Nov 13th 2008 | THIMPHU: In the mountainous forests above the Thimpu valley, the end-point of a five-day, guided trek through Bhutan for rich foreign tourists, lies the only big construction site in the capital of the isolated Himalayan country. The world’s youngest democracy is building houses for its parliamentarians. The former king, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, shocked his people in late 2006 by stepping down, decreeing the establishment of democracy and handing over to his son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk. Most Bhutanese would have preferred to preserve royal rule, but loyally obeyed the king’s order to rule themselves.
This month the reluctant delegates and tens of thousands of other Bhutanese flocked to the Tashichho Dzong, a white-walled fortress and monastery, to celebrate the coronation of their new 28-year-old king. The contrast with neighbouring Nepal, where this year a much-reviled monarch was given his marching orders, could not be starker. Jigme Khesar, like his father before him, is hugely popular.
The new king, the fifth of the 100-year-old dynasty, pledged to follow the path of democratisation and development embarked on by his 52-year-old father. The first general elections were held in March. The staunchly royalist Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party won 44 of the 47 seats in the new parliament.
The last king in South Asia is likely to be guided by his father and his idea of an alternative to Gross Domestic Product as a measure of national progress: Gross National Happiness (GNH). A pilot survey conducted earlier this year by the Gross National Happiness Commission (formerly the planning commission) suggests that things are going rather well: more than two-thirds of Bhutanese could be classed as being happy.
But even Shangri-La has its problems. Despite big strides in development, particularly education and health, Bhutan suffers ills such as corruption, unemployment and alcoholism. One of Bhutan’s three ethnic groups, the Nepali-speakers, concentrated in southern Bhutan, are still marginalised. Tens of thousands fled to Nepal from 1988-93. More than one-eighth of the 1990 population are still abroad. Still, nothing suggests that more than a minority of those left behind disagree with the king’s choice of happiness over other goals as the guiding principle of Bhutan’s development philosophy. The former kingdom’s 635,000 citizens are mostly poor subsistence farmers. The UN Development Programme’s human-development index ranks Bhutan 133rd out of 177 countries. But the “Happy Planet Index” of the New Economics Foundation, a London-based think-tank, ranks Bhutan 13th.
For now, the four pillars of GNH—sustainable development, environmentalism, good governance, and the preservation of Bhutanese cultural values—appear to be little more than laudable common sense. They conceal, however, some controversial debates, such as who defines traditional culture and whether it includes the ethnic minorities. But GNH is developing its own cult following. Adherents will gather in Thimpu later this month for the 4th GNH Conference in Thimpu.
Unless parliament votes for his abdication with a 75% majority followed by a referendum, the charismatic king will rule until 2045. Most people seem relieved, trusting him to guide them. The admiration extends to other areas. “He is awesome,” says Soenam Dorjee, a Thimpu resident who regularly teams up against the king’s basketball team. “His favourite shot is two feet from the three-point line. And you know what: he sinks them,” Mr Dorjee says, and smiles, happily.
Source: The Economist