Charles Alfred Bell
| Charles Alfred Bell | |
|---|---|
Sir Charles Bell
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| Born | October 31, 1870 Calcutta, India |
| Died | March 8, 1945 (aged 74) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
| Occupation | diplomat, writer |
Sir Charles Alfred Bell, KCIE CMG (October 31, 1870–March 8, 1945) was the British Political Officer for Bhutan, Sikkim and Tibet. He was known as "British India's ambassador to Tibet" before retiring and becoming a noted tibetologist.
He was educated at Winchester School and then at New College, Oxford, after which he joined the Indian Civil Service in 1891.
In 1908, he was appointed Political Officer in Sikkim. He soon became very influential in Sikkimese and Bhutanese politics, and in 1910 he met the 13th Dalai Lama, who had been forced into temporary exile by the Chinese. He got to know him quite well, and later wrote his biography (Portrait of the Dalai Lama, published in 1946).
In 1913 he participated in the Simla Convention, a treaty between Great Britain, China and Tibet concerning the status of Tibet. Before the summit, he met in Gyantse with Paljor Dorje Shatra, the Tibetan representative to the British Raj at Darjeeling and advised him to bring to Simla with him all documents concerning relations between China and Tibet, as well as Tibetan claims to land occupied by China. Bell was designated to assist the Tibetans in the negotiations, with Archibald Rose assigned to be his counterpart for the Chinese. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1915 New Year Honours for his services.
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