SIKHIM AND BHUTAN
matters with the Foreign Office, but eventually everything was satisfactorily carried out.
The Tibetan party were placed in charge of my assistant, Captain O’Connor, the trade agent at Gyantsi, and before arriving in Calcutta they made an extensive tour through Upper India, accompanied by the Rajkumar of Sikhim, visiting Buddhist shrines of importance and interest and ending with Buddh Gaya, the most holy of all Buddhist shrines. Unfortunately Buddh Gaya, with all its memories and associations of the great Buddha, is now in the hands of the Hindus, and I am sorry to say, the Tashi Lama while there, owing to want of sound advice, made some grave mistakes and succeeded in alienating the sympathy of the Mohunt and the Hindus, the last thing to be desired, as the Buddhists are very anxious to have the shrine again in their own hands. Of course, allowances have to be made for a man looked upon as sacred in his own country, where his lightest wish is law, and who, in consequence of universal veneration and belief in his own infallibility, has had very little understanding of, or consideration for, any form of religion but his own. However, notwithstanding this, I think the Tashi Lama’s visit was productive of good, and he returned with some small idea of the extent and power of our Indian Empire, and, had not the policy of Government, by its subsequent action in Tibet, frustrated these good impressions, I think they might have had memorable results.
The Maharaja and Maharani of Sikhim were in charge of Captain Hyslop, 93rd Highlanders, and thoroughly enjoyed their visit. It opened their minds and did them an immense amount of good, and they much appreciated the honour paid them by the Prince and Princess. His Royal Highness exchanged visits with the Maharaja, as well as with the Tashi Lama and the Tongsa Penlop, while the Princess received the Maharani at Government House.
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