BLACKLISTED IN BHUTAN- Book Review

BLACKLISTED IN BHUTAN: Love Lost and Love Transformed in the Land of Gross National Happiness by Rieki Crins.

Rieki Crins reached Tsachaphu, then a rural village of hot spring in the Pochhu valley in Bhutan, for anthropology research for her Masters and later continued it for her Ph.D. She lands up in the village with a European mindset keeping and frequently comparing Bhutan to Medieval Europe. She has an abundant appreciation for the country and the villagers. Very soon her elite European mindset and behavior crush with the culture shock.

She reaches to a morning meal without washing her hands or face- the basic habit all Asian learn from the cradle.

She digs out the unique but prevalent features of rural health, hygiene, agriculture, culture, and hardship.

She has picked up the local language and excavated the culture to its depth and made the culture the subject of the book.

Throughout her writing, she appears an innocent and energetic researcher. Even after her Ph.D., she visits Bhutan twice a year as a tourist guide. She struggles to anchor in Bhutan with a hotel cum school. Her effort benefits many unemployed youths.

The twist comes when, without a yellow signal, her visa to Bhutan is denied without an explanation. Someone explained to her that the denial was because she was ‘Blacklisted.’ Thereafter, her writing flashback to the incidences of restriction and dictatorial rule in the silent country. She begins to see hypocrisy in the King's newfound ideology of Gross National Happiness.

She recalls some possible causes and speculates the reason to be one of her Facebook comments that possibly upset a member of the powerful royal family.

There is a big population, in and outside Bhutan, which is critical of the autocratic government. The title of the book ‘BLACKLISTED IN BHUTAN’ gets the early attention of such a group of people. 

She reached Bhutan in February 1990 when the government was iron-fisted handling a serious dissident movement. The book is free from the description of such political background.    

What she has explained but not concluded is her description of Wangmo’s and her partner- a Cello virtuoso- Maria’s anomalous behaviors in Bhutan. Her description matches TN Rizal’s description of Mind control in words and essence. Was she mind-controlled? Was her mind/intention read before taking an action on her? Reiki only can recall, re-evaluate and share it in detail in the future.   

She has also mentioned her engagement with Karen refugee/community in Burma and Thailand.

There are plenty of clues for the readers to speculate the reason for the denial of her visa to Bhutan.

On top of all the Book is a masterpiece on the culture of a Drukpa village. However, the bold title ‘BLACKLISTED’ shadows her content.

A one sitting book is full of carrying, entertaining and educating contents and is one of the must-read books for the students of culture and anthropology. 

Government reinstates Committee of Secretaries

Government reinstates Committee of Secretaries

December 8, 2018 News Leave a comment 2,919 Views

The government has reinstated the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) four years after the erstwhile committee was dissolved.

CoS comprises the cabinet secretary and the secretaries of 10 ministries and advises the Cabinet on the pros and cons of its decisions.

Speaking with the media yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering said, “We have formally reinstated the Committee of Secretaries.” The decision, he said, was taken at a recent Cabinet meeting.

“The secretaries asked for terms of reference so that they would be comfortable to work. I told them no terms of reference was necessary at the secretary level,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that the CoS would work as an advisor to the Cabinet.

“They will not work as Opposition,” he said, adding that most of the members were senior civil servants whose experience and advice would be helpful to the government.

The Prime Minister said that the government was working hard and that it had lined up many programmes that would benefit the people. “I have met with sector heads, including all the secretaries except for two who were out of the country.”

The former government dissolved CoS after surrendering three secretaries, including the cabinet secretary in December 2014 to Royal Civil Service Commission.

Kuensel learnt that the interim government’s (IG) report, had recommended reinstating the CoS or empowering the GNH Commission with similar mandates like the CoS, as all secretaries are members of the GNH Commission.

According to the interim government’s recommendation, doing away of institutionalised decision-making forums within agencies such as GNH committees, sub-committees and rule making committees by the political leadership to pursue their political interests has seriously impeded co-ordination with ministers.

Such forums were recommended to be permanent features so that agencies can follow due process and due diligence when it comes to matters of policies and regulations. These forums are aimed at preventing political leaders from bypassing the head of the agency and departments and will ensure that systems and policies are not undermined.

Such committees are expected to impose checks and balances in the system.

MB Subba

http://www.kuenselonline.com/government-reinstates-committee-of-secretaries/

Bhutan: A Nation of Silent Sufferers!

