The
Bhutan War (or
Duar WarThe Bhutan War was a war fought between British India and Bhutan in 1864–1865.Britain sent a peace mission to Bhutan in early 1864, in the wake of the recent conclusion of a civil war there...
) was a war fought between British India and
BhutanThe Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by People's Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from the nearby state of Nepal to the west by...
in 1864–1865.
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927...
sent a peace mission to
BhutanThe Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by People's Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from the nearby state of Nepal to the west by...
in early 1864, in the wake of the recent conclusion of a civil war there. The dzongpon of
Punakhathumb|right|Punakha Dzong and the [[Mo Chhu]]Punakha is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thimphu and it...
– who had emerged victorious – had broken with the central government and set up a rival druk desi while the legitimate druk desi sought the protection of the ponlop of
ParoParo may refer to:* Matteo Paro , Italian footballer* Paro , a therapeutic robot baby harp seal* Paro, Bhutan* Paro Airport, Bhutan* Paro District, Bhutan* Paro, a 32 foot tall Moai on Rapa Nui...
and was later deposed.
The
Bhutan War (or
Duar WarThe Bhutan War was a war fought between British India and Bhutan in 1864–1865.Britain sent a peace mission to Bhutan in early 1864, in the wake of the recent conclusion of a civil war there...
) was a war fought between British India and
BhutanThe Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by People's Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from the nearby state of Nepal to the west by...
in 1864–1865.
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927...
sent a peace mission to
BhutanThe Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by People's Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from the nearby state of Nepal to the west by...
in early 1864, in the wake of the recent conclusion of a civil war there. The dzongpon of
Punakhathumb|right|Punakha Dzong and the [[Mo Chhu]]Punakha is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thimphu and it...
– who had emerged victorious – had broken with the central government and set up a rival druk desi while the legitimate druk desi sought the protection of the ponlop of
ParoParo may refer to:* Matteo Paro , Italian footballer* Paro , a therapeutic robot baby harp seal* Paro, Bhutan* Paro Airport, Bhutan* Paro District, Bhutan* Paro, a 32 foot tall Moai on Rapa Nui...
and was later deposed. The British mission dealt alternately with the rival ponlop of Paro and the ponlop of Tongsa (the latter acted on behalf of the druk desi), but Bhutan rejected the peace and friendship treaty it offered. Britain declared war in November 1864. Bhutan had no regular army, and what forces existed were composed of dzong guards armed with matchlocks, bows and arrows, swords, knives, and catapults. Some of these dzong guards, carrying shields and wearing chainmail armor, engaged the well-equipped British forces.
The fort, known at the time as Dewangiri, at
DeothangDeothang is a town in south-eastern Bhutan. It is located in Samdrup Jongkhar District.Population 2,644 .The town and surrounding area is known for its bird population and there is the Sonai-Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary...
was dismantled by the British during 1865. The British initially suffered a humiliating defeat at Deothang and when they recaptured Dewangiri they destroyed much to attempt to compensate.
The Duar War (1864–1865) lasted only five months and, despite some battlefield victories by Bhutanese forces, resulted in Bhutan's defeat, loss of part of its sovereign territory, and forced cession of formerly occupied territories. Under the terms of the Treaty of Sinchula, signed on November 11, 1865, Bhutan ceded territories in the Assam Duars and Bengal Duars, as well as the eighty-three-square-kilometer territory of Dewangiri in southeastern Bhutan, in return for an annual subsidy of 50,000
rupeeThe rupee is the common name for the currencies used in India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mauritius, and Seychelles; in Indonesia the unit of currency is known as the rupiah and in the Maldives the rufiyah, which are cognate words of Hindi rupiya...
s.