Bhotan And The Story Of The Doar War

Squashed by the humid plains, the impenetrable jungles of Bengal and the jagged icy peaks of Bhutan is a narrow strip of land adjacent to the steeply rising foothills. This region, a malaria infested jungle and swampy zone, is known as the Duars or Duoars. Today the production of tea has become the main economic mainstay of this region. But how did this now productive land become part of India? Bhutan is still an isolated domain, its ruler mindful of the impact that sudden change can bring. This fear of that beyond its borders is today a reflection of its history. David Field Rennie was a medical officer who had direct experience of the brief hostilities between colonial India and Bhutan in the late eighteen hundreds. His lively accounts bring the history of this period to life.