Translating GNH meaning is tough for 'crowing king'
Bhutan, the country in political turmoil, seems to go for a gala centenary of its monarchical power by the end of 2007. December 17, 1907 is remembered today as historic, classic and memorable by entire Bhutanese populace. The critics claim that it was the vested interest of the British in India in showing the way to the throne to a commoner, Ugyen Wangchuck, as the first hereditary king of Bhutan. They say that the title 'sir' was conferred on Wangchuck indirectly as an approach to influencing cultural and economic imperialism in Bhutan by the British. It is further worded by the critics that the British wanted to de-link the religious attachment of Tibet with Bhutan by dethroning the religious lender, who was a Tibetan monk. Breaking up ties with Tibet could mean an obstacle for the Chinese to blanket their influence into Bhutan. Let it be whatsoever. The world, contrariwise, at large, is looking ahead to see and appreciate the substance of the self-coined concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) by the great grandson of Sir Wangchuck.
GNH is a better measure of economic growth than Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Bhutan propagates Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The concept of GNH, according to the meaning that Jigme has portrayed to the outside world, encompasses equality in incomes of people, absence of Gender-bias, fair provision of education and employment, reduction in the disparity of treatment towards the common subject, fair and lawful rule, reduction in region-oriented development, proper use of state funds and aids, absence of discrimination of caste, creed, culture, religion and language, freedom of speech and wholesome balanced development of the country.
The concept of GNH does deserve accolades; be it negative or positive, based on how pathetic or content the Bhutanese are. The world has seen the concept of GNH as will-o'- The-wisp. The Jekyll and Hyde personality of the king stands a silhouette on the path of GNH.
The down-to-earth man, Ugyen Wangchuck, who was made the first king of Bhutan, had probably not even visualized the concept of GNH, far from coining it. Ugyen Wangchuck, who was happy himself with the loyalty of the people treated the entire populace at par. The entire en masse displayed their heart-felt reverence to the king. They worked for the king country and themselves and participated in each and every activity that had its significance to the nation and the king.
Ugyen Wangchuck whose name was prefixed by the British conferred title 'sir', popularized religion and culture in the country by being laxative in enforcement. He used the services of skilled artisans and craftsmen brought to Bhutan from Tibet and Nepal on condition that they would be granted Bhutanese citizenship and a right to occupy land in their own names. The artistic works of the Nepalis and Tibetans can still be seen on the walls (both interior and exterior) of the monasteries (religious temples) and dzongs (fortresses) in Bhutan.
The second king of Bhutan, Jigme Wangchuck walked on the path imprinted by his father. He did not keep sycophants or toadies though he did listen to a coterie of well-wishers and advisers. He believed in making the people happy in practice. People were free to move from place to place inside as well as outside the country. They always pulled their sleeves up with no grain of hesitation when it comes to any work of national interest.
The Drukpas of Tibetan origin attended Buddhist temples (monasteries) while the Hindu Lhotsampas (Nepali origin) bowed their hands in Mandirs (temples). There were no hard and fast rules imposed on people with regard to inclination towards specified religion or culture. While there were English medium institutes for school goers, there also were institutes for teaching literature. The Hindu Lhotsampas attended pathsalas (schools of Hindu literature) and the Drukpas attended schools of Buddhist literature and philosophy. More liberal aspect with regard to education was the free entry of any Bhutanese into any one standing schools. People could mingle with others from different walks of life. The people called Bhutan as an 'Iron Box' meaning well-secured or out of bound of other countries.
Bhutanese started relishing the scrumptious fruits of development when the third king, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck initiated modern education in the country. More and more schools including a couple of high schools opened up and flourished over a short span of time. Students from all sections of the society were given government scholarship for further studies in India and abroad.
The indiscriminate governance in Bhutan faded away with the untimely demise of Jigme Dorji Wangchuck in an African safari to Kenya and subsequent taking over of the power by the fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The man with occidental education, came up with an unheard concept of GNH. GNH, as a parameter of economic growth as propagated by the world leaders as sham. With the advent of unique concept in the country, the whole nation went berserk and plunged into shambolic direction. The concept of GNH gave Bhutan a symbolic legacy- closure of schools including those of Hindu literature, scrubbing Nepali language off the school curriculum and burning away of Nepali text books in public places at the fiat of the king. The king had the savoir fair but he failed to realize that he had possessed one.
Things do so wrong when animalism dwells in one's blood. King Jigme Singye Wangchuck had to shed unseen tears, Willy-Willy, when he realized that his photographs printed on the flyleaves of Nepali text books were burnt to ashes too along with the textbooks. Irony never fades.
Printing of his photograph on the flyleaves of Nepali textbooks was a good approach towards attaining GNH but burning the books to ashes was a signal of his downfall. Teaching of Nepali language as a subject in schools across the country was abolished and the subject-teachers and priests were deprived of their daily bread.
Schools in southern Bhutan were closed and the Hindu Lhotsampas populace was left standing on roes. Developmental activities aggravated and flourished in regions buzzed by the elite Ngalongs (The Drukpas minority) while, contrariwise, the southern districts inhabited for ages by Hindu Lhotsampas saw closure of all developmental activities including schools.
What has Oxford education given to the king?
