March 2022 | The Bhutan Watch

Journal

Editorial

by The Bhutan Watch March 8, 2022

Democratic days of Bhutan heralded with the transfer of power from fourth to fifth kings with new king accepting the fact that governance should be through the peoples’ elected representatives. In the past the monarchy used to face pressure to relinquish power; the transition to democracy witnessed appreciation and approval. The maturing of democracy did not go well in terms of practice, functioning and delivery. The monarchy remained the central force influencing decision-making and intervening the projects of the elected government. Though the constitution includes enormous royal prerogatives, it was positively hoped that path to democracy will widen as time goes. Many steps taken by the palace are proving to be otherwise. Read full

Civics, Human Rights

Statelessness Among Former Bhutanese Citizens: A Public Issue of Concern

by Ram Karki March 8, 2022

Much has been studied and written on Gross National Happiness (GNH) and Bhutanese Refugee Issue in the past decades, but scholars and researchers are yet to write on the issue of statelessness among the former Bhutanese Citizens. In this article, I have attempted to study and analyze this issue to find the root cause of Bhutanese Citizens becoming stateless in their own country and in the diaspora. An attempt has been made to find the suitable answer of how a country that propagates the philosophy of happiness could revoke the citizenship of its people and escape from crime. This paper mainly focuses on the issue of statelessness among the former Bhutanese Refugees in their country of resettlement and studies the activities of respective community organizations to make the issue public for its resolution. The phenomenological approach was followed to write this article. Read full

Civics

Citizenship and Marriage Laws of Bhutan

by Govinda Rizal March 8, 2022

Citizenship of a state is the right of the holder to have the same rights as any other member of the state. In contrast, categorization of citizenship creates distinct groups with different limitations, rights, and privileges and makes citizens unequal before the law. In Bhutan, there are three major and seven subcategories of citizens created by the government. The three major categories include ‘natural-born citizen of Bhutan,’ ‘Bhutanese citizen by registration,’ and ‘naturalized citizen of Bhutan.’ Based on marriage and presence or absence during regular and surprise censuses, there are seven sub-categories of citizens ranked F1 to F7, the abbreviations of the files (F) in which their names are listed. Marriage laws of Bhutan discourage marriages between a Bhutanese citizen and a non-Bhutanese spouse through lifelong penalties and demotion in citizenship categories. While both polyandry and polygamy are legal for up to four marriages, the encouragement is on intra-category marriages. The marriage law applies even to the crown prince, who is a successor of the throne, that he must marry only ‘natural-born citizen of Bhutan’ to remain eligible to the throne. This article highlights the background of promulgation of citizenship and marriage laws and their implication, so that future researchers can compare the Bhutanese and international laws and study how the outlook of the people are shaped. Read full

Economics, Politics

LDC Graduation: Opportunities and Challenges for Bhutan

by I P Adhikari March 8, 2022

Bhutan is graduating from Least Developing Country (LDC) status in 2023. It was granted LDC status in 1971. Bhutan has maintained fair political stability, consistent economic growth, and improved social indicators in the last few decades. However, Bhutan’s graduation comes amid the worst economic blow by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pillars of growth have been shattered but the plan for graduation is unlikely to be extended. Bhutan has not met a few criteria under the Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI) while it has fulfilled other criteria. The graduation is expected to cause no major impact on Bhutan due to its economic reliance (in both grants and trade) on a single country (India). Bhutan has low volume trade with third countries. Yet a sensible amount of grants, funds and market access will be lost that may challenge Bhutan’s continued economic growth and economic prosperity. This article investigates the process, progress, and challenges of the country after it attains the status of a developing nation. Read full

Civics, Human Rights

Gender Violence Within Bhutanese American Community

by C M Niroula March 8, 2022

Gender violence is an old problem worldwide. It is not an exception in the Bhutanese Community. However, the severity of the problem has grown substantially within the Bhutanese American Community following resettlement. In most cases, the victims are women and girls. A deeper investigation and historical authenticity might require finding the cause – whether the problem has grown following resettlement, or it was subdued while living in exile. This research was aimed to dig out the causes of growing gender violence in a newly resettled community and seek solutions to the problem. An anonymous survey was conducted, and the author held a conversation with a number of community members and victims. Educating the victims to speak against their perpetrators while still providing social and other support would change the way the newly established community prosper. Dedicated service and support are required from local law enforcement agencies to encourage them to tell their stories. They need easy access to and guarantee of privacy and security from the police department, sexual assault hotline, medical practitioners, school and community organisations. Read Full

Human Rights

Interview with Father David Townsend

by Govinda Rizal March 8, 2022

Father David Townsend worked with the refugee education of the Bhutanese refugee students in Nepal. His contribution to the students deserves historical archiving. I P Adhikari and Govinda Rizal of Bhutan Watch approached Father David for a written interview. He has given insightful information of the education system in refugee camps in the final years of the 20th century and several other facts related to Bhutan and Bhutanese refugees. Read Full