BHAGIRATH KHATIWADAOCTOBER 21, 2018

 

A Pardesi in Paradise, by Dr. Govinda Rizal movingly describes the author’s extraordinary journey, the quest for identity, equality, and justice. The pages in this book repeatedly remind readers of a story of injustice, anguish, and worries, struggle for survival, search for acceptance and contradictions. And yet, this book is a cover story of thousands of the expelled Bhutanese who are outside Bhutan. Whether as a representative story or as a memoir of an individual, this book excites curiosity aroused by the smart use of flashbacks, dilemmas, scarcities, fears, and paradoxes.

The narrative structure is simple and easy to understand. The book is authentic at its core and the stories are narrated in a most eloquent manner. It gives readers a heartfelt sense of what it is like to grow up in the dictated environment, and the pains of statelessness and living a refugee’s life full of dire situations.  Rizal strives in these pages to ground his ideas on the Royal Government of Bhutan’s two faces. On the one hand, the RGoB is branding Bhutan as a peaceful and the happiest country in the world and on the other the same government has evicted over 110,000 of its own citizens from the country. The royal claim of happiness is at the expense of thousands of innocent citizens who were uprooted from their homes. Bhutan is truly a nation of silent sufferers!

Rizal presents the arguments that, wherever they are, Bhutanese are always guided by optimism and hope, and sincerely look for better ways to combat real problems with limited resources. They survived in refugee camps against the RGoB’s will. The RGoB wanted these people to disappear in India or Nepal after the eviction, instead, they organized in seven refugee camps in Nepal under the aegis of United Nations despite unyielding life and death situations. Now, many of these people, once rejected and abused by the RGoB, are living a dignified and productive life in many developed countries where they are contributing to their communities.

Readers  can analyze this book through different lenses: political movements in Bhutan; violent suppression of people by the Bhutanese regime; controlled and guided life of people who are still inside Bhutan; the making of a refugee; invaluable contributions of leaders in organizing refugee camps, pseudo-democracy in Bhutan; life after third-country resettlement; uncertain future of those Bhutanese still in the refugee camps in Nepal; and more.

Rizal has analyzed the Bhutanese refugee issue so thoroughly that after reading A Pardesi in Paradise, one can have a better understanding of the RGoB’s underlying motives in removing its own citizens. The author has offered his firsthand experience of the important milestones of the journey of a refugee through various events and stories. A reader can feel how the RGoB instigates its exceedingly insolent and wild army and militia in southern Bhutan to evict the people and confiscate properties with the single goal of erasing the heritage and footprints of lhotshampa from Bhutan.

People have not yet forgotten the fundamental mission of erasing the identity of some sections of Bhutanese from the country by the RGoB. In 1927, Pashupati Adhikari, the village headman of Lamidara, Chirang was badly beaten up and finally banished from the country simply because he raised voice against the excessive land tax (Strawn, 1993). When J.C.Gurung and S.B. Gurung formed Jai Gorkha Solidarity Front in 1947 for political change in the country, they were kicked out of the country along with their fifteen party cadres (ibid). Mahasur Cheetri of Bhutan State Congress was allegedly packed up alive in a leather bag and thrown into Sunkosh River to die in 1951 when he raised voice for democracy (ibid). Thousands were expelled from Bhutan and hundreds were imprisoned and killed in 1990 democratic movement.

H.H. Dodrupchen Rinpoche of Nyingmapa Sect was put into detention in 1997 simply because his followers sought RGoB’s noninterference in religious practices. In all the political movements in Bhutan, the RGoB always used excessive military force to suppress people’s voice. In 1953, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck used the first national assembly of Bhutan to convert southern Bhutanese from Hindus to Buddhist but this move was not popular (Dhakal & Strawn, 1994). King Jigme Singye Wangchuk imposed the requirement to wear Drukpa clothing, Gho and Kira, across Bhutan soon after he ascended the throne in 1972 and branding them as national dress of the kingdom.

Much has been said and written on Bhutanese refugee issue but many of these documents and literature contain imbalanced and misleading information on the issue. The RGOB shrewdly portrayed in international communities its innocence in generating refugees while shifting total blame on the refugees. Rizal’s book helps to fill these voids. The author not only described the refugee issue but he has also provided a comprehensive insight into Bhutan’s system of governance and the Bhutanese political crisis.

