Will Bhutan King rise to occasion?

By PROF P D KAUSHIK

Monarchies normally resist change, but in Bhutan the initiative for political modernization has always come from the Kings, and third King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck is considered as the chief architect of modern Bhutan.

Bhutan began political modernization in the 1950s. The third King started the National Assembly in 1953; abolished serfdom in 1956; enacted Citizenship Act in 1958, granting Bhutanese citizenship to the people of Nepali origin; constituted the Royal Advisory Council in 1965 and the Cabinet Council in 968. He made the National Assembly a full-fledged legislative body, to which the representations were 70 percent of the people, 22 percent government, and 8 percent of the clergy. Secret ballot was the basis for elections; elections were conducted after every three years; and the Assembly was made responsible to (a) enact laws, (b) approve senior appointments and (c) to guide the King on all matters of national importance, based on the will of the Assembly with two-thirds majority. On the King’s request, the Assembly approved an Act in 1969, in which the ruling monarch was required to abdicate the throne in favour of next royal successor from the Wangchuck Dynasty if no confidence vote is passed by the two-thirds majority. This had made the National Assembly a parliamentary institution, leaving some discrepancies for corrections, for example, in the proportionate representation of
ethnic groups, which was fixed at four votes of Nepali minority equal one vote of the Drukpa majority.

King Jigme Singye Wangchuck reversed the process of political modernization and democratization once he assumed power in 1972. He dropped the system of vote of confidence in the King in 1973, the requirement of Assembly’s approval for appointment of high-ranking officers in 1978, and substituted the secret ballot election system with the traditional way of selection from 1980 onward, giving quiet burial to the reforms introduced by his visionary father. This ‘U’ turn in political modernization process was partly because of political development in the region and partly because of his compulsion to please the Drukpa coterie.

The Wangchuck Dynasty has had patronized the Drukpa Khagyu Sect of Mahayana Buddhism, whose religious constituents are Ngalong community. Other ethnic groups: namely Sarchops, Khengpas and Lhotsampas together constitute more than 80 percent of the total population, but they had only peripheral role in the government. To consolidate the Drukpa constituencies in the aftermath of 1990’s demonstration, Bhutan activated political machination of ethnic Nepali population, who are the largest ethnic group, constituting over 40 percent of the total population. The result was that the Nepali population, whose history of settlement in Bhutan dates back to 7th century AD, is made to struggle against the propaganda war of illegal economic immigrants, and because of which is the unresolved refugee problem.

Up to the early 1950s, Bhutan had no objection to immigration of Nepali population in South Bhutan. The Ha Dungpa, representative of Bhutan King, residing then in Kalimpong, was responsible towards the administration of Nepali population. The monarchy viewed the Nepali population as source of tax base and as counterweight to the Drukpa traditionalists who have had expressed loyalty towards the institution of Shabdrung, which was founded in 1616 by Lama Nawang Namgyal of Ralung Monastery and Chief Abbot of Drukpa Khagyu Sect of Mahayana Buddhism. Political power in Bhutan had always been with the followers of Drukpa Khagyu Sect. Until 1907, the reincarnate monks of Shadrung Nawang Namgyal had ruled Bhutan. Therefore, the monarchy had always viewed the threat of reincarnate monks as real and the present reincarnate monk, Jigme Nawang Namgyal, resides in Himachal Pradesh, India since the late 1950s. The earlier Kings had gauged the benefit of a sizable Hindu population in Bhutan, who are traditionally loyal to the institution of monarchy.

Bhutan in fact never feared the Nepali population until it embarked upon its five-year development plans in 1961, which required import of a large number of construction workers, who happened to be overwhelmingly ethnic Nepali population because it had the adoptability and experience to work in a harsh situation, like the one prevailing in Bhutan. Therefore, the presence of ethnic Nepali population in Bhutan rose considerably, though they were there in time bound work permits. Early development projects were concentrated in South Bhutan because of easy accessibility and because of which many of the earlier professional class civil servants happened were from the Nepali Bhutanese community. Thus, the increasing strength of Nepali Bhutanese in civil service, their growing economic strength in the villages, their cultural ties with people in the Hills of North Bengal, and the reverberations of Gorkhaland agitation… all contributed towards formulating policy responses designed for forcible cultural assimilation of Nepali Bhutanese.

