Bhutan: For A Democracy

Democracy has the rule, set of principles under which the democratic governments run. The structure basically does not differ with countries because such change would raise questions on credibility on democracy.

See here Jigme’s democracy has different root. This is not based on the principles of democracy that most of us learn and is being practiced around the world.

The constitution has not been approved, which though is not a constitution in real sense. Instead, other foolish laws formulated to suit the constitution have already been enforced.

The peculiarities are gradually coming up. In democracy, people have the right to thought of conscience. People have the right to speech and express allegiance to a certain faith. These are not in Jigme’s case because he always said Bhutan will have a peculiar democray. Might be, he has invented a new form of democracy that operates under undue suppression and direct control from this dictator.

The Sherubtse College sometime back terminated two students for alleged involvement in politics. While the laws demands that graduates to run the election, the students appearing graduate degrees are not allowed to talk politics. Along this, the ‘fool-intellectuals’ who held powers for several years, raise question on maturity of the fresh graduate on politics and political principles. Without allowing the students to talk political issues, participate in political activities, ca we expect any matured politicians from new generation? Or is it the only those who attended the university degrees in foreign land allowed to join the politics.

Can we expect removal of political science from the curriculum of Royal Bhutan University and the Sherubtse College to avoid students from talking politics?

On the other hand, the Election Commission has warned the parties not to form any wings such as youths, students, women, farmers, trade unions……… Can a democratic party becomes complete without having such components? Hope, Jigme is copying some of the examples from China as well.

Similarly, the district administration in Chukha has expelled two tshogpas from their responsibilities merely for attending a party meeting. In my course of democracy studies, I have never found that local government remains out of politics. In all democracies, the local governments are elected by the people and such local bodies are group of members affiliated to various political parties. This is the fundamental structure through which the political parties implement their priorities and programmes. Similar, incidents are likely to appear in other districts like Paro, Dagana, Yangtse and others.

Here, the local governments are designed to be like the national bureaucracy. They do not join the politics, they do not represent the political parties but implement the programmes designed by the parties. To point out at other corner, the trade union bill has been prepared but workers are not allowed to form trade unions. The workers have restricted from their right to collective bargaining.

Is this a democracy??????????????????

Dear all
Excuse me for not being able to post articles for the several weeks. This is the first piece I am writing after coming out of the hospital bed. Thought many things have changed in the country all through these times, and is so.

The political gambling has scored much and fighting buzz has already begun, as I assessed little. It shall take a little time, two-or-three to get me fit to run to café for uploading other pieces and then take hold for more energetic ones later.

Thanks for all for continuing visiting my page even though I could not write regularly. Here are words for you that my efforts will get continuity.

Benign of Buddha

This is not a wonder, if you think positively. In India, the nearest of all our alliance, the Gandhis-Nehru lineage should always come in the front. In Nepal, it is for the Koiralas. In Bangladesh, the privilege goes to Seikh and in Pakistan, the Bhuttos and their relatives.

All in all, the Maldives is for Gayoom and in Sri Lanka the god has given the authority to rule to country to the Bandaranayakes. The US is for Bushes against the Iraqi Ahmadijijad.

When you play the powers, it is always among the one family versus the other. Bushes quashed Saddams in Iraq. In Pakistan, the Bhuttos are always targeted by military regimes. In India, the Gandhis fall prey to Tamils and Gothes. In Nepal, the fight is between the Koiralas and the Shahs

In our case, the devolution of power has begun, yet in the same line being practiced in the countries I mentioned. It is by words, the campaign to empower the people, and in practice, to empower the relatives. As you empower you relatives, and as you remain above them, you would in no excuse amass the powers. After all this is a new form of democracy to centralize power in one’s hand with devolution of power to family members.

The nearest of the royal family JYT and SN has been announced the leaders to take over the responsibility of the state authority. For years, they had been in the power, they had ruled the country. When democracy comes, words have changes, system pretended, people in the authority have not changed, and the techniques of ruling will not change. Bhutan would get such a vibrant democracy next year that the rulers of a democracy will be dictating the country in the same way they did for the last one century.