When did he receive it anyway? Jigme Singye Wangchuck was merely seventeen years old when his father expired in Nairobi. A king cannot leave the throne and go for studies abroad after the ascension to the throne. Or, is it that a king can enhance his education by keeping a popper exotic tutor inside his palace? Let it be any way. Jigme Singye Wangchuck's inhumane acts towards his fellow-citizens apparently provide an arena for a debate over the quality of education the Oxford University imparts.
The devout Hindu Lhotsampas, who worship cow as a goddess, were forced by the armed force at the command of the elites to slaughter it for meat. The Hindu Lhotsampas populace was decreed to wear the customized dress of the Drukpas and the Hindu dress declared invalid in public places.
Ironically, the king's strategy of fruiting GNH included forcing the ethnic Lhotsampas to follow Ngalongs religion, speak their language, adopt their food styles and habits, walk into monasteries for religious purposes, and adopt their dress style and eviction of ethnic Lhotsampas populace and a minority Sharchop clan inhabiting the eastern part of the country.
While the earlier kings left for heavenly abode or otherwise with no clue of the three-worded phrase, the present king awakened from a state of reverie with the abstract phrase. While the king philosophized to see happiness on the faces of the entire Bhutanese people, he experimented the phrase to swatch away the dimly-shone happiness from the faces of the reticent people.
To further strengthen the stand of GNH, as voiced by the king, he came up with another 'one people one nation' principle, which actually jolted with securing only hatred among various sections of Bhutanese community against each other.
The king believes in providing a package of GNH to a section of Bhutanese people — the Ngalong elites. The Hindu Lhotsampas and the Sharchop minority believe that living together inside the country, enjoying the rights of faith, religion, caste, culture and language, relishing the taste of development at par, attending schools without discrimination, reading and writing their scripts, respecting human rights and tuning freedom of speech make a wholesome package of GNH.
Jigme Singye Wangchuck, feeling that he has achieved his goal of GNH, has announced to the world that he is going to abdicate the throne in favor of his son-heir by the start of 2008. The nerve-touching tag here is whether he is going to handover the package of happiness of the Ngalongs minority into the hands of his successor ignoring the package of sufferings of the Hindu populace and the Sharchop clan, or, is he going to amalgamate the two into a new one that provides an equal share to all Bhutanese of the national happiness. He may be partially using his savoir fair to assembling a surprise to his son-heir and handing over to him a novel package that holds a placard inside that reads son, handover the rule of Bhutan to you. With a new stadium created in it where each and every Bhutanese, irrespective of caste, creed, culture, religion, language, taste of food and dress, status of wealth and position in the society, dances and frolics, tastes the fruits of development at equal proportions, participates in votes and elections as per their willingness and calibre, enjoys equal human rights and self aggravates individual rights and participates happily and voluntarily in the developmental activities of the country?
The entire population of Bhutan, including the more than 100,000 exiles, anticipates a benevolent announcement form the out-going king to the nation and the world that he will repatriate the country celebrates the gale centenary of its monarchical governance and constituent elections in 2008.
Bhutanese expect a voluntary stepping down of the coterie of roadies who have played a unique game of 'Rats and a Cat' and spirited the autocratic ruler to snatching away the happiness of three- quarters of nation's population.
Bhutanese await to hearing an authentic interpretation of the concept of GNH from the successor of the present king. Whether the would-be king recognizes the concept as it intends and depends on how far-sighted the 26 years old prince (who was born years before his father's legal marriage) is.
Rather than smelling the dust walked over by his materialistic father, diverting the attention towards rehabilitation of the equality and harmony, revival of the Nepali language, religion, reopening of schools of Hindu literature, reducing human right violation, promoting freedom of speech and respecting individual right would surly touch upon the walls of the GNH package in its true sense.
Let Jigme's self-coined cliché 'GNH be a better measure of economic growth than GDP in Bhutan' be given a firm stand and meaning by his young and intellectually matured son. While his father failed to materialize GNH with his Jekyll and Hyde trait and bemused by a caravan of wives and legal children, the crown prince (though a clandestine debate over his legality as an heir is in full swing both inside and outside the country) is expected to experimentally display the intrinsic elements of the GNH package.
All said and done, whether Bhutanese population will avail the fruits of GNH baggage is a tip of a needle that will prick the people till the present king passes the charges of throne and the nation to his heir-in-line in 2008 with a grand celebration at the Changlimithang ground as he has announced while addressing the cabinet of ministers in presence of the son-heir recently in Thimphu. It is to be noted here that the legal sons seemed to have been warned to keep silent with regard to the passing of power of the throne to the crown prince.
If the fifth king doesn't realize in time and fails to amend the mistakes committed by his father, he would soon have to contemplate on people's hatred for kings in the world of late. History gives ancient as well as recent example of the fates of kings around the world. The sycophants would simply be the mere spectators while those who have, as of now, suffered will be the occupants of the blood-stained soil.
Because GNH versus Bhutan king is a big fight, it would be praiseworthy on the part of the new king to ponder over the cheap cliché 'stitch in time saves nine'. A mere negligence, at times, endangers even a human clan.
(Based in Thimphu, Sharma is former lecturer in one of the colleges in Thimphu, resigned very recently)