Rizal referred Nepali-origin people living in southern Bhutan as “Bhutanese” and the population of the northern parts of the country as “Drukpas”. He revealed the discrepancies in the treatment of these people at different times by the RGoB for its own political gain. A Pardesi in Paradise outlines the innumerable struggles of evicted Bhutanese in exile. The author discussed the refugee-making-story of the Bhutanese regime. He described the historical development of the refugee problem and various tactics adopted by the Bhutanese regime at different times in expelling its own citizens from the South and the East.

A Pardesi in Paradise prudently reveals India’s indifference from the beginning in the Bhutanese democratic movement for its own benefit. India’s role in this regard is mysterious. When it was hosting thousands of Tibetan refugees, the largest democracy did not allow a single Bhutanese refugee to take refuge in its country, nor did it allow them a way back home. It always stood negative, aloof and indifferent toward Bhutanese people’s aspirations for inclusive democracy and constitutional monarchy. India apparently views Bhutanese democratic movement as an infiltration of ethnic elements and it does not want to disturb the ethno demographic balance in the region. In other words, India always fears that if there is true change in Bhutan, it would add fuel to the ongoing Gorkhaland movement in the hills and instigate Sikkim.

The writer has precisely illustrated that in the evolution of creating a one-track language and culture, Bhutanese rulers enforced that all people of Bhutan must renounce their own heritage and instead accept the Drukpa culture and traditions. Advancement of the national language, Dzongkha, obviously took center stage at the expense of other languages.

The book takes readers through the chronological illustration of the regime’s disguised intent of depopulating its own citizens from banning Nepali language from school curriculum as early as 1980 (Van Driem,1994), adoption of Greenbelt policy in 1984, forceful imposition of ‘one-nation-one people’ policy in 1989, targeted census in the south in 1989, and various other discriminatory policies (Mathew,1997).

The author mentioned how Bhutanese were classified into seven categories (F1-F7) in the 1988 census and its aftermath. The wound caused by the RGoB’s discriminatory and forceful efforts of eviction planted lasting negative impacts in the lives of these refugees. Rizal highlighted the magnitude of the mental health crisis in this population caused by the forced migration. He mentioned the death of Sita Mothey by suicide in Bhutan as well as many others in the diaspora due to depression, anxiety, alcohol misuse and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the government’s atrocities and evictions from their own country where they lived for generations. The author detailed the pang of family separation after the 1951, 1990 and 1997 democratic movements.

This memoir contains a plethora of information on Bhutan and the Bhutanese but the author failed to mention the contribution of ten leaders including Tek Nath Rizal and Bidhyapati Bhandari, two Bhutanese representatives of the Royal Advisory Council of Bhutan who approached the 4th Monarch to nullify the discriminatory policies in 1988. The author extensively discussed various movements launched by the Bhutanese inside and outside the country for establishing human rights and democracy in Bhutan at different times. Yet he failed to lay out the root causes of their failure. There are a few typos and it is expected that these can be improved in the future edition.

There is no doubt that the author has proven to be a transformational leader–one who can bring people together, through his various innovative projects while he was in the refugee camp. However, in these pages, the author did not mention what should be the future course of Bhutanese in the diaspora. The author justified his sagacity in coining the title of the book, A Pardesi in Paradise by highlighting his bitter experiences of statelessness from his own country of birth Bhutan to any country; no matter how developed his adoptive country is, he bravely expressed his sense of receiving treatment as Pardesi, a term adapted from Nepali “an outsider”.

Mr. Khatiwada lives in New Hampshire. He can be reached at bhagirathkhatiwada@gmail.com

References:

1. Strawn,Christopher (1993). Falling Off the Mountain: A Political History and Analysis of Bhutan, the Bhutanese Refugees and the Movement in Exile (unpublished dissertation submitted to the University of Wisconsin.

2. Dhakal, D.N.S and Strawn, Christopher (1994). Bhutan: A Movement in Exile, Jaipur, India.

3. Van Driem, George. (1994). Language Policy in Bhutan. Bhutan: Aspects of Culture and Development. Gartmore: Kiscadale Publications. Retrieved from http://himalayanlanguages.org/files/driem/pdfs/1994LanguagePolicy.pdf

4. Joseph C., Mathew (1997). Ethnic Conflict in Bhutan: Political and Economic Dimensions, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

http://www.bhutannewsservice.org/bhutan-a-nation-of-silent-sufferers/

Lyonpo Om Pradhan’s Roar of Thunder Dragon

AUGUST 19, 2013

 

[This is a reflection after reading the section “Southern Bhutan and its politics” from the book “Bhutan: the roar of thunder dragon,” by *Lyonpo Om Pradhan]