In it, the Bhutanese government enacted 1985 Citizenship Act, which denied citizenship rights to about 17,000 Nepali Bhutanese, particularly non-Bhutanese spouses, their children, and those who entered Bhutan after 1958. It also adopted ‘One Nation One People’ policy with codified public dress, social etiquette, and banning the practice of Nepali language and culture. The Nepali Bhutanese when participated in the mass demonstrations of 1990 protesting against these policies, the hawkish traditionalists activated the ethnic whip and threw out about 90,000 Nepali Bhutanese, most of them are languishing today in UNHCR-run camps in Nepal.

Having no choice the refugee community made a call for multi-party democracy, compelling King Jigme Singye Wangchuck to reinstate the reforms instituted by his father in 1998, after a break of 40 years. His father was a true democrat, whose tenet of political modernization was multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious Bhutan, and not ethnic chauvinism.

Albeit the reforms of 1998, King Jigme Singhe Wangchuck holds unquestionable political authority. The reforms demonstrate that the King is opened to political innovation. But what Samuel Huntington said in general also applies to Bhutan: The monarchial system is always in complex situation created by pro-status traditional elites and pro-change modernizing elite, which lack western European political-cultural background.

They were the pro status quo traditionalist elite who blew out of proportion the fear of Nepali cultural invasion in Bhutan and persuaded the King to impose ‘One Nation One People’ policy, destroying the fabric of multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious Bhutan. This was an outright violation of fundamental rights and human rights of Nepali Bhutanese. If the reforms of 1998 were due to the influence of pro-change modernizing elite, then national reconciliation is a possibility, opening up avenues for all ethnic groups to live in harmony under the insignia of monarchy. If the King continues to be indifferent towards the plight of non-Drukpa Bhutanese, then Bhutan is in danger of immersing itself under ethnic inferno, and the on-going state sponsored resettlement programme inside Bhutan connotes that direction. Let us hope that the King realizes soon that it is inherent in the process of modernization and globalization that ethnic Nepalis be given the same status as the Drukpa majority and the problem of refugees is resolved in the spirit of fairness and justice.

E-word and us

By DAMARU LAL BHANDARI

As often comes to the fore, members of the security agencies tend to skin the nails and yet fail to flay the devil. Here’s an incident which has got to do with inability in getting hold of the wrong people while the real culprits remain still on the run through turbulent times.

Indeed the imposition of the state of emergency has rendered the life of the unlucky, common people more torrid than that of the rebels. Then this is what emergency all about whereby the heat tends to turn equally on all.

Consider, for instance, what a certain shopkeeper along the Dhangadhi-Dadeldhura road travelled through recently. The Maoist rebels reportedly walked into his shop and embarked on a brief harangue to the effect that their battle was on regardless of whatever they have come around to hit (emergency).

This done they produced a few pamphlets which announced their future course of action. They made the shopkeeper in question paste two of them on the wall. In fact, this was followed by a standing instruction to the shopkeeper to the effect that the pamphlets should not be removed.

Before the shopkeeper would breathe a sigh of relief there came a bombshell in the form of sternest warning that he would be held responsible if anyone else happens to remove the pamphlets!

The post-script, of course, was that they would spare him if he revealed the name of the real culprit, who would be hunted down and killed. If the incident needs any narration, here the shopkeeper was left to guard the rebel property as if that belonged to him while the rebels fled away.

The way the incident further enfolds, it has all the element of celluloid potboiler whereby the police team steps in as soon as the bad guys flee the scene.

Ditto in this case. In fact, the entry of the security personnel marked the beginning of the sad saga for the poor shopkeeper. Phew! the very fact that he had dared to "paste" the unwanted pamphlets on the wall for the passers-by to see was a big enough crime!

The way our security personnel have been trained and briefed, the subsequent denouement shows that entreaties to the effect that one has no hand in the wrongdoing and that it was someone who bludgeoned one into submission to do such and such a thing fall on deaf ears.

Ditto in this case, although the whereabouts of the shopkeeper in question could not be verified. May be he is a free man or may be he is not. But it is also true that the fate of the innocent detainees have tended to depend on political connections.

Granted that the shopkeeper could be a card-carrying member of the terrorist outfit, but by the same yardstick he should have been picked up much earlier on the tip-off from informers.

