Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [23]
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Karma Ura’s book The Hero With a Thousand Eyes gives a wonderful insight into the protocol and workings of the Bhutanese court in the days of the second king, Jigme Wangchuck, and is available in Thimphu.
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Bhutan joined the Colombo Plan in 1962. This gave it access to technical assistance and training from member countries in Southeast Asia. The first ‘five-year plan’ for development was implemented in 1961 and India agreed to help finance and construct the large Chhukha hydroelectric project in western Bhutan. Not all Bhutanese approved of the pace of change. There were clashes between rival power groups and the prime minister, Jigme Palden Dorji, who was a leading proponent of change, was assassinated on 5 April 1964.
Bhutan joined the Universal Postal Union in 1969 and became a member of the UN in 1971. In the same year, Bhutan and India established formal diplomatic relations and exchanged ambassadors.
The king’s domestic accomplishments were also impressive. In 1953, early in his reign, he established the Tshogdu (National Assembly) and drew up a 12-volume code of law. He abolished serfdom, reorganised land holdings, created the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) and police force, and established the High Court. However, as he led Bhutan into the modern world, he emphasised the need to preserve Bhutanese culture and tradition.
The National Assembly
The Tshogdu, or National Assembly, meets twice a year. It has 150 members, all of whom serve three-year terms and fall into three categories. The largest group, with 105 members, consists of the chimis, representatives of Bhutan’s 20 dzongkhags (administrative districts; they are marked on the colour map, pp2–3). Each household has a vote in village elections and the gups (village headmen or headpersons) elect the chimi. The zhung dratshang (clergy) elect 10 monastic representatives and another 35 representatives are senior civil servants nominated by the government. These appointees include the dzongdags (district governors), ministers, secretaries of various government departments and other high-ranking officials.
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The 1897 earthquake which destroyed and damaged many of the dzongs was the first documentation of a quake producing vertical accelerations greater than 1G, which means that large boulders were lifted from their location and moved to a new spot without touching the ground.
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THE FOURTH KING & THE INTRODUCTION OF DEMOCRACY
King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck died in 1972 at age 44. He was succeeded by his 16-year-old son, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. Like his father, he was educated in India and England, but he also received a Bhutanese education at the Ugyen Wangchuck Academy in Paro. He pledged to continue his father’s program of modernisation and announced a plan for the country to achieve economic self-reliance. This plan took advantage of Bhutan’s special circumstances – a small population, abundant land and rich natural resources. Among the development goals set by the king was the ideal of economic self-reliance and what he nicknamed ‘gross national happiness’ (GNH). GNH is not a simple appraisal of the smiles on the faces of the populace; rather it encompasses explicit criteria to measure development projects and progress in terms of society’s greater good. A more sustainable happiness for the individual is believed to derive from such an approach.
The coronation of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck as the fourth Druk Gyalpo on 2 June 1974 was a major turning point in the opening of Bhutan, and was the first time that the international press was allowed to enter the country. A total of 287 invited guests travelled to Thimphu for the event, and several new hotels were built to accommodate them. These hotels later provided the basis for the development of tourism in Bhutan.
The king has emphasised modernisation of education, health services, rural development and communications. He was the architect of Bhutan’s policy