It is not the system that works. It is the practitioners who operate the system. Unless, rulers change along with the system, the governance would never change. If you look at the Chinese example, the system had not changed prior to the death of the Mao. India made progress after 1947 because both the system and the rulers changed.

What can you expect in Bhutan? It is a new bottle with old wine. It is a marketing strategy, in a form of branding. The producers do not care of the health of the consumers rather the ways to make products attractive. Democracy in Bhutan has come in a form of brand, a new brand with much attraction. Yet the components have not been changed. When you taste, may be after 2008, you would certainly know the ingredients are the same.

This is the pervasive and most notorious form of capitalism. Every one expects, two extremisms should end – capitalism and communism. Long live the democratic socialism.

You might have wondered why the new posts on this blog are delaying. As I opened y mail there were three mails claiming that I lost my energy to write any more, other five urging for immediate new posts. The comments on the blog and in mail are excellent to read at. The reasons for the delay are different.

Soon after I uploaded by last post, there were news reports saying Bhutan government intended to sell part of the country to India in an effort to secure position from attacks of the southern Bhutanese, especially from those campaigning from their base in Nepal’s UNHCR camps.

It tensed me, if not the Bhutanese regime. The national authority has not reacted to such a sensitive issue. It is said, remain quite sometimes mean accepting what has been said. The government must speak what is the fact, and if it did not do so, the conscience would be that the newly revealed issue would be correct.

After the exposure of the news, I could not tolerate it. I thought this has to be investigated, and if correct the people of Bhutan must not forgive the tyrant Jigme for his lust to power in exchange for losing the sovereignty of the kingdom. Fro years, we have talked of sovereignty and national integrity, foremost by the rulers. In early 1990, during the tussle between the ngalongs and the lhotsampas, the ngalongs blamed southerners of trying to disintegrate the nation. And now, the turn is of the ngalongs to receive similar blames.

Unable to believe, I made up the minds to travel to Delhi, to find out the clue, if possible. For a week I remain in Delhi telephoning people if the news is correct. On eight day, I finally received the copy of the paper being cited by the news.

The posts at bhutantimes.com against this news were of course mixed. Insiders claimed this was propaganda, outsiders claimed this was the best instance of foolish act of the monarch and his aides. Initially, I did not believe such document exists but as I found the copy, it astonished me.

It forced me to believe since the paper was produced for institutions like Oxford University, United Nations University, Tokyo University and it would be again foolish to believe that such reputed institution accept the propagandist document. Somewhere in the corner, the fact is hiding. The Indian and the Bhutanese regimes have the details, yet both remain mum. It is of greater concern for Bhutanese people than Indians, and the rulers must answer the people what the fact is.

There are no exact dates but circumstances presented in the document reveals that the proposal of the wangchuks had come at around end of 1990s, which the Indian government immediately rejected assuring greater support to bar those in Nepal from returning. Incidentally, in around this period, the government had filled up the vacant villages in eastern central lowlands but not in the western.

During my interaction with other people, it was revealed that the district Bhutan proposed to disintegrate was Samtse (previously Samchi). Having failed to find out enough information regarding the cede, I traveled to Gantok, where Mr Lama lives. There I came to know that Mr Lama is the vice chancellor of the Sikkim University. Repeatedly, I urged him to tell the remaining truth, he denied. He only said Bhutan proposed ceding some land from southern belt to India where lhotsampas still categorized as illegal immigrants and those to be repatriated from Nepal are to be settled.

As I traveled back to Samtse, I met a driver who was involved in ferrying people from northern Samtse to other central-southern districts. This was a planned action to vacate the place to settling the so-called illegal immigrants and repatriated lhotsampas. The villagers ferried to other places were called that they have been rescued from that place because government will have war with ULFA and other militants in that area.

I concluded, the proposal was the result of desperation. As people continue to seek rulers committed to national integrity, the desperate move of the regime has pinch the people. They must be given the answer. Question has to be raised if a ruler trying to disintegrate the nation has authority to continue ruling.

