Bhutanese Claim over the Maraghat in Cooch Behar

 Bhutanese Claim over the Maraghat in Cooch Behar[1]

Although Anglo-Bhutanese treaty was signed in 1774 and peace was established in the region, border demarcation was not defined well. So this ill defined boundary between Bhutan and Cooch Behar made rise to conflict later on. Cooch Behar became the protectorate of the East India Company.

Warren Hastings went to England. Lord Cornwallis took over the Governorship of Bengal. During the tenure of Cornwallis also, Bhutanese submitted a complaint that ruler of Cooch Behar occupied the Bhutanese territories in the plains in 1787. Upon receiving the complain letter from Bhutanese, Cornwallis ordered the collector of Rangpur to investigate the issues and settled the boundary disputes between Baikunthapur and between Bhutan and Cooch Behar.

Macdowall, the collector of Rangpur reported that Bhutanese had taken illegally some of the villages near the Jalpesh which was given to her. But Bhutan never accepted the findings of the collector of Rangpur.

Again in 1794, Bhutanese complained to the Bengal Government over the Bhalka which was held by the Kumar Narayan on behalf of the Raja of Cooch Behar. Bhalka is composed of eight villages. Bhutanese claimed that these villages were given to Bhutanese as gifts by Jagirdar. But the decision was passed in favor of the Cooch Behar by Charles Andrew Bruce who was the former Commissioner of Cooch Behar.

In the following year, when Bhutanese approached the Governor General Sir John Shore, he ordered the probe into the matter. This time also Richard Ahmuty, the Commissioner of Cooch Behar passed the decisions in favor for Cooch Behar Raja.

In 1800, the Raja Harendra Narayan of Cooch Behar appealed to the Government of Bengal his dissatisfaction over the judgment of the Bhalka case where he had to give up his ownership. But there was no change in decisions.

Again in 1807/1809, a new conflict emerged over the Maraghat. Maraghat district lies some 25 miles away from Jaipalguri. According to the Anglo-Bhutanese Treaty 1774, Maraghat was given to Bhutan. However, the Raja of Cooch Behar claimed the southern part of the district known as Gird Maraghat. James Morgan, the collector of Rangpur conducted an on the- spot enquiry and decided in favor of Cooch Behar. In 1809, John Digby the collector of Rangpur confirmed Morgan’s ruling awarding Gird Maraghat to Cooch Behar, and the Maharaja took possession of the territory from 1811 to 1812.

The Bhutanese did not accept the decisions. For example, in 1811 a letter to the Company from ‘Ponlop of Bhutan’ complained that an officer of the Maharaja of Cooch Behar had been causing trouble over the boundary for the previous three years, and expressed fears that war might ensue. Similarly, in 1812 a letter from the Deb Raja again referred to Maraghat, appealed for assistance in resolving the dispute.

 In May 1814 the Maharaja of Cooch Behar appealed to Norman MacLeod, the Commissioner of Cooch Behar, asking him to arrange for the deployment of 50 sepoys to protect the Maraghat frontier from Bhutanese infringements.        

In September 1816, Scott's usefulness was recognized by his appointment commissioner of Cooch Behar in supersession of MacLeod. In his new post he was expected to be "the channel for conducting on the part of the British government all business of a political nature with Bhutan, Assam, and other independent states and Chieftains in the northern and north-eastern frontier of Rungpore.

Scott found himself called upon to interfere in the boundary dispute between the Deb Raja of Bhutan and the Raja of Cooch Behar. The dispute between Cooch Behar and Bhutan was over Maraghat or to speak more precisely the lands which constituted the principal part of the local division called Gird Maraghat.

Scott found sufficient grounds to believe that the enquiry of Morgan and Digby had not been sufficiently full and detailed, and that they had failed to note the earlier decision of the Dinajpur Council, who, after consulting Charles Purlings" own handwritten document, had declared in 1777 that Maraghat along with some other spots, was the possession of Bhutan.

"I proceeded to Maraghat in the beginning of January and during fifteen days examined all such persons as the agents of the Bhutan government and of the Raja of Cooch Behar thought fit to bring forward for the purpose of proving the time and mode of obtaining possession of Maraghat".

The Government was satisfied with Scott's findings and ordered that Gird Maraghat should be restored to the Deb Raja on 24 May 1817. Scott explained the case to Cooch Behar and asked for the hitherto disputed lands to be handed over, together with an account of the collections made in Maraghat during the Cooch Bihar occupation of the place.

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[1] The information of this chapter is based on “DAVID SCOTT IN NORTH-EAST INDIA (1802-1831), A STUDY IN BRITISH PATERNALISM” by NIRODE K. BAROOAH.