Book Description

The Dooar (or Duār) War of 1864-65 began as an attempt by the authorities in British India to annex from Bhutan the territory known as Duārs in order to stop what they claimed were incursions into India from Bhutan. David Field Rennie, who participated in the conflict as a military surgeon, wrote this book on his four-month voyage back to England. Bhutan, which is located at the eastern end of the Himalaya mountain range, was at that time one of the world's most isolated countries. Rennie's intention was to make Bhutan and its people better known in Europe. His work contains an account of the war and observations on the geography, history, people, and languages of the country. As a consequence of the war, Bhutan was forced to cede Duārs to British India. Duārs now constitutes a portion of the states of Assam and West Bengal in India. The book contains a large-scale foldout map of Bhutan.