The Sarchops and the Shabdrung

Although both are generically called 'Drukpas', the world knows of Bhutan through the pastoral/peasant Ngalung society of western Bhutan rather than the forest dwelling Sarchops of the east. While there is a grey zone in the central districts of Bumthang and Tongsa, where the two mountain cultures meet, the Sarchops form a distinct community further east in the districts of Tashigang, Mongar, Pemagatsel and Lhuntshi.

While the Ngalungs trace their origins to central Tibet, the Sarchops, like the people of adjacent Arunachal Pradesh, are said to be descendants of migrants from Kham in eastern Tibet. Members of Thimphu's elite emphasise that the Sarchops and Ngalungs have practically identical cultures, while Lhotshampa refugee leaders tend to emphasise the differences.

The 'Indo-Mongoloid' Sarchops have distinct dialects, local customs, dress and food habits. They are Nyingmapas whereas the Ngalungs are of the Drukpa Kagyu order. Despite their distinctiveness, however, due to historical discrimination (their region traditionally came under the rule of the Ngalung Penlop of Tongsa) and lack of educational exposure, Sarchops do not, as yet, pose a political threat to the Ngalungs.

The Sarchops' is easily the largest of the three major communities of Bhutan, but they do not have clout commensurate with numerical strength. While marriage linkages and economic opportunities have brought a few Sarchops close to the inner circle of Drukpa society, they remain outsiders. According Bhim Subba, a senior Thimphu official in exile, "In terms of combined wealth, the Nepalis are best off. In terms of individual wealth, the Ngalungs are doing better. The Sarchops have neither advantage." There is one Lhostampa lynpo (minister), for example, but no Sarchop.

There are reports that political dissatisfaction exists among educated Sarchops, and that action against occassional mini-revolts have led a number of leaders to seek shelter in Arunachal and elsewhere. There are concentrations of Sarchops in Kalimpong and Shillong, the latter being known as "Shillongpa".

At about the time that the Nepali-speakers conducted rallies in Autumn 1992, several Sarchop leaders were reportedly jailed for having their sympathies in the south. These included Rongtong Kinley, who is now out and presently in Kathmandu, said to be contemplating joining exile politics. Even a token presence of Sarchops in opposition would give the Lhotshampas' movement a political flavour that it lacks so far because it is entirely of "Nepal i ethnic" character. For the moment, other than a handful of Drukpas who have come as refugees rather than be separated from Lhotshampa spouses who have been declared "illegal", the refugee camps of Jhapa are entirely Nepali-speaking.

Politically conscious Sarchops in exile are treading carefully, say some Lhotshampa leaders, because they fear for family and clan members back home. They are also wary of the reputation of "militancy" and violence that Lhotsampa groups have acquired within Bhutan. Says Bhim Subba, "They say to us, you Nepali-speakers have somewhere to fall back on, but we have nowhere else to go."

Concerned that combined revolts in the south and east might lead to a loss of control, Thimphu has stepped up development programmes in the east. The Seventh Plan reflects that emphasis. The King has spent the last few months in the east conducting "Seventh Plan meetings", which also contain a heavy dose of "public information" regarding the situation in the south and the treachery of the "ngolops",

Much of Thimphu's fears of the Sarchops has to do with the Shabdrung. The Wangchuks (and the British with them) had hoped that after their 1907 ascendancy to hereditary kingship, the Shabdrung system of reincarnation which began with Ngawang Namgyal would peter out. But incarnations do not follow imperial diktat. Most inconveniently, they continued to appear, and had to be dealt with — with poisonings, pushing off rooftops and strangulations. Successive kings ensured that incarnations made quick exits, which is why the Shabdrung has taken to being reincarnated further and further east, away from the power v alleys of western Bhutan.

American scholar Leo E. Rose writes that the existence to Shabdrung claimants have been "a matter of continuing concern for the Bhutanese authorities" because "the reincarnation principle is still deeply ingrained" among the public. Professor A.C. Sinha agrees that "as a traditional society, the Bhutanese do not appear to be reconciled to the lapse of the institution of Zhabs-drung."

The present reincarnation of the Shabdrung was identified as a child in the mid-1950s. Nari Rustomji, the then Indian troubleshooter of the northeast, promptly had him spirited away to save him from the fate of his predecessors. Today, the Shabdrung resides at Rewalsar (known to Drukpas as Chhopema), north of Manali in Himachal Pradesh, reportedly under Indian Government security.

Drukpas, mostly Sarchops, regularly ride the Assam Mail to Delhi and arrive to stay at the Bhutanese Embassy guest lodgings. They then surreptitiously disappear for a few days as they make the bus trip to and from Manali.

Some feel that the Shabdrung is a serious threat to Thimphu's rulers, not least because of the sometimes grudging respect he commands from all ethnicities. India, too, seems to regard him as an option to use in the unlikely event that the monarchy faces total collapse.

One refugee leader even proposes a "constitutional theocracy" under the Shabdrung as one option to pursue. According to Sinha, however, the Shabdrung "is a distant and obscure threat" to the fourth Druk Gyalpo, King Jigme. If so, the Sarchops can expect to ride the Assam Mail for a long time to come.