Word: bhutan
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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With its sparkling air, snow-capped mountains and countless whitewashed Buddhist temples, the tiny Himalayan country of Bhutan is probably the world's closest real-life equivalent to James Hilton's Shangri-La. The 1,100,000 Bhutanese, most of whom are illiterate peasants, sense that they live in a uniquely calm and contented country, which they call "the end of the rainbow land of desires." Last week Bhutan gave itself another distinction by publicly crowning the world's youngest monarch, 18-year-old King Jigme Singye Wangchuk. He will henceforth be known as "the dragon king...
Royal astrologers in Thimphu, Bhutan's capital, had delayed the ceremony until they were satisfied that all the signs were in order, but the investiture, once begun, proceeded with flawless splendor. As the King approached the courtyard of the Tashichhodzong, the fortress and monastery that serves as the seat of government, lamas wearing miter-shaped red silk hats and red woolen robes walked in procession ahead of him, and barefoot male dancers in wide silk skirts described intricate patterns in the courtyard. Forty more monks stood on the roof of the building and blared out a discordant fanfare...
...auspicious moment decreed by the astrologers, the King draped the royal five-colored scarf of Bhutan's Kings over his shoulders in the presence of the country's chief lama, the Jey Khempo. No other hands than theirs are ever allowed to touch the sacred silk. In an earlier ceremony, the King had already been given the Bhutanese crown, a silver-and-silk hat embroidered with three skulls and topped by the head of a raven, which is supposed to protect him from harm throughout his reign...
...Chinese have also attempted repeatedly to make inroads in the Himalayan border states of Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, whose people are of Tibetan extraction, claiming that these are Chinese-dependent states taken from their motherland by the imperialists who divided China early in this century. In addition, India's Northeast Frontier Agency is claimed by China as part of its former dependencies. In 1962, the Chinese moved 30,000 troops into the territory--where the inhabitants are predominantly Tibeto-Burmese of Mongolian origin--and laid claim...
Peking's local offers of autonomy to these states culminated in a policy to establish a Confederation of Himalayan Border States, which would include Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and the Northeast Frontier of India. The confederation has yet to become a reality...