Author Om Pradhan was nine years old when news of the birth of Prince Jigme Singye Wangchuck reached his village Neoly in south- eastern Bhutan. Their destiny brought them together for the rest of their lives, in ups and downs. The two ruled the country with a king- minister relationship, as Akbar and Birbal of Bhutan. *Lyonpo Om Pradhan began to serve the royal government in 1969. He was awarded the red (minister level) scarf in 1977. He served as ambassador and deputy minister, too. From 1985 – 1998, he was the *Lyonpo (Minister) for Trade and Commerce of Bhutan. During 1990s, when dissident movement rose from southern Bhutan, he was the only Southern Bhutanese Minister in the cabinet. He was accused for his dead –silence when the southern Bhutanese were terrorized and evicted en-mass. In this book published 22 years after the mass eviction *Lyonpo Om Pradhan attempts to integrate the Southern Bhutanese dissident movement into the mainstream history of Bhutan. This book is a confluence of three major aspects: first, it is a history of modern Bhutan; second, it attempts to glorify the contribution of the kings; and third, it’s an autobiography of a minister who served the other two. Here, an attempt is made to extract the notion related to the dissident movement only, which is a significant section of the book.

Om’s Father J.B Pradhan was a commissioner deputed by the kings and prime ministers to settle Nepali people in southern Bhutan. The reasons were few and clear: to create a buffer population between British India and Drukpas, to protect the southern border, to clear the forest and cultivate the land, and most importantly, to pay cash tax to the government. The Nepali subject of southern Bhutan and Nepali populations in the region were supportive of Bhutan’s sovereignty and independence. Because of these sentiments and their close association with Dorji family of Kalimpong, Nepali settlers were preferred choice for Southern Bhutan. Throughout the book, there is a continuous emphasis to prove how much loyalist and royalist the southern Bhutanese were and are. The terms ‘Southern Bhutanese’, ‘ethnic Nepalis’ or ‘Lhotsampas’ are interchangeably used however, the author seems more settled with the first term. “What Bhutan is today, is due to the wisdom of the kings” is the take home message of the book.  To find “What Bhutan is today” readers have to look outside the book.

The author walks on a tight rope balancing between his positions as a minister intimate to Royal family and a representative of southern Bhutanese who are generally perceived to be the dissidents. He has successfully kept himself as the most neutral force, a sincere witness and a diplomatic writer. He writes putting himself on the shoes of the representative of the southern Bhutanese, both in the country and in exile. He doesn’t hide the mistakes and the excessive handlings. He doesn’t endorse the ill-intentioned words such as Ngolops, terrorists or anti-nationals used by his fellow ministers responsible for creating and (mis) handling the “dissidents”, the term he prefers. The blame of the dissident movement of 1990s is rather directly pointed towards the real cause, the government officials, and dissident leaders.

The causes were real, giving and revoking of citizenships was intentionally mishandled by inappropriately assigned officers.  One, Chief of Chirang district coerced eviction and registered the land properties into his asset. Second, a mother was shouting “Please don’t shoot. We will leave the country” (p. 178). ‘Green belt policy’ to grow trees one kilometer from the border, where the people resided most was found enthusiastically enforced. The author led the investigation. He mentions that green belt policy was an ill –conceived attempt that could potentially lead to an international uproar, even if the local dissent could be contained. The cadastral survey and census was carried out together. Without consideration of illiteracy of the people, the poor housing conditions, fragile tax receipt papers, and no proper documents, people were asked to produce in 1988 the documents of 1958 to be counted in the census and retain their citizenships. The southern Bhutanese officials in the government had to intervene and report to the King.

The author was invited to one of the meetings of southern Bhutanese officers that decided to appeal to the king on the issue of the southern Bhutan. The appeal that two royal counselors TN Rizal and BP Bhandary made to the king is included in the annex as ‘Patriotic Appeal of Southern Bhutanese to the King’. He reported to the king and left for china to lead delegation on border issues. On his return, the things had changed, dissents were open.

During the dissident movement, there was no reliable medium for the flow of information. There was no official briefing in national assembly to avoid ethnic hostilities and discrimination in their presentation. The hatred against southern Bhutanese entered the national assembly that went unchecked. Division and discrimination based on ethnicity and region was institutionalized. The speaker or others made no effort to prevent such divisive talks (p. 180).

