The 29 Article Ordinance was necessitated by the Sino-Nepalese war of 1788 in the event of an attack on the border areas of Tibet by the Gurkhas. In July 1791, a sim

The 29 Article Ordinance was necessitated by the Sino-Nepalese war of 1788 in the event of an attack on the border areas of Tibet by the Gurkhas. In July 1791, a similar second invasion occurred. However, with the support of the Tibetan people, the Qing Dynasty recovered the lost territories.

From 1792 to 1793, on the order of the Emperor Qianlong after long deliberations, Sun Shiyi, Huiling and High Commissioner Helin developed the ordinances for better administration of Tibet. Among the ordinances was the famous “29 Article Ordinance for More Effective Governance of Tibet.”

The system of administrative affairs stated that the supervision of Tibetan affairs was to be in the hands of the High Commissioners, and had similar positions equal to the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Erdeni. The other officials below the rank of Galoon were responsible to the High Commissioners.

The power to appoint and dismiss Galoon, Deibon and other military and civilian Tibetan officials of the Xigaze area was to be jointly exercised by the High Commissioner and the Dalai Lama. The appointment letters were in three languages, namely Manchurian, Tibetan and Han Chinese.

The system of religious affairs stated that the procedure for reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Erdeni was to follow the system of the Golden Urn supervised by the High Commissioner. The procedure was to be trilingual similar to the administrative system.

The power of appointment of Rinpoche of various Tibetan monasteries was jointly held by the Dalai Lama, the High Commissioner and the Hotogtu Rinpoche. The Rinpoches and Lamas should be registered under both of them. It even made it compulsory for a Buddhist monk on a pilgrimage to get a passport. The main aim was elimination of the prevalent practice of private designation.

29 article ordinance for more effective governance of Tibet

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