Bhutan’s Democratic Dispute

Published April 8, 2008

By Charles Winkleman

As we fight for democracy in Afghanistan, Iraq, and North Korea, there is a lesser known country which has recently put up its own fight with democracy.

This country, located in southern Asia, is known by its people as the Land of the Thunder Dragon. Bhutan is nestled in the Himalayas between China and India, and with a population of less than 700,000 has moved from an absolute monarchy to a democracy. The free world was ecstatic.

The 28-year-old king of Bhutan, educated at Oxford University, abdicated his throne recently. In doing so, he also forced democracy upon his former people.

Although he will probably retain most of his power and will remain the head of state, his actions are truly revolutionary for a country that didn’t have television up until a few years ago. Just think about Kim Il Sung or Ahmadinejad suddenly relinquishing their power and allowing their respective citizens to determine their own future.

Sounds too good to be true, right? Looking at Bhutan’s neighboring democratic countries Nepal, Bangladesh, and India, democracy may not seem like such a good idea for the region. In these three countries, most people don’t have a proper education or a high standard of living. In an absolute monarchy Bhutan’s average annual income was twice that of India, and nearly all residents of Bhutan have healthcare and education. Bhutan is an island of wealth within a sea of destitution.

While the rest of the free world is applauding Bhutan’s actions, Bhutan’s own residents are perturbed and disillusioned. They do not understand the need for a democracy, and many feel that democracy is a main cause of riots and violence between civilians and law enforcers. Let us stop for a second and think this over. These people don’t want democracy. How fucking ridiculous is that?!? While most of us take democracy for granted, these people think that self-determination is not a way of life. While we spend billions of dollars trying to bring democracy to the unenlightened Middle East, this miniscule country thinks they’re too good for it.

For a country like the US, the exportation of democracy is a priority. If this is true, we have failed to enlighten this uncivilized, backward country about democracy.

But one could argue that we did our part in bringing democracy to Bhutan, as the former king received a liberal, Western education in England. And since only college-educated citizens are allowed to be elected into the National Assembly, the search for knowledge and truth seems to be a fundamental aspect of this new government. So maybe in a backhanded way, we did our part.

Many Bhutanese found their king to be an enlightened ruler, akin to a loving father. Although they didn’t understand the move towards democracy, they trusted that their king did such because of the love and kindness of his heart. And although few people in the country trusted this foreign type of government, they still came out to support the king’s vision.

The people’s support for him was obvious, as the royal party won 45 out of 47 parliamentary seats. Nearly 80 percent of the constituents voted, and many voting machines had to be taken by donkey to the polling station. For a country that seems to scorn anything new, they still seem willing to give democracy a try.

To say the least, this is quite an interesting situation. How many other countries have had democracy forced upon them by their own despotic ruler? George Washington comes to mind. A man who could have ruled as king of the New World if he so desired. Not only that, how many people have been opposed to the idea of controlling their own destiny and living their lives freely? Bhutan is an anomaly of Asia and the democratic world.

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