May be, realizing this, the father Jigme had abdicated. In early 1990 he said he would abdicate if he could not settle the southern Bhutan issue. His abdication and proposal to disintegrate the country, is the indication of his failure to rule the country. Can the new tyrant, indoctrinated in the same line, work for stability, peace prosperity and integrity of the nation? It is time to question.  

Sikkimization of this country was a talked issue for the last several years, to be precise exactly after Sikkim collapsed to be a part of grater India. But I wonder, why has it not been talked as Tibet-ization, fanning out its sovereignty to greater China. As China tries to eat Taiwan, India is looking after Bhutan. As China crashed Tibet, India caught Sikkim. Don’t wonder if collapse of Taiwan and Bhutan simultaneously.

I earlier said there are two weeds that have drained this country into verge of extinction. They are acting like insects eating the timbers; everything inside has been finished. If you now press it quote harder, this country will be ‘once upon a time’.

The wangchuks did all, with all strengths, to grasp all powers in centre. Business, bureaucracy or the politics; all have been captured. The more tyrants eat, the more hungry they become. Then they sowed the seed of discord with southerners, who were expanding their wings to make hole in national spheres in turn. The fight for power, the lust for misusing the state treasury for personal interests, shadowed the development activities. Finally, the egoistic tussle between wangchuks and Mr Rizal reached the climax. The mass eviction was the result.

The fucker jigme (hope he completes reaching all four wives in a single night) was not satisfied with all he did. He then invited the insurgents from Assam, dined and reached an agreement to terrorize the people to these eastern districts. After southerners, the easterners became the victims of wangchuks’ terror plan. The foolish government in Assam, who had declared ULFA a terrorist group and all those having relation with this group, allowed Mr jigme to dine. The result is increasing insurgency in Assam. Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Hiteswar Saikia, Bhumidhar Barman, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and
Tarun Kumar Gogoi have not informed Assamese how many citizens became the victims of ULFA after they were given the operation base in Bhutan.

The egoistic fight between Lhotsampas and the Ngalong has led to further inclination of this country to India. These two groups, acting under the signals from New Delhi, neither tried to look the future sovereignty of the country nor the interest of the people. Jigme though all people followed him when he caught a plough in Mid 90 and Rizal though everyone supported him for his fight to what he called human rights.

The notorious India is gradually making this country parasite on him. The wangchuks seek Delhi’s support for saving his throne and the Rizal and his company again seek Delhi’s espousal to gain power in Bhutanese politics. The India is playing smilingly between these two mischievous actors and both hope their ultimate father India would take them into arm. Farther, the India is now backing the rebellion groups that would finally help to hand over the sovereignty of this country to the dhotis, the most notorious human being living on earth. 

“These things are not interesting and I don’t understand also,” Karma said, shrugging his shoulder, obviously a bit irritated at being dragged into the discussion.

Till he found a job, Karma said, he was content watching movies and hanging out with his friends. He heaved his two shoulders as if to say “you-know-whatever” and dragged his five feet and five inches frame with him.

Some youth though had an idea. But their idea of Bhutanese politics unfolding was hinged precariously on the Red and Yellow parties standing for elections next year.

“I will vote for the yellow party next year,” said a 20-year old, Tashi Wangmo, a class 12 dropout of Nima Higher Secondary School. “Yellow party won the election this year, didn’t they?”

Sonam Choki, an 18-year old Thimphu high school student said: “I know that democracy means people’s participation. By the way is the voting compulsory? Do we also have to vote?”

(With kind courtesy from Kuensel.)

Hope you find this an enough instance on how disgustingly the people were suppressed in this country for centuries. The government did not allow listening radios. In 80s, the security personnel raided the villagers who keep radio in their house. In 1997, the king himself ordered to dismantle the TV discs in the country.

The youths did not find any means to update themselves with the political changes around the country. Two great revolutions took place in India and China, changing the whole political course, yet the people in Bhutan remained off-beat.

The government did not allow people to read newspapers. Reading a newspaper meant organizing protests against the government, the king, the foolish king, who thinks TV spoils his people. The curriculum text books filled up with ‘hymns and prayers’ to him. As you go through this, you might have, if read enough of the dictators, come to realize that only people like Hitler, Saddam, Mussolini forced people to read book in schools with full appreciation of the rulers. Gandhi never asked his people to appreciate what he did, Lincoln or Marx never did so.

