Bhutan’s 2013 election was a disaster in every sense. Unfortunately few people realize WHAT happened and HOW it happened. Even fewer can comprehend WHY it happened. But of one thing I am sure - by now a whole lot of Bhutanese people have come to realize that there is no reason whatsoever to rejoice in the fact that the infamous Article 2 of the Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty of 1949 is no longer a clause in the revised treaty we signed with India in 2007.
India’s unabashed transgression into our domestic affairs has demonstrated that where it is an understanding between two unequal partners, there is little reason to believe that any commitment - whether written or unwritten, will be respected - particularly by the stronger of the two parties. The precariousness of our standing in this partnership became all too evident - in the aftermath of the bullying we have been subject to by India.
We had placed full trust on India and her apparent goodness. However, what they did during our last election proves that it is unwise to do so - explicitly. They have dealt us an unexpected raw deal. However, there is nothing we can do now - except swallow our pride and move on. But there is a lesson to be learnt from this shameful episode. Our vulnerability has been exposed. The honeymoon period is over - it is now time for a realty check - a time for a hard look at the facts of life.
The list of our problems runs longer than a woman’s Sunday grocery shopping list. Fifty-two years of planned developmental activities that started in 1961 saw us getting deeper and deeper into debt and dependence. Most of our problems cannot be solved overnight - but some problems are more precarious than others. These are the problems we need to solve without delay. In order of exigency, the following two issues need to be addressed without delay because they have the potential to jeopardize our very sovereignty and nationhood.
a. Our unresolved border dispute with our neighbor in the North; and
b. The lopsided hydropower ventures funded and managed by India
We can no longer ignore the danger signs that have begun to emerge in recent times - surrounding the above two issues. There is an URGENT need for us to accurately comprehend the consequences of our inaction in these two matters. Thereafter, we have to deal with the problems with courage and foresight. By all means we have to take into account India’s security concerns with respect to the border issues with China. However, at the end, India has to accept that they cannot ask us to jeopardize our own security and sovereignty - in order that theirs is protected.
With respect to the hydro-power projects, we have to judge India on the basis of the nobility of their intentions. There is something not quite right about the way things have been going in that sector. It is time that we made a realistic assessment between the perceived and the real economic gains - as opposed to the social and environmental costs to the country as a consequence of these projects.
……………. to be continued
India’s unabashed transgression into our domestic affairs has demonstrated that where it is an understanding between two unequal partners, there is little reason to believe that any commitment - whether written or unwritten, will be respected - particularly by the stronger of the two parties. The precariousness of our standing in this partnership became all too evident - in the aftermath of the bullying we have been subject to by India.
We had placed full trust on India and her apparent goodness. However, what they did during our last election proves that it is unwise to do so - explicitly. They have dealt us an unexpected raw deal. However, there is nothing we can do now - except swallow our pride and move on. But there is a lesson to be learnt from this shameful episode. Our vulnerability has been exposed. The honeymoon period is over - it is now time for a realty check - a time for a hard look at the facts of life.
The list of our problems runs longer than a woman’s Sunday grocery shopping list. Fifty-two years of planned developmental activities that started in 1961 saw us getting deeper and deeper into debt and dependence. Most of our problems cannot be solved overnight - but some problems are more precarious than others. These are the problems we need to solve without delay. In order of exigency, the following two issues need to be addressed without delay because they have the potential to jeopardize our very sovereignty and nationhood.
a. Our unresolved border dispute with our neighbor in the North; and
b. The lopsided hydropower ventures funded and managed by India
We can no longer ignore the danger signs that have begun to emerge in recent times - surrounding the above two issues. There is an URGENT need for us to accurately comprehend the consequences of our inaction in these two matters. Thereafter, we have to deal with the problems with courage and foresight. By all means we have to take into account India’s security concerns with respect to the border issues with China. However, at the end, India has to accept that they cannot ask us to jeopardize our own security and sovereignty - in order that theirs is protected.
With respect to the hydro-power projects, we have to judge India on the basis of the nobility of their intentions. There is something not quite right about the way things have been going in that sector. It is time that we made a realistic assessment between the perceived and the real economic gains - as opposed to the social and environmental costs to the country as a consequence of these projects.
……………. to be continued