Treaty of Punakha
Punakha Dzong, where the Treaty of Punakha was enacted | |
| Signed | 8 January 1910 |
|---|---|
| Location | Punakha Dzong |
| Effective | 10 January 1910 |
| Condition | Ratification by British India |
| Expiration | 1947 |
| Signatories | Sikkim Political Officer Charles Alfred Bell; Bhutanese King Ugyen Wangchuck and his ministers |
| Parties | British India; Kingdom of Bhutan |
| Ratifiers | Viceroy and Governor-General Sir Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (British India) |
| Language | English |
The Treaty of Punakha was an agreement signed on 8 January 1910, at Punakha Dzong between the recently consolidated Kingdom of Bhutan and British India. The Treaty of Punakha is not a stand-alone document, but represents a modification of the Treaty of Sinchula of 1865, the prior working agreement between Bhutan and British India. As such, the Treaty of Punakha is an amendment whose text incorporates all other aspects of the Treaty of Sinchula by reference.
Under the Treaty of Punakha, Britain guaranteed Bhutan's independence, granted Bhutanese Royal Government an increased stipend, and took control of Bhutanese foreign relations. Although this treaty began the practice of delegating Bhutanese foreign relations to another suzerain, the treaty also affirmed Bhutanese independence as one of the few Asian kingdoms never conquered by a regional or colonial power.