Her Majesty Ashi Kesang Choeden Wangchuck’s letter to Ashi Tashi Dorji is reproduced in the book.
Information concerning the Foreign Secretary’s visit has been published in the book, “Ashi Tashi Dorji, Her Life and Legacy” (2017). At the time, Bhutan was not even on the back burner of Indian Foreign Policy.
Peaceful scenery full#
As the top diplomat in the Nehru administration, he had his plate full and showed little interest in Bhutan. He was the second Foreign Secretary of independent India.
Ratan Kumar Nehru was the Foreign Secretary (1952-1955) of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Some, at the South Block thought that the Bhutanese were insincere, and had doubts about our King’s invitation.Īt that time, Mr. At that time, diplomats in Delhi did not think much of the invitation. By his own admission, those ten days in Bhutan had soothed him more than a six-month holiday in the best tourist resorts in the world could have.”īefore Pandit Nehru visited Bhutan, in April 1955 His Majesty the Third King (r.1952-1972) invited the Foreign Secretary of India to Bhutan. In the words of the Dasho, “In fact, he was the happiest and in the most relaxed mood that day. In his memoirs, he recollects a joke that Pandit Nehru shared with the guests and records that the Indian statesman laughed the loudest. He was pleasantly surprised to receive an invitation to dine with the party. Based in Calcutta, the Dasho had not met Pandit-ji until that evening. In 1971, our third King conferred on him the red scarf and title of Dasho. According to Dasho Prithvi Raj Bakshi’s (1917-1997) unpublished memoirs (1986), titled “Stepping Stone,” Apa Parshuram Rao Pant hosted a quiet party, since Pandit-ji wanted a restful evening after the Bhutan visit.ĭasho Bakshi, an Indian national and a trusted friend of Bhutan, functioned as Bhutan’s trade agent in India. She expressed her gratitude to Her Majesty for all the trouble that the royal family of Bhutan had taken to make her and her father’s journey and their stay comfortable and enjoyable.Ī few days after the Bhutan visit, Pandit Nehru echoed the same sentiments as his daughter at a private dinner in Calcutta hosted by career diplomat Apa Parshuram Rao Pant who was at the time serving as Political Officer for India in Sikkim (1955-1961), where he was based in Gangtok. She wrote that the memory of their visit to this beautiful state will remain a cherished one. The future Prime Minister wrote, that the Indian delegation were all captivated by the charm of Her Majesty and the warm friendship which was showered upon them. It was during the night halt in Haa, that she wrote down her thoughts to our Queen. When Mrs Gandhi wrote the letter, she was already on her way back to Delhi after a successful trip to Paro with her father.
She said that the architecture and handicrafts were testimony of the skills and artistic talent of the Bhutanese people. In the personal letter, dated 27 September, 1958, the 41-year-old daughter of India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), describes the Bhutanese paintings and the attractive handicrafts that she and her father saw in Paro. She wrote that one cannot help admiring the quaint house which looks like a jewel studded casket or be impressed by the Dzong whose architecture symbolizes the characteristic of the Bhutanese people who are simple but strong. Bhutan has these in full measures and it has something more - a special quality.” Mrs Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) penned down her thoughts to Her Majesty Ashi Kesang Choeden Wangchuck after her 1958 trip to Bhutan.Ĭaptivated by the unique architecture and impressed by the people, Mrs Gandhi expresses her fascination in the same letter. We both love the mountains, their magnificence scenery and the sense of peace they give. “My father said at the public meeting that he was leaving a part of his heart at Paro. India’s Political Officer cautioned Bhutan
0 kommentar(er)
