The Treasury of Lives

Namgyel Gyeltsen was born in 1898 into the Drumpa household (bhruM pa) led by Lobzang Tashi (glang mdun blo bzang bkra shis, d. early twentieth century), the elder brother of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso (tA la'i bla ma 13 thub bstan rgya mtsho, 1876–1933). His father married into the Drumpa family as a makpa (mag pa), or bridegroom, taking the Drumpa surname and estates. Drumpa was a prominent family from Dakpo, where the Dalai Lama's own family, Yabzhi Langdun, also originated.

According to a letter from Lhalungpa Jampa Gyeltsen (lha lung pa byams pa rgyal mtshan, 1921–1993) to his brother, Lobsang Phuntsok Lhalungpa (lha lung pa blo bzang phun tshogs, 1926-2008), although Lobzang Tashi married into the Drumpa family, it appears that Namgyel Gyeltsen was not the child of Lobzang Tashi's first wife, who died without producing an heir. This letter, which is preserved among the papers of Lobsang Phuntsok Lhalungpa, states that Lobzang Tashi met a woman in Kham while traveling; they returned to Lhasa together and had one daughter and three sons. Presumably Namgyel Gyeltsen was one of these sons.

He began his military career at a young age, training with the British at Gyantse in 1915. That year, Namgyel Gyeltsen along with Doring Tenzin Norbu (rdo ring bstan 'dzin nor bu, b. 1900–d. after 1959), and a small cohort of Tibetans numbering fifty men from the Dalai Lama's guard were sent to Gyantse, where the British were stationed, for military training. Upon their return to Lhasa, Namgyel Gyeltsen and Doring were tasked with training new soldiers.^[1] This was one of the early military modernization efforts undertaken with the support of the Dalai Lama under the direction of Dasang Damdul Tsarong (tsha rong zla bzang dgra 'dul, 1988–1959).^[2]

A letter dated January 5, 1917 from Drumpa to the political officer in Sikkim was delivered by the British trade agent David MacDonald and sheds light on Tibetan military development at the time, including Lhasa's dependence on Britain for its military expansion. The letter, which is preserved in the India Office Records (IOR/L/PS/10/435), includes four specific requests to the British: assistance with a settlement regarding the Sino-Tibetan frontier in Kham; training for groups of Tibetans in musketry and band music; dispatch of mechanics and armorers to Lhasa or the training of Tibetans in these skills elsewhere; and a plea to approve the purchase of machine guns. Drumpa stated that he would be disgraced if he returned to Lhasa without the machine guns, concluding the letter by saying, “We Tibetans entirely rely on the benign British Government for assistance and advice in all matters.” With the exception of assisting with the frontier issue, the British replied affirmatively to these requests, although they offered that the training take place in India instead of inside Tibet. Machine guns were in short supply at the time, and so the purchase of only three machine guns was allowed; a note in the margins reveals concerns that failing to meet Tibetan needs for weaponry could push Tibet closer to Japan.

The modernization and expansion efforts increasingly drew intense opposition from the monasteries and conservative government officials. In 1921, when the members of the military were excluded from a cabinet meeting during which military allocations were being discussed, Drumpa Namgyel Gyeltsen was among a group of officers who made an unannounced visit to the assembly. This was considered a grave breach of protocol. The group asked Tsipon Lungshar Dorje Tsegyel (rtsis dpon lung shar rdo rje tshe rgyal, 1881–1940), who was part of the anti-military faction, why no one from the military was present at the meeting. This further widened divisions between the military and anti-military factions, with the Dalal Lama squarely in the middle of the tensions. The conflict drew on for several more days culminating in punishment for many involved on both sides. Several officials were demoted while Drumpa Namgyel Gyeltsen and others were fined. Historian Melvyn Goldstein concludes that the military was on the losing side of this conflict.^[3]

By 1924, Drumpa Namgyel Gyeltsen was junior commander-in-chief (dmag spyi chung ba) working under General Tsarong, who continued to face opposition from cabinet members. When an officer of the newly created Lhasa police force was killed by a soldier in May 1924, Tsarong summarily enacted severe punishment, perhaps as a means of asserting his control over his troops while also making an example of the soldiers; one soldier had his ear cut off while the other died after his leg was amputated. The dead man's head and leg were hung in the Tromskikhang market.^[4] Tsarong was accused of overstepping his role by not consulting other officials on the appropriate punishment. Drumpa Namgyel Gyeltsen was among a group of officers who together wrote a petition to the Dalai Lama pleading for a pardon of Tsarong, who was then investigated by Dronyerchenmo Tenpa Dargye (mgron gnyer chen mo bstan pa dar rgyas), also known by the epithet Ara Karpo because of his white beard. Goldstein writes in great detail about this and related events, during which military officers were discussing how to "eliminate" conservative Ara Karpo.^[5]

