In the light of events taking place in Bhutan and with the political consciousness of the Sharchops, the Lhotsampas and the Ngalongs, the stage is all set for the regime to enact a drama for good and bad. The empty fields, that once used to be the grain bowl of Bhutan, are how covered by thick under growth. Those fields have housed the Bhutanese people for generations and are waiting for the return of their true owners.
Father-King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, is no doubt an unostentatious and a simple person. His personality will be personified provided he follows the path of his own father, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, who ruled Bhutan from 1952 to 1972. For the late King's contribution to Bhutan, he was revered by his subjects irrespective of them having diverse racial backgrounds. Given such loyalty, there is no threat to Bhutan's unique identity or its monarchy.
Time is still there to heal the wound. The king should reverse his biased policy and embrace the idea that the county's future will be best protected by promoting diversity - economic and ethnic. The King is still held in high esteem by all the Bhutanese people inclusive of refugees in exile. The King has strong international presence and the solution to the refugee problem would indeed inspire the world community to acclaim for his magnanimity and presence of mind and vision.
To arrive at a meaningful solution to our national problem it is advisable for Father-King Jigme to realise that the Bhutanese refugees are linguistically and by origin are Nepalese, Sharchops, Adivasis, Khengpas; with links in India, Nepal, Arunachal Pradesh, Burma where their ancestors migrated to first; and they are settled in Bhutan, acquiring Bhutanese citizenship over time. These three dimensions must be borne for a solution to the problem. Further, it is wise for the King to realise that in times of great stress and uncertainty, a migrant population usually tends to return to its country of origin. The citizens, when faced with persecution fled Bhutan and headed west over Indian Territory towards Nepal border. Finally, King Wangchuck's image as a benevolent king would ever remain engraved in the hearts of the Bhutanese people if the Bhutanese crisis is solved most amicably under a favourable conducive diplomatic environment between Nepal and Bhutan. In the ultimate analysis, it is better for the King to seek these solutions to himself. It is still in His Majesty's hands to design a forward looking system which is inclusive of all the communities and regions of Druk-Yul (Bhutan) the west, east, north and south.
Barbara W. Tuchman in her book "The March of Folly: From Troy to Veitnam" quoted in the ‘Last Emperor?’ by Carol Rose, conveniently describes The March of Folly as "wooden headedness".
Father-King Jigme and his son’s government (KJSW and G) or mini king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck’s government of Bhutan has arranged well-calculated drama of ushering the country towards a democratic system of governance. And election of the people’s representatives to betray the international community defining democratic system of governance in Bhutan is scheduled for 2008. But it will not bring changes in Bhutan. We know the people of Bhutan still remain under the authoritarian supremacy of the Wangchuck system. How can a cat be trusted to become guardian of rats? How can the Wangchuck kings of Bhutan tell the world that they are going democratic when more than 108000 citizens are mercilessly evicted from the country?
The overall responsibility of power is to govern as reasonably as possible in the interest of the state and its citizens. A duty in that process is to keep well-informed, to heed government, to keep mind and judgement open, and to resist the insidious spell of wooden-headedness. If the mind is open enough to perceive that a given policy is harming rather than serving self-interest, and self-confident enough to acknowledge it, and wise enough to reverse it that is a summit in the art of government.