Now as the employment problem rises up, the tyrant tries to pick up the unemployed youths and join the politics. At the same time, the mission has already begun to recruit the failed students into militia to intensify terrorizing the people. The youths are forced to join teams of politics after the military government failed to provide with job opportunity with various pretexts such as police clearance, NOC.

Picked-up and dragged into a workshop is fundamentally a foolish way to teach people politics. The open society with freedom to discuss everything encourages people and the youths join politics. While the tyrants block bhutantimes.com to bar young enthusiasts discuss the politics, it drags the unemployed youths into room enforcing the unwilling people to join the game.

Does this mean, you will be stateless if you failed to join our mission for ‘mockery democracy’ to empower the palace and the illegal chieftain!

The king divided his allies into fragments in his ambitious plan to thwart the people’s movement for liberty, human rights and democracy. Mischievously, the master plan, the cliché would be road map as George Bush propounds, was intended to accumulate more powers for palace and the king though this would be obvious through diving the aides. Because, on ascend of any of these divided groups would seek his help for position in the government.

Finally, the Jigmes hope, the last resort for power tussle would rest on them.

The power tussle has already begun. Each party blaming each other, at the same time harassing the people to join their group to fight against the other. The major tussle has been observed between JYT and SN, both closest aide of the king.

The people in the villages in have been forced to join the parties. In Bumthang, Trashigang, Lhuentse; let they know the rest. In another sense, the palace is sowing hatred on party politics and multiparty democracy by encouraging the palace forces to mistreat the people. When people does not know what does election means, what does voting rights means, what does political party means and what these parties do, should we call enforcing them into party membership as teaching democracy?     

In fact, the groups formed to day are not parties, they are gangs of the vagabonds. Community and people’s sentiments do not change without revolution, unless the old systems are eradicated from the country.

Hereditary rules have ended phase-wise. It was eliminated from India in late 40s, eliminated from Tibet in later 1950s, eliminated from Sikkim in early 70s, eliminated from Afghanistan in early 90s and is ready for elimination from Nepal. Considering this trend, the monarchy in Drul Yul would survive at least for one more decade. However, the rate of change in perspectives of the thinking among people and mass education, the popularity of the Druk regime may not last that long as well.

Hopefully, the people of this country are getting ready to celebrate the moments when the feudalism is eliminated from the land.

Hurrah! For a Democratic Republic of Bhutan.

The propaganda on Gross National Happiness yielded by Jigmi and promulgated by Jigme has been gradually coming into reality of claiming how happy are the Bhutanese people with the authoritarian regime. 

The unemployment problem has been rising raising frustration among the young population while the employed have been dissatisfied with their jobs.

Paro College of Education lecturer Rinchen Dorji in his survey recently concluded that only three percent of the teachers in the country are satisfied with their job. What makes them frustrated? Does the wangchuk regime lend it attention? Never, never and never. What matters them when teachers are frustrated, unsatisfied.

Once it was acclaimed that Bhutan tops the Asia in case of happiness among the people. The Jigmis’s organization Centre for Bhutan Studies had earlier found the happiness among the people had dropped to less than 60 percent. Drastically, now the happy people are 3 out of 100.

The teachers ‘expressed frustration, dissatisfaction and low morale and motivation,’ low morale kuensel also said.

The environment for the job in the country is not encouraging because the tyrants have been enforcing the people to strictly follow what they direct. For years, they have not been allowed, even to this day, to suggest the corrective measures to create encourating environment. Rather, the royalists and their followers, who sometimes are illiterate dictators, charge the suggestion people as speaking against the king, country and the people.

Dorji has said he found the younger generation people are more frustrated for lacking appropriate environment in their work field. His finding shows that the younger generation teachers have not been able to fit with the dictatorial environment of the wangchuk regime.