There are sincere attempts in the book to clarify some of the propagandas that were used from both the government and the dissident sides. King’s sincere attempt to have a unique identity for southern Bhutanese, different from the Gurkhas and Nepalis was criticized on line with ethnic cleansing by the dissidents and the Nepal’s media. King had no intention of imposing a national dress; he wanted a consensus on the matter. The southern Bhutanese officials chose gho and kira instead of any unique dress they were asked to design for themselves.  But on the strict imposition that followed, the author talks through a representative royal family member in an anecdote. “How would a prominent lama feel if he was suddenly asked to change into daura –suruwal?” And the royal family member answers “The old persons and bahuns from southern Bhutan must find themselves in the most awkward situation” (P. 195). The unpopular bureaucratic means of implementing well intentioned policies, made all the mistakes.

Author explains that Sikkim fear and greater Nepal threat were used to provoke sentiments against southern Bhutanese. Both propagandas had no basis and relevance to the dissident movement. The book further says Rongthong Kunley Dorji, the dissident leader from the east had little to do with the southern Bhutan. Genuine grievances were included in the petition that two royal counselors from South TN Rizal and BP Bhandari submitted to the king. The culprits were home ministry recruited unprofessional and mostly fresh census officials, who were unreasonable, harsh and humiliating.

Inside snap of the Pradhan’s book

There are ample mentions of the dissident leaders and extremist whom he calls Goongdas, but doesn’t name the latter. Author mentions that among the dissident leaders who the king missed the most was Bhim Subba. King had a high regard and great expectations from him. The day king promoted him to director general; Subba had decided to leave the country to join the dissidents. Earlier, when king knew that Subba’s brother had left the country to join the dissidents, he relayed two options through the author: either to convince him to return to the country, or if he insists ask him to join the non-criminal group of dissidents. Author also takes a subtle observation of learning Dzongkha. Southern Bhutanese officials seriously tried to learn Dzongkha. RB Basnet was ahead of Subba and Rizal. The latter two found the ethnic issue easier. Subba was influenced more by his in-laws than the king.

*Lyonpo Pradhan quotes Hari Adhikari, another national assembly member turned dissident: “the greatest loser among all the southern Bhutanese as a result of the strains between the government and the southern Bhutan, in terms of position, privilege, power and properties was *Lyonpo Om Pradhan”. He briefly mentions about other officials turned dissident leaders like DNS Dhakal and Thinley Penjore.

The author seems poorly informed about the situation in the refugee camps. He refers to phrases from the newspapers of those times. He sticks to the government’s verification of 15 to 20 % in the camp and takes for granted the verification went well as reported in the news. Readers from exile will be surprised to find him convinced that there were people in the camps who were not evicted from Bhutan. His limited knowledge of the people and activities in the exile prove his difficulties to reach them.

The book mentions that in August 2006 the US congressional delegation led by Mr Brain Baird to Thimphu negotiated to resettle the Bhutanese Refugees in United States and other western countries on humanitarian ground. It further mentions “the dissident leaders have settled in the west and have abandoned their cause” (p. 184). The citizenship of southern Bhutanese is not clear and many are under dispute. The citizenship of many southern Bhutanese in the country is still in limbo. Their former citizenship cards have not been changed. They are deprived of the privileges, rights, and duties associated with citizenship. It is resulting in a new generation of stateless residents in the country with divided loyalty and a feeling of discrimination (p. 196). Author projects southern population to be 15 to 25% of the total after relying on the government’s attitude towards accepting of southern population (P.185). The new generation of Lhotsampas and children of intermarried couples has grown up with the familiarity of Bhutanese language and culture. He suggests it is now time to once again pursue an inclusive policy to bring the southern Bhutanese into the national fold.

Overall, the author has successfully kept himself as the most neutral force, a sincere witness and a diplomatic writer. He writes putting himself on the roles of the representative of the southern Bhutanese people, both in the country and in exile. It must be the first history book about Bhutan ever written by a Bhutanese minister and one of the rare documents that corroborates the Southern Bhutanese movement as the mainstream politics of the state. The book is edited by Tashi P Wangdi. The expression and flow is consistently well maintained.

*Editor’s note: The designatory words used in the write-up have been retained based upon the insistence of the author unlike what BNS has been practicing.

[ Govinda Rizal, originally from Lodrai, Gayglegphug is one of the Contributing Editors of the Bhutan News Service. He writes about the Bhutanese people in the country and in exile, and about Bhutan’s international border. He blogs at: http://redroom.com/member/govinda-rizal  ]

http://www.bhutannewsservice.org/om-pradhans-roar-of-thunder-dragon-2/