What is Bhutan proud of? It is a simple question but which I believe has a complex answer. We can give a numerous definition to this small land locked Himalayan kingdom like any other countries. But there is a growing concern in the international arena to have a closer look to this last Shangri-La.
Ever since the resettlement process of the Bhutanese refugees kicked off our fellow Bhutanese have encountered several questions raised by the citizens of the host countries. The exchange of names is mostly followed by a question `Where are you from`? And like a primary school children we say ´from Bhutan´. Bhutan? Where is it? What is it? Infinite question shoots out like bullets from a machine gun and the recently resettled Bhutanese seems astonished to know that more than 70% of the world population is unaware of the existence of this tiny Himalayan country.
As a bonafide Bhutanese nationals we know the past, present, and to some extent the future of Bhutan but what if someone ask you a question What is Bhutan’s pride? To my opinion there are three possible answers 1. Archery 2. Hydro Power Plants and 3.Gross National Happiness. To the outsiders these three different prides of Bhutan sounds interesting when they hear the government version through the government representative. This is just an attempt to explain the readers how these three prides look like from the eyes of the Bhutanese refugees and the Bhutanese suppressed with in Bhutan.
Archery
The exact origins of archery cannot be traced, as there are examples of bows and arrows being used throughout the history by the deities and heroes of the world since time immemorial .Although there are several legends describing how bows and arrows were used as primary weapons to destroy anti-dharmic forces of evil. Since the declaration of Archery as national game in 1971 there has not been any significant development in practice and in the numbers of the participants. Archery in Bhutan today is rapidly turning elitist since few people can afford to use mechanized equipment. Only 10% of the population comprising of ruling elites and their subordinates are engaged in this sport other 90% do not know when, how and where it is played. I can still remember in 1989 the southern Bhutanese children were severely beaten by the Royal Bhutan Police while practicing Archery in Chirang district .Thus we cannot consider elite’s sport as pride of Bhutan.
Hydro Power Plant
The present installed capacity of mainly run-of-river type hydro power feeding into the grid is 1,480 MW. However, during the lean season (winter months: November through April) the generation capability goes down to about 350 MW. Tala (1,020 MW), Chhukha (336 MW) and Kurichchu (60MW) can be identified as the major contributors to the generation capacity. In addition to these large hydro power stations, there are some mini and micro hydro power stations providing a combined generation capacity of about eight MW to 16 MW.
Approximately 87% of the country’s generated hydro energy is exported to India. The power generated by mini and micro hydro power station is used by the government officers to illuminate their buildings. In most of the villages in Bhutan there is no power supply system and firewood has been the major source of energy for a large number of rural and urban households in Bhutan. Every night in Bhutan to stay warm a fire has to be started; to do this one should also have to collect fire wood every day. The only way to get heat is through a fire. You have to take your lantern with you everywhere you go just to see a couple feet in front of you. In the villages in Bhutan there is no electricity in schools and health post. The school children in most of the villages do their homework or assignments with the help of oil lamp or burning firewood. Pregnant women admitted in the basic health units in the rural areas often die due to the absence of electricity to keep them worm after delivery. Telecommunication has remained a far cry in Bhutan’s remote areas.
Gross National Happiness (GNH)
The term Gross National Happiness is desperately used by the Bhutanese government in order to hoodwink the entire world. Resettled Bhutanese and the Bhutanese in the refugee camps in Nepal are the direct result of the so called Gross National Happiness.
Jigme Y Thinley saw a dog smiling in the street of Bhutan but turned a blind eye to look up the tears shaded by the fellow citizens. He believes when a dog smiles the Bhutanese are just content and happy as the dog. How happy are the dogs in Bhutan? We have seen with our naked eyes how the Royal Bhutanese Army was having shooting practice aiming at the domestic animals belonging to the southern Bhutanese.
Happiness for a Bhutanese means ability to conceptualize, implement, and express in a free manner. It means freedom to explore potentials and get equal chance to be recognized for ones actions. It means seek answers for random questions that come in mind every day. It means nurture a dream of happiness, hope, success and prosperity.
Bhutanese citizens in the rural areas are having a hard life without proper basic requirements. The rural areas in Bhutan are poverty stricken and saddled with largely inefficient and corrupt government servants, a situation which has worsened since the launch of nationwide peaceful movement demanding equal justice and human rights in 1990. Nobody turns a stone to address the villagers' health problems. Most of them live in two-storey homes, with their livestock on the first floor. The living quarters are generally one room heated by a central fire to protect them from the cold air emanating from the Himalayas, family members often sleep on small straw mat on the dirt floors. These subsistence farmers have to take a long walk in order to collect water and firewood. They are constantly exposed to the strong winds and dust. These folks are completely without medical facilities and there is a high rate of infant and child mortality mainly due to infectious diseases.
Urban areas have a different story to share. Educated youths are left jobless; recently the unemployment graph has reached its peak. Most recently the unemployed and frustrated Bhutanese youths are indulged in drugs trafficking in the Indo-Bhutanese boarder in order to eke out their living. Prostitution is going unchecked in the border towns like phuntsholing, Samchi and Gaylegphu.
The direct result of the so called Gross National Happiness can be seen in Jaigoan, West Bengal (Indian town bordering to Bhutan) where thousands of depressed Bhutanese have rented apartments.90% of them have left Bhutan in search of jobs and opportunities and 10% from them say that the house rent in Bhutan is too high for their income. The question again ‘What is Bhutan proud of`?
