The British government is poised to join the Kingdom of Bhutan and a handful of other countries in attempting to officially monitor happiness, the Guardian wrote Wednesday.
Despite ”nervousness” in Prime Minister David Cameron’s office at the prospect of testing the national mood amid deep cuts and last week’s student riot in London, the Office of National Statistics will shortly be asked to produce measures to implement his long-stated ambition of gauging ”general well-being”, the daily mentioned.
Interestingly, when Bhutan’s former king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, first suggested measuring ”gross national happiness” in 1972, it was considered eccentric.
“But France and Canada are now looking at initiatives similar to Britain’s as governments come under pressure to put less store on conventional economic measures of prosperity,” added the report.
Thanks to the initiative of British government. Not only few countries, time has come for the global community to monitor and see if happiness prevails in Bhutan to the general public.
Large section of the society live below the poverty level. One sixth of the population was rendered homeless for raising their genuine concern to the government in early nineties. Not a single refugee is allowed to return. There is no freedom of press and right to assembly in Bhutan. Threat of political persecution prevails and no one dares to voice against the system, including the parliamentarians. In such a state of governance how can the general people rejoice happiness. It is just simple to understand.
It is time for the global community, to see if it is true GNH in Bhutan or is simply a campaign and ”beating of own trumpet” by the regime, to divert the attention of the international community from the real issue of Human Rights and Democracy.
Durga Giri, Manchester.
When Bhutan excercised its hectic stretedy of so called GNH, it has evicted around 23% of the total citizens from the Country in the decade of 1990s. Bhutan has fathered around 10s of political rivals in exile and some of them are wagging melitia sentiments to response the regimes deceptive stretegy to GNH.
In the following decade, Bhutan will certainly have a worse civil unrest, pro and cons democracy vs monarchy conflicts and chaos will rule to evict another thousands of citizens from Bhutan.
This is the behind the curtain thuth of Bhutan’s over hollow approach to so called GNH. If Britain is trying to go as blind and bias as Bhutan. We might end up having the Third WW.
IT is never late to study from the peoples perspective on how far Bhutan is a Democratic Country and how hollow is its paces to GNH !!
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITIES PLEASE, BE AWARE OF WHAT BHUTAN IS HOODWINKING TODAY ! AFTER ALL IT IS ALL DECEPTIVE TO PEOPLE !! IN ANY POINT OF ANALYSIS !!!
Puranaghare
Chirang Bhutan
When the states of the world have undoubtedly suffocated normal peoples’ lives with immensely complex economic systems, which subjugates not liberalizes, which tries to maintain profit for the rich and cut on developmental expenses for the general population, then the states want to measure your sadness, and tell you … sir/madam your happiness levels have gone down.
Try to be happier, don’t be greedy, you should be happy with lesser and lesser facilities.
In the case of Bhutan, development was given up to the World Bank and the IMF long ago by the Royals. Deregulation, a precondition for debts of up to Nu 37 billion as of 2009, has seriously made Bhutan a dominant importer than an exporter. A process that has been going on from the 1980s. The production system of Bhutan has been properly tamed to absorb exports, and as poverty increases, GNH can be used to lower expectations.
So you might say, JSW was smarter than the westerners. Nope he had remained a bit too traditional, while westerners had moved ahead to make people happier by economic progress unlike the King who burned down southern Bhutan. He hasn’t changed a bit.
Whereas the Western politicians have betrayed their own, and so now want to pacify their people by becoming traditional. They say be happy with less to their own people, i am not talking about us. Bhutanese refugees have survived for too long with so little that complaining would certainly appear a crime here.
But we would not be complaining, when we tell the King to compensate for our losses.
Religion has been used from time immemorial to lower expectations, to show fear. Well I think GNH has all the ingredients of a modern fool-tool.
All the most violent states of the world (UK, USA) are killing people mercilessly in the most conflict ravaged countries. What should we expect next? Statecraft, that lowers expectations… yes. Thats what everyone wants to do with GNH, lower expectations!!
Dear All Bhutanese …..If you really love beautiful Druk youl(BHUTAN),why don’t you speak about the sovereignty and the border of Bhutan?
.Do you know that? after 50 years there will be no more Bhutan in the world map.
And the Bhutanese people are gonna to be a tribal of the state.If you don’t know about it ask with your immature king.He knows everything even than he can do no thing becoz he is in the diplomatic prison of India.If you need supportive documents of my view go and ask with the severely extinct IndoBhutan border pillars.Since 1990′s there is no more border between Bhutan and India from Singhee to Kalikhola.Before 1987 sano Pinkhuwa was under(sarpang) Bhutan. Now 90% of sano pinkhuwa falls under (assam-bodoland)India.One day Dzonkha will become a tribal language of India like Uhkhumiya of assam, Nagamise of Nagaland and Manipuri of Manipur.So don’t be too late to protect your sovereignty and Kingdom. It is not a time to speak about democracy and Gross National Happynese for Bhutanese people becoz your nationality’s and sovereignty’s death is very near
Tashidele