In December 2006, in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, the then ruling King, 51 years old Jigme Singye Wangchuk announced that he would abdicate his throne, setting the country to a path toward parliamentary democracy. Earlier in 1991 too, he had made similar type of announcement stating, “If the problem in south is not … Read more
BY IP ADHIKARI : To my understanding, this is another testimony of leaders fighting against a tyranny – a passionate and consistent fight against all odds. Bhutan has so far been in mission to bamboozle the world community to tag us terrorists and anti nationals. It’s in mission to tell the world that all those demanding democracy and human rights in Bhutan are working against national interest and that Bhutan has not committed any human rights violations or tortured any activists
I am delighted to read your book Quest for Democracy – against all odds, the first book on Bhutan I read after migrating to Australia early last month. It helped me a lot to revive my passion for democracy and rather worked as a refresher in an alien land where I am feeling lonely. To … Read more
The relation of happiness with democracy is one of the most confronting questions today. As happiness is inherently subjected to the state of natural rights and exercise of freedom, it is clear that democracy without happiness is almost dysfunctional. After the end of Hitler and Stalin rule, the world acknowledged the cohesive need of happiness … Read more
On one of the fine days of early 1991, Nepalese people at Kakarvitta near Indo-Nepal border witnessed about 450 people with worn out faces and woozy looks entering Nepal looking for temporary shelter who in response provided the best of services and support that they could render at their level. They were all Bhutanese seeking … Read more
BY DR. BHAMPA RAI: Instead of hearing to their appeal, the Royal government chose to militarize the region launching brutal method of crackdown, following intimidation, arbitrary arrest, torture and killing in makeshift detention cells. Schools were converted into interrogation centers, while women were raped, houses were zeroed to ashes and valuable documents confiscated alongside the militarization of villages and towns. In such dreaded state of affairs, those affected Bhutanese people had to flee the country for their lives. Their relatives and others, who decided to remain behind too were coerced into signing voluntary migration forms at the gun point and finally evicted from their homeland.
It is debatable as to whether we lost the culture of appreciation- or did we not possess it at all. Collect a set of five fellow Bhutanese, and perhaps you hear them say “leaders did not do any good for nearly two decades and as a result we continue to suffer”. This might, to some … Read more
BY DHRUVA MISHRA: It is debatable as to whether we lost the culture of appreciation- or did we not possess it at all. Collect a set of five fellow Bhutanese, and perhaps you hear them say “leaders did not do any good for nearly two decades and as a result we continue to suffer”. This might, to some extent, appears as a bitter truth; yet this is unreal. Everyone—leaders, public, intellectuals, academicians, experts, civil society members, writers, journalists, among others, have sacrificed their tireless contributions profoundly, at least for the sake of “real democracy” in Bhutan. The priceless efforts made by some of our fore leaders to resolve this issue are crystal clear in our minds.
Recently, Prime Minister Jigme Y. Thinley, who traveled to the United States this week to speak at Columbia University’s World Leaders Forum, told Al Jazeera that, “In Bhutan even the street dogs seem to be smiling.” Article 9 of Bhutan’s constitution puts it simply: “The State shall strive to promote those conditions that will enable the pursuit of Gross National Happiness.” To a lay person, being happy means having clothes to keep warm during the freezing Himalayan winter and having money to buy medication when a family member is sick. To this person, Gross National Happiness might mean living in a house with family and working the farm, instead of living in slum by the side of the road doing unpaid, compulsory labor for the government.
Recently, Prime Minister Jigme Y. Thinley, who traveled to the United States this week to speak at Columbia University’s World Leaders Forum, told Al Jazeera that, “In Bhutan even the street dogs seem to be smiling.” Article 9 of Bhutan’s constitution puts it simply: “The State shall strive to promote those conditions that will enable … Read more