Ashok Budathoki
Munich, Germany
Ever since the resettlement process of the Bhutanese refugees kicked off our fellow Bhutanese have encountered several questions raised by the citizens of the host countries. The exchange of names is mostly followed by a question `Where are you from`? And like a primary school children we say ´from Bhutan´. Bhutan? Where is it? What is it? Infinite question shoots out like bullets from a machine gun and the recently resettled Bhutanese seems astonished to know that more than 70% of the world population is unaware of the existence of this tiny Himalayan country.
As a bonafide Bhutanese nationals we know the past, present, and to some extent the future of Bhutan but what if someone ask you a question What is Bhutan’s pride? To my opinion there are three possible answers 1. Archery 2. Hydro Power Plants and 3.Gross National Happiness. To the outsiders these three different prides of Bhutan sounds interesting when they hear the government version through the government representative. This is just an attempt to explain the readers how these three prides look like from the eyes of the Bhutanese refugees and the Bhutanese suppressed with in Bhutan.
Archery
The exact origins of archery cannot be traced, as there are examples of bows and arrows being used throughout the history by the deities and heroes of the world since time immemorial .Although there are several legends describing how bows and arrows were used as primary weapons to destroy anti-dharmic forces of evil. Since the declaration of Archery as national game in 1971 there has not been any significant development in practice and in the numbers of the participants. Archery in Bhutan today is rapidly turning elitist since few people can afford to use mechanized equipment. Only 10% of the population comprising of ruling elites and their subordinates are engaged in this sport other 90% do not know when, how and where it is played. I can still remember in 1989 the southern Bhutanese children were severely beaten by the Royal Bhutan Police while practicing Archery in Chirang district .Thus we cannot consider elite’s sport as pride of Bhutan.
Hydro Power Plant
The present installed capacity of mainly run-of-river type hydro power feeding into the grid is 1,480 MW. However, during the lean season (winter months: November through April) the generation capability goes down to about 350 MW. Tala (1,020 MW), Chhukha (336 MW) and Kurichchu (60MW) can be identified as the major contributors to the generation capacity. In addition to these large hydro power stations, there are some mini and micro hydro power stations providing a combined generation capacity of about eight MW to 16 MW.
Approximately 87% of the country’s generated hydro energy is exported to India. The power generated by mini and micro hydro power station is used by the government officers to illuminate their buildings. In most of the villages in Bhutan there is no power supply system and firewood has been the major source of energy for a large number of rural and urban households in Bhutan. Every night in Bhutan to stay warm a fire has to be started; to do this one should also have to collect fire wood every day. The only way to get heat is through a fire. You have to take your lantern with you everywhere you go just to see a couple feet in front of you. In the villages in Bhutan there is no electricity in schools and health post. The school children in most of the villages do their homework or assignments with the help of oil lamp or burning firewood. Pregnant women admitted in the basic health units in the rural areas often die due to the absence of electricity to keep them worm after delivery. Telecommunication has remained a far cry in Bhutan’s remote areas.
Gross National Happiness (GNH)
The term Gross National Happiness is desperately used by the Bhutanese government in order to hoodwink the entire world. Resettled Bhutanese and the Bhutanese in the refugee camps in Nepal are the direct result of the so called Gross National Happiness.
Jigme Y Thinley saw a dog smiling in the street of Bhutan but turned a blind eye to look up the tears shaded by the fellow citizens. He believes when a dog smiles the Bhutanese are just content and happy as the dog. How happy are the dogs in Bhutan? We have seen with our naked eyes how the Royal Bhutanese Army was having shooting practice aiming at the domestic animals belonging to the southern Bhutanese.
Happiness for a Bhutanese means ability to conceptualize, implement, and express in a free manner. It means freedom to explore potentials and get equal chance to be recognized for ones actions. It means seek answers for random questions that come in mind every day. It means nurture a dream of happiness, hope, success and prosperity.
Bhutanese citizens in the rural areas are having a hard life without proper basic requirements. The rural areas in Bhutan are poverty stricken and saddled with largely inefficient and corrupt government servants, a situation which has worsened since the launch of nationwide peaceful movement demanding equal justice and human rights in 1990. Nobody turns a stone to address the villagers' health problems. Most of them live in two-storey homes, with their livestock on the first floor. The living quarters are generally one room heated by a central fire to protect them from the cold air emanating from the Himalayas, family members often sleep on small straw mat on the dirt floors. These subsistence farmers have to take a long walk in order to collect water and firewood. They are constantly exposed to the strong winds and dust. These folks are completely without medical facilities and there is a high rate of infant and child mortality mainly due to infectious diseases.
Urban areas have a different story to share. Educated youths are left jobless; recently the unemployment graph has reached its peak. Most recently the unemployed and frustrated Bhutanese youths are indulged in drugs trafficking in the Indo-Bhutanese boarder in order to eke out their living. Prostitution is going unchecked in the border towns like phuntsholing, Samchi and Gaylegphu.
The direct result of the so called Gross National Happiness can be seen in Jaigoan, West Bengal (Indian town bordering to Bhutan) where thousands of depressed Bhutanese have rented apartments.90% of them have left Bhutan in search of jobs and opportunities and 10% from them say that the house rent in Bhutan is too high for their income. The question again ‘What is Bhutan proud of`?
Ashok Budathoki
Munich, Germany
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