7, 2019
Very solid.
November 12, 2019
The undisputed book to read on Bhutanese history. A seminal work.
July 18, 2020
The definitive guide on Bhutan. It helped me understand this small Himalayan country as much as living there did.
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February 15, 2025"Gawa rang gi zon go zo; choem rang gi choen go choel."
Whatever joy you seek, it can be achieved by yourself; whatever misery you seek, it can be found by yourself. (state of your mind).
Whatever joy you seek, it can be achieved by yourself; whatever misery you seek, it can be found by yourself. (state of your mind).
March 12, 2025
Very well done, the names were difficult to follow, can't blame that on the book though.
June 10, 2015
Karma Phutnsho's History of Bhutan is probably most comprehensive history on the country written so far. It covers history from early beginning to nearly today and it's written both scholarly and in entertaining way. It's main strength lies in the medieval history of Bhutan, which is the author's main scholar focus. Trained as Buddhist monk in his early age, Karma Phutnsho can deliver very great understanding of country's religion oriented and propelled history. The book doesn't even lack a sense of subtle academic humour.
Anyway while reading you definitely should have in mind, that this is book about Bhutan written by Bhutanese who often feels need to cover up some less virtuous deed of Bhutan and it's leader. This is especially true when the book reaches the beginnings of the monarchy. While writing about the father of the first king, Jigme Namgyel and Ashley Eden expedition, one even feels he is reading two books, in one part, blame for diplomatic disaster is put on Eden, in next paragrapsh the same blame is put on Jigme Namgyel. With the first and the second king, the book actually just follow the official history without much trying to give more complex insight. Reading in between the lines, I believe that author deliberately inhibited himself as criticism of the Monarchy is very sensitive in Bhutan. So the author is giving us glaring picture of the events while we can see some more dire backstage which is not commented openly.
With the third king and modernization, this book is no longer relevant history as it doesn't give detailed account of any event. While the author makes honest try to explain about the so called "southern problem" (eviction of Nepali population) it wrongly says, that southern Nepali people came as labourers while they were explicitly invited as settlers. It also make no notion of the changes to citizenship laws which later made it easy to deny citizenship to people, who were counted as citizens before.
The book is very great, but author would make a favour to his own academic credentials, if he didn't venture to history of monarchy, where the book has to be consulted with other sources to get complete picture. If the book consist of medieval history only, it would definitely be the best one.
Anyway while reading you definitely should have in mind, that this is book about Bhutan written by Bhutanese who often feels need to cover up some less virtuous deed of Bhutan and it's leader. This is especially true when the book reaches the beginnings of the monarchy. While writing about the father of the first king, Jigme Namgyel and Ashley Eden expedition, one even feels he is reading two books, in one part, blame for diplomatic disaster is put on Eden, in next paragrapsh the same blame is put on Jigme Namgyel. With the first and the second king, the book actually just follow the official history without much trying to give more complex insight. Reading in between the lines, I believe that author deliberately inhibited himself as criticism of the Monarchy is very sensitive in Bhutan. So the author is giving us glaring picture of the events while we can see some more dire backstage which is not commented openly.
With the third king and modernization, this book is no longer relevant history as it doesn't give detailed account of any event. While the author makes honest try to explain about the so called "southern problem" (eviction of Nepali population) it wrongly says, that southern Nepali people came as labourers while they were explicitly invited as settlers. It also make no notion of the changes to citizenship laws which later made it easy to deny citizenship to people, who were counted as citizens before.
The book is very great, but author would make a favour to his own academic credentials, if he didn't venture to history of monarchy, where the book has to be consulted with other sources to get complete picture. If the book consist of medieval history only, it would definitely be the best one.
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October 4, 2015This is an in depth look in Bhutanese society and history coming from one of the country's premier academics. It begins with all of the information on Bhutan's languages, people, and names for their country before going into the beginnings of recorded history in the 700s going to the present day. Most histories of Bhutan gloss over the period from 1705 (the reveal of the Zhabdrung's death) to 1907 (the establishment of the monarchy), with a brief detailed interlude in 1864 (the Duar War). Phuntsho's work goes into this long period of disunity and even covers some of the monarchy's failures in the 20th Century (though not quite as detailed as we would all like, this is probably a matter of self-preservation).
May 22, 2016
A comprehensive (and how!) but rather clunkily written history of this tiny Himalayan kingdom. Certainly it makes a terrific reference, but as a memorable narrative of Bhutan's foundations and historical figures, it falls rather short.
April 25, 2020
Incredibly encyclopedic. It should be read slowly and thoroughly, keeping notes. It gives a very good perspective from a former Bhutanese monk with an Oxford education. Honest with the subject and detailed.
August 21, 2013
An extremely comprehensive book about Bhutan. Well-written and accessible. However, I probably wouldn't recommend this for the average reader unless you have an interest in Bhutan and/or history.
August 27, 2020
A wonderful, erudite, and engaging book. Phuntso gives an insider's perspective on Bhutan.
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