While talking about the teaching profession, I recall my days in school where a Dzongkha teacher, not received formal education, used to teach us. His general method of teaching was to tell us students to go through the text and say the whole text in front of the class without looking the text book. He didn’t bother what the text meant to say. Upon failing to tell the whole text, I had found a good measure to avoid his beating. I used to start praying the national anthem and this used to compel the teacher remain unmoved, helping me escape from his beating.

The wangchuks had raised the salary for the teachers earlier to encourage them say that dictators are doing well. Now when the dictators realized their share for entertainment and luxury has been decreasing, it chopped off the salary and incentives.

The nature of the wangchuk to include their nears and dears in the job has also been revealed by this study.

I think, the questions raised in this blog regarding the authenticity that people are becoming frustrated with the wangchucks are getting answers gradually.

The independency of the kingdom has been talked the highest while the wangchuk government steps in to suppress the people. For Jigmes, sovereignty was the propaganda material just to safeguard the throne for their decedents.

The first wangchuk surrendered before the white people in 1865 and signed an agreement to loose the land of 18,000 square miles in Bengal and Assam Duars. Now the fighters in the Assam get shelter in wangchuk administration.

Most of the high places in northern side have been ceded to China, the rulers kept quite. No sounds, no opposition. The latest instance, I have already wrote in earlier piece.

I had also mentioned earlier that Bhutan government remained quiet with the Oxfor dictionary giving meaning of Bhutan as ‘protectorate of the republic of India’.

There have been several attempts to demolish Dzongkha language from northern side after the occupation of Tibet by bigger dragon. The smaller dragon seems gradually making hay with the bigger in its efforts to strengthen wangchuk sovereignty.

In October 2005, an internal Microsoft memorandum barred the term “Dzongkha” from all company software and promotional material. The US company, however, substituted the term as “Tibetan – Bhutan” instead.

This was done at the request of the mainland Chinese government, who insisted the name “Dzongkha” implied an affiliation with the Dalai Lama, and hence, with Tibetan independence movement.

There have been no reactions from the wangchuk administration to this Chinese influx, the advancing communist. Now, it has raised its eyebrows with the beginning of communist insurgency. Hopefully, the smaller dragon will fail to curb the upsurge of the bigger dragon, crawling slowly in the international politics with the ‘low profile and secure position’ policy of its leader Deng.

After a news portal made public the arrest of some citizens from west-southern district in last week of May, fear spread among the democratic enthusiasts in Thimphu that they may also face similar consequences. However, after police announced that the people were linked with some communist group formed by Bhutanese refugees in Nepal, the suffocation among the people flexed. Yet the fear has not cleared for the spies of the wangchuks run around the Thimphu looking after people having link with these people called communists.

At the same time, I heard of some rumours that the wangchuk government has finalised the plans to crash some more citizens and that the plans would begin to be executed from south-eastern districts.

Thus, the circumstances forced me to run to these places to see how the people have been living. I reached Samdrup Jongkhar with my secret plans.
I face shortage of my money to stay in hotels here, however, there are no relatives who can accommodate me. Finally, an Indian who runs small business turned to be a new friend, in need, indeed.

I looked through the districts and contacted some people around if the rumours spread in Thimphu was correct. I had concluded while in Thimphu that the rumours should have some facts behind because the government had already announced 80,000 illegal immigrants still living in the country.

And yes, the rumour was correct. After the arrest of the communist enthusiast in west, the local authorities, on assumption that these communists have been running training camps in eastern districts, asked some six families to leave the country immediately. I met four of these families and suggested not to obey the wangchuk promulgated orders and believe that in either way victory of the people, the suppressed voices, is certain. It takes time, have patience.

Yet the fear that dominated the psychology of these threatened families has so deepened that in the days ahead, they would not find alternatives than to leave the country.

Militarisation of eastern and southern districts has already begun in the name of catching the communist enthusiasts. The people in eastern districts have been living under state terror at this present situation. They are unaware what the wangchuk government would do now on.

Even then, the ire among the common people against the establishment has been increasing. Hopefully, the exasperation prevailing for a long period would come out once the wangchuks opens up the politics. The parties formed under the direction of the wangchuks would become a boomerang to topple the tyrants, people wait for the opportunities.