In the wake of these conflicts Tsarong decided to travel to India, and after receiving permission from the Dalai Lama, he left Tibet. In his absence from the capital he was relieved of his position as commander-in-chief, as were a great many military officers. In 1925 Drumpa Namgyel Gyeltsen was named commander-in-chief by the Dalai Lama. In an oral history preserved by the Library of Congress as part of the Tibetan Oral History Archive Project (TOHAP) that is cited in Goldstein’s History of Modern Tibet, Rinchen Dolma Taring paraphrased the letter Tsarong received from the Kashak (bka' shag) informing him that he was no longer commander-in-chief:

Our country is at peace these days and so there is no need for a senior and a junior Magji [dmag spyi]. The Junior Magji Drumpa Dzasa shall alone serve as the magji and so you may attend Kashag, but there is no need for you to attend the Military Headquarters.^[6]

Namgyel Gyeltsen may have been part of a larger plot to eliminate Tsarong, who many feared was growing too powerful. Tsarong's closeness with British political and military officers further contributed to suspicion among his rivals. In Daughter of Tibet, Rinchen Dolma Taring recalls her sister-in-law, Rigdzin Choden, telling her that both Tsipon Lungshar and Namgyel Gyeltsen would often tell the Dalai Lama that Tsarong was enlarging the army in order to seize power from the Dalai Lama.^[7] This account is also echoed in the biography of Tsarong written by his son, Dundul Namgyal (bdud 'dul nam rgyal, 1920–2011). Goldstein, Dundul Namgyal Tsarong and Rinchen Taring all highlight an apparently well-known incident in which Namgyel Gyeltsen approached his uncle tearfully, warning that Tsarong was planning to overthrow the government. Dundul Namgyal Tsarong also recounts hearing a conversation on this subject between his father and Kunpel (P9124 thub bstan kun 'phel, 1905–1963), the Dalai Lama's favorite, when they were in India.^[8] According to Rinchen Dolma Taring, it was further rumored that Lungshar supported the appointment of Namgyel Gyeltsen specifically because of his ineffectiveness as a leader, in the belief that a poor leader would further disempower the military. Although he was nominally commander-in-chief, he was allowed only to manage troops while the cabinet was in charge of developing actual military policy.^[9]

Thus, there is little detail on Namgyel Gyeltsen's activities during his tenure as head of the army. However, Ram Rahul writes that he traveled to Kham as commander-in-chief, noting that he was the only makchi ever to do so.^[10] In general this period saw the decline of the military's power and the end of modernization and expansion efforts that had been initiated by Tsarong.^[11] Namgyel Gyeltsen's tenure did not last long, especially when compared with his predecessor, who served from 1913–1925. Drumpa Namgyel Gyeltsen was dismissed in 1929. Shakabpa writes:

As Bhrumpa Dzasak Namgyel Gyeltsen was the Dalai Lama's nephew, he was appointed as the new general. However, since he was not strident in his duties and continually took opium, he was ineffective; thus, he lost his ability to do his job, and he was fired from his post as general.^[12]

Rinchen Dolma Taring similarly noted his opium use and how it left him “very slack in his work.”^[13] Around the time of his dismissal it appears his physical condition deteriorated. An oral history of Jampa Gyeltsen Lhalungpa preserved as part of TOHAP notes that he was bedridden before his death in 1930.

The Dalai Lama appointed Lhalungpa Gyeltsen Tarchin (lha lung pa rgyal mtshan mthar phyin, 1893–circa 1962), former Nechung Oracle, to act as treasurer (phyag mdzod) of the Drumpa estates and the Lhasa household, as well as to manage the care of the young Drumpa children. Gyeltsen Tarchin was assisted by Donpo Khyenrab Wangchuk (don po mkhyen rab dbang phyug, circa 1897–1959) and Tsipon Trogawo (rtsis dpon khro dga' bo). Namgyel Gyeltsen's wife left the family to live with the Mindroling Trichen, who Rahul writes was her "paramour."^[14]

It appears that Namgyel Gyeltsen had at least one son, Sonam Peldzod (bsod nams 'phel mdzod, b. 1922), who is listed in Who's Who in Tibet under the entry "Trumba Se". He served as kadron (bka' mgron), or assistant cabinet minister, beginning in 1943 and was named district chief (rdzong dpon) of Tsaparang in 1944.

 

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