Six decades ago, the course of a tiny Himalayan Kingdom was about to be changed forever. In a cold wintry day in the capital of the Kingdom, a young Prince was born whose birth, legend has it, was the fulfillment of a prophecy. The birth of this young Prince marked an event so historic that its full importance would not become fully evident until the young Prince took the realms of His nation.
The Kingdom of Bhutan is a mystical place to many outsiders, earning itself the title of being one of the last hidden Shrangri-las in the world. Visitors are often awed by her scenic natural beauty, her pristine environment and the ambience of the rich cultural heritage preserved by her people – be it in the form of the magnificent architecture that blends in with the wildlife or the unique traditional dresses adorned by the people. Many describe Bhutan as a nation whose one foot is steeped deeply in its ancient past while the other moves forward into modernity. Few visitors, however, realize that this balance between embracing modernization while preserving and upholding our rich cultural values and the conservation of environment is no accident but the result of decades of careful, cautious planning and implementation of policies guided by one of Bhutan’s most visionary monarchs, His Majesty the Great Fourth, Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck.
The sixth day of November in the year 2006 marked the culmination of the 34 year-old reign of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo when His Majesty formally handed over the responsibilities of King to His son, the Crown Prince at a Cabinet meeting in the capital, Thimphu. It was a grave day for the people of Bhutan for they had not expected His Majesty to step down so early at the age of 51 and who had always prayed for His long reign and life. After all, the country and people had seen unparalleled growth and development under His Majesty’s stewardship. To the Bhutanese people, it was as if suddenly, the nation’s father had decided to go on a hermitage – the country was shocked and in mourning, and perhaps even dazzled. The people had not seen this coming and few could have guessed it. But it seemed like the visionary leader had it planned carefully and planned it rather well. The first hints of this were given not a few years ahead but many years ago, as far back as two decades earlier when the process of decentralization had been initiated with the establishment of the Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdus in 1981 under the Royal Charter. A decade later in 1991, the power was further delved away from the central government to the people by strengthening local governance with the establishment of Gewog Yargay Tshogchungs in 1991 once again under His Majesty’s command. A couple of years later and His Majesty decided to devolve all His executive functions to a Council of Ministers elected by the people’s representatives themselves in the National Assembly in 1998. And finally in 2001, His Majesty decreed the formation of the Constitution Drafting Committee beginning the process of ushering in formal democracy in Bhutan. We had all witnessed these historic events under His Majesty’s guidance but few could have predicted that His Majesty was ultimately planning on completely handing over the reign of the nation to the people. But then again, one can hardly be expected to align one’s narrow-minded pursuits to the foresight of a visionary leader like His Majesty.
To the outside world, and even to the Bhutanese people themselves, this ultimate act of giving away one’s power and one’s position as the King of a nation seemed astounding, especially during an age when leaders around the world try desperately to cling on to power, manipulating legislature and rallying the masses, sometimes even establishing their dynasties on heaps of human corpses. At a time when most countries in the world witnessed revolutions against established institutions of power for their removal, the stark contrast of such a move was hard to take in. After all, here was a King, still in His early fifties and abdicating absolutely voluntarily, in fact against the popular wishes of His loyal subjects and urging His people to accept the change and help Him in this transformation to a democratic government. It was an unprecedented event, a historic event.
I often wondered what must go on in the minds of our monarchs when they make those crucial decisions on behalf of the whole country and the people. We must remember that His Majesty ascended the Golden Throne at the tender age of 17 in 1972 with the sudden demise of His Majesty the Third Druk Gyalpo. While most seventeen year olds would be busy trying to handle the pain of their first heartbreaks and revolting their parents and society, His Majesty was thrust forward to the helm of power at a time when not only had He lost his own father but the whole nation was grieving the loss of the Father of Modern Bhutan with Him and He was expected to console all of them and lead the country. Yes, He had been made aware of Him being the Crown Prince and that someday He would have to take over the realms of His father but to be given that responsibility at the tender age of 17, that was a tall order indeed even for a groomed crown prince. Needless to say, His Majesty carried himself perfectly well. Today, when the government machinery is so well established, when technology is at its best, running a nation seems not much of difficult task. But times then were different. His Majesty the Third Druk Gyalpo had hardly opened Bhutan’s doors to the outside world and begun the process of modernization. There were very few Bhutanese who were educated in the art of diplomacy or statecraft and the government as we know it today hardly existed. These were times when a government circular from Thimphu would take days if not weeks to reach the far flung government outposts and traveling to and from Bhutan was a nightmare. Despite this, the sweeping changes and reforms that were initiated and executed under His Majesty's command were profoundly important!
Here I am, a 21 year old medical student who find passing my exams a daunting task and the prospect of having to plan my future dizzying. His Majesty was much younger when He became the supreme leader of our nation and had to plan the whole country's future. There is a saying in Dzongkha that when a group succeeds, the leader is praised, and likewise when it fails the leader must take responsibility. For most of us Bhutanese, the journey has been so smooth that we often take history for granted and forget to appreciate the extraordinary circumstances we survived as a nation state. During His Majesty's life time, the world has changed so much and even close at home in South Asia, so many transformations occurred, some so profound that it changed the face of the South Asian map forever. Around the time of His Majesty's birth, just north of our border, the marching People's Liberation Army of China engulfed Tibet. We saw the birth of Bangladesh as a country in 1971. In 1975, the Kingdom of Sikkim failed as a state and voluntarily ceded to the Indian Union. Beginning in the early 1980s, our island neighbor down south, Sri Lanka saw itself caught in a civil war and nearly a decade later the flames of civil war hit closer to home in Nepal too. India and Pakistan fought at least three wars since His Majesty's enthronement. So within just a few decades, Bhutan stood amidst a lot of turmoil in her neighborhood, untouched and unaffected by it all. In fact, some might even say that it took a leisurely stroll down the development path while the world around it was thrown into chaos. But this was only possible due to the strong figure of His Majesty looming protectively above us. It was His Majesty's tactful foreign policy handling and sound developmental policies back home that kept us safe throughout.
A lot of professions can be taught and learnt; there were many doctors before me, so it's easy for me to be trained as one now. Universities offer courses to become architects, engineers, journalists, physicist, accountants and many more but one cannot expect a University to teach the art of running a state, or more importantly to run a nation as unique as Bhutan. So in the face of this, what His Majesty has accomplished is nothing short of miraculous. Today, as the Millennium Development Goals draw to a close, the United Nations has paved a new path for the global community to follow in the form of Sustainable Development Goals. While it may seem like a novel set of goals to achieve for the international community, Bhutan had already set her agenda on inclusive growth and development under the guidance of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo when the concept of Gross National Happiness was introduced during His coronation speech in 1974. So the world seems to be finally following suit. This is another testament of His Majesty's visionary leadership.
While all of us would have loved for His Majesty to have stayed on the Golden Throne for many years more, in abdicating so early, His Majesty has once again exhibited the true virtue of being a living boddhisatva renouncing attachment to worldly power. For most of us, the rationale behind such a move is a true mystery. However, His Majesty's wisdom in doing so will perhaps be unveiled in the years to come as have so many of His grand plans over the years, or perhaps He would remain the enigma to His loyal subjects and the rest of the world, a monarch who epitomizes the qualities of a selfless leader in the modern world.
No comments:
Post a Comment