What hope has Modi brought from Bhutan?

Strengthening Indo-Bhutan ties

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is returning from his two days visit from Bhutan and has in store lots of hope for India. The visit which he claims to have come out as a “natural choice" was with regards to make development cooperation with the neighboring country "more effective". The warm welcome extended to him by Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay was seen as the two sides exploring ways to boost ties, particularly in trade and hydro-electricity.

The fact that the Prime Minister chose Bhutan as his first foreign destination assumes significance since China has lately intensified efforts to woo it and establish full-fledged diplomatic ties with Thimphu. In his pre-departure statement, Mr. Modi said relations with Bhutan will be a key foreign policy priority of his government and pronounced it as B2B(Bharat 2 Bhutan) ties in his address after the inauguration of the Supreme Court complex built with support from Govt. of India.

First election of Bhutan; a file picture - simple and humble

At a Banquet hosted by Mr. Tobgay, our Prime Minister assured Bhutan that India was committed to its happiness and progress. Ironically that is the country that has laid thrust on the Gross happiness rather than Gross Domestic Product. A person who talks of Gujarat Model of Development for a vast and diverse country like India very craftily continued that one of the parameters for measuring their Gross National Happiness of Bhutan could be the consideration that it had a neighbor like India.

Indian diplomats consider Bhutan as one of our most important strategic partners because of the growing Chinese presence in the region.  Of course they also consider it important to show that our policy of good neighborliness in South Asia and special token of our friendship to this long time friend. Talking of the empty coffers left behind by his predecessor back home and the inflation rearing its ugly head as ever India must be sensing Bhutan a privileged and leading partner in its socio-economic development.

"We rejoice in Bhutan's remarkable economic growth and its progress and prosperity. We are committed to continuing our unstinted support to Bhutan in its development efforts", Mr. Modi said in the statement. He said hydropower cooperation with Bhutan "is a classic example of win-win”. But is there any thing beyond this- to be generated Hydro power and a digital library? What does he take back for his country? Did he learn anything from the philosophy of the ancient Himalayan kingdom? Could the Buddhist wisdom help him in achieving his party’s election mandates? People are in anticipation of his party taking the nation forward with innovative steps and out of the box thinking.  But he seems to be singing the same tune as his predecessors. Throwing the blame on some one is not the best way forward. Just as recently as 2008 this tiny kingdom had a peaceful transformation to a democracy had its first elections. The 7lakh people had a mere 4 parties that qualified to contest. The experiment was termed a grand success with people abiding every rule about the conduct in the election.

Bhutan has a constitutional mandate to maintain at least 60% of their areas under forest cover for all times to come. This leaves them with little choice but to go for economic sectors which do not come at the cost of forest cover. Like every other country at Copenhagen during COP15, Bhutan pledged to remain carbon neutral and accordingly formulated an economic development policy that incentivizes green industries. Accordingly they have prioritized hydropower, tourism, organic agriculture based businesses as the main sectors of growth. While they consciously keep away mining and polluting industries at bay they promote the export of organic produce. They have stringent measures to check the number of privately owned vehicles and regulate their movement.

 

A beautiful symbol of a political party

This little Himalayan country too faces growing population and increasing pressure on natural resources; balancing the increasing demands for socio-economic development infrastructures with environmental concerns in a new democracy is tight rope walk. Climate change and threats of climate induced disasters such as floods, droughts, diseases and their implications on food security, energy and water supply and biodiversity; and increasing food and fuel prices. However, it remains confident and believes it can overcome these challenges as many opportunities are in the air.

Bhutan’s small population has a bigger per capita of natural resources compared to India. Bhutanese have followed a sound development policy and strategy as enshrined in Buddhist philosophy. A concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) which is grounded on balancing socio-economic development with environmental Protection dictates all the state policies. Technologies and their inventions that are not suitable for their ecology or economics are strictly kept away. Preservation of cultural values and good governance principles are prioritized through every institution of state and the public. GNH is therefore, closely aligned with green economy- their national Economy. For India or for the rest of the World it means, pursuing such an avenue of economic growth is not only sustainable but a key necessity for saving our planet.

Courtesy: The Hindu

 Manu. K