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1. Watching the Words: A Situational Analysis of Selfcensorship in Bhutanese Media

Author:
Sonam Wangdi
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Bhutan Studies
Institution:
Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
Abstract:
Self-censorship in journalism is a global phenomenon. Against the rapidly changing media landscape, experts have posed selfcensorship as a severe threat to the future of journalism. Bhutan is no exception. There are no empirical studies conducted in the country on self-censorship in Bhutanese media. Therefore, the paper attempts to examine the perceptions and practices of self-censorship and its characteristics in the media society, especially after the country transitioned to a constitutional democratic monarchy. It also tries to understand the situation for policy interventions to empower the media in fostering a healthy democratic society. For the study, the paper views self-censorship as the act of journalists limiting or ignoring a story or parts of a story for various reasons and not limited to external threats or the fear of negative repercussions. Sixty-one journalists, including freelancers, were interviewed online during the study. Based on their accounts, there is a common consensus that selfcensorship is an issue in Bhutan. But it is not a result of an oppressive media environment as journalists generally enjoy professional freedom in covering various topics. Instead, it is exercised more like a coping mechanism to professional demands and consequences such as protecting sources and avoiding prosecutions. Moreover, journalists also self-censor as an ethically guided judgement. At the same time, the results suggest that agencies concerned could reduce the instances of self-censorship in the Bhutanese media fraternity through specific interventions.
Topic:
Democracy, Media, Constitution, Journalism, Monarchy, Censorship, and Freedom
Political Geography:
South Asia and Bhutan

2. A Dharma Raja and a Mahasiddha: A Note on the Spiritual Relationship Between His Majesty King Ugyen Wangchuck and Togden Shakya Shri

Author:
Sonam Kinga
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Bhutan Studies
Institution:
Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
Abstract:
In 1917, King Ugyen Wangchuck (1862-1926) made an offering of forty thousand English pounds to Togden Shakya Shri (rtogs ldan shAkya shrI, 1853-1919), who was raising funds for renovating and re-consecrating Swayambhunath (phags pa shing kun) stupa in Nepal. Approximately a hundred years earlier, i.e., on the fourth day of the fifth month of Water Bird Year (1813), Lama Sangye Norbu initiated the renovation which took five long years. He was one in a line of more than twenty lamas appointed by Bhutan’s Dharmarajas to the courts of Gorkha and later Nepal’s kings. He served during the reign of King Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah (1799-1816) (Padma Tshewang, 1995, p. 238). Exactly a hundred years later in 2017, His Majesty the King commanded support for restoring the Bhutanese temple within the precinct of the same stupa, which was badly damaged by the 2015 earthquake. Call it historical coincidence or karmic continuity, the royal patronage of this important Buddhist monument by the first and fifth Druk Gyalpos – separated by a hundred years – reminisces Bhutan’s custodial rights over Swayambhunath and its monastic lands given as compensation to Bhutan by King Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1772 after the 16th desi, Zhidar relinquished Bhutanese control over the kingdom of Vijaypur at the former’s request!
Topic:
Religion, Spirituality, Monarchy, and Buddhism
Political Geography:
South Asia and Bhutan

3. Bhutan: Notes* Concerning the Political Role of Kidu

Author:
Brian C. Shaw
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Bhutan Studies
Institution:
Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
Abstract:
The original Tibetan concept of kidu (skyid sdug 1 or more informally kidu) has been variously considered as welfare, selfhelp and assistance. In the context of Bhutan, the concept has closely linked the moral authority of the monarch with the economic needs of the public. The paper considers both the politicisation of kidu (the competition for political space and authority by politicians of the First Parliament, against the received authority of the monarchs) and the de-politicisation of kidu (by the monarchs, notably through land-grant authority reaffirmed in the 2008 Constitution, the establishment of the Kidu Foundation and in other practical ways). Kidu rights and the authority of the monarch is reviewed, with especial attention to the future prospects of either diminution or extension of these rights in the future, as the kingdom endeavours to establish “Democracy with Bhutan Characteristics.”
Topic:
Politics, Democracy, Economy, Monarchy, and Authority
Political Geography:
South Asia, Tibet, and Bhutan

4. Causes and Conditions of Bhutan’s Democratic Transition

Author:
Dorji Penjore
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Bhutan Studies
Institution:
Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
Abstract:
After more than two and a half centuries of ecclesiocratic rule and one hundred years of absolute monarchy, Bhutan became democracy in 2008. This historic event was preceded by abdication of the Fourth Majesty in 2006. It is often described as one of the most peaceful democratic transitions in modern history without any role for internal crisis or external pressure. Rather than the people demanding democracy from the king, the latter voluntarily sacrificed his absolute power to empower his subjects for future peace and wellbeing. Mieko Nishimizu (2008) wrote, “The world, after all, had never known a monarch who not only spearheaded political reforms to democracy, but also chose to abdicate the throne on his own terms – at the peak of popularity, in the fullest of his time” (p. xi). It was for the first time in world history that a monarch had voluntarily surrendered his powers and eventually abdicated the throne with no other reasons than pursuing political reforms for the sake of the kingdom and the people (Mathou, 2008). However, it must be noted that democracy did not come overnight; it is rather the final fruit of more than 50 years of political reforms initiated by the monarchs. The reforms were made smooth and successful by the nature of traditional Bhutanese political and social structure