Which brings us to the issue of whether we have trained security personnel who take into account the forces of circumstances and respect human dignity or just tend to round up people who happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with wrong stationery. This, incidentally, is what should be avoided so that one is not left to face the vagaries of the state of emergency.

Drawbacks of population growth

By janak dahal

One of the most serious problems that affects our country Nepal is overpopulation. Recent census data show that the population growth rate of Nepal is accelerating. The problem is even more critical in a developing country like Nepal, where traditionally high birth rates, combined with improving standards of living that result in falling death rates, have created rapid population growth.

There are many negative consequences attached to population growth. It leads to the destruction of natural resources such as plant and animal life. Forests are cleared for the settlement of the increased population. Wildlife becomes endangered as animals are hunted for food and their former habitats are destroyed. Arable land is used for human habitation rather than cultivation. Due to the improperly distributed population, the natural balance of life is lost. At the same time, population growth leads to unplanned urbanisation. In major cities like Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur, houses are often constructed without regard to the safety of the structures or their location. This unregulated building results in problems with sanitation, the water supply, transportation of people, consumer products and communication, besides the obvious impact on the environment. Other sources of environmental pollution resulting from population growth are connected to the larger amount of garbage produced by a larger number of people, and the difficulties of effectively managing this trash.

Unchecked population increase will also lead to degradation in the quality of the nation’s people, on both small and large scales. The economy of our country is unable to provide enough job opportunities for a burgeoning young generation, resulting in massive unemployment and a decrease in the per capita income. Parents will not be able to stretch their income to feed many children, and ultimately the children will suffer from malnutrition. Epidemics are more likely to happen in an overpopulated area, because of lack of proper sanitation and sufficient, clean drinking water. Research has shown that a large proportion of diseases that plague the developing world are due to water supply becoming contaminated with waste; in an overpopulated community, it is much harder to safely dispose of the large volume of waste produced. It goes without saying that a Nepal in such an economic and health crisis cannot support creativity or independent thought. In this way, Nepal is not able to progress in development, in science, or in the arts.

Population growth can also cause the deterioration of a nation’s cultural heritage, because of human settlement encroaching on formerly sacred areas and land traditionally held in common. The beauty of heritage sites is thus damaged, and their historical and cultural significance reduced. Several temples of the major towns of Nepal are affected by this sort of damage.

Recently UNESCO has warned that it may delist certain sites from the World Heritage List due to lack of conservation. These cultural sites are a gift to us from our forefathers, and it is our duty to preserve them. In addition, the gradual erosion of heritage sites could have a long-term impact on the economy, as tourists, who are drawn to Nepal because of its natural beauty and cultural richness, visit here less and less.

Overpopulation, then, has many adverse effects on a society. What is the chief reason that developing nations suffer from this problem? The answer lies in the people’s unawareness of the consequences of having too many children, due to illiteracy or lack of education. Nepal is an agricultural country and around 81 percent of the total population depends on agriculture. Truly speaking, almost all the farmers are uneducated. So the people should be informed and educated about the dangers of overpopulation, and the model of a small and happy family promoted, perhaps through the mass media. The farmers think that bearing more children means making work easier, consequently reducing the burden of the labour cost. Such farmers should be made aware that mere increment in the number of children does not solve their problems. Instead, they will not be able to feed nutritious food to all of them, resulting in their improper growth both physically and mentally.

Though the government of Nepal has not restricted families to one child each (which is official Chinese government policy), it should realise that this concept helps in preventing overpopulation. However, Chinese law was regarded as overly oppressive and it led to various attempts to ensure a son, like aborting female fetuses or murdering female infants. So people should be encouraged to practice responsible family planning, and educated about the methods of birth control. Abortion has been legalised conditionally and this is one of the most appreciable tasks done by the government. So women who already have all the children they want can limit the size of families. Women, who get pregnant before marriage are not accepted in our society.

So they abort their pregnancies illegally and in a cruel manner. This may result in the death of the mother. Keeping this in mind, lawmakers have made abortion conditionally legal in Nepal. At the same time, increased use of birth control and legal abortion can reduce the high rate of women’s death in childbirth and the infant mortality rate. These efforts could help stem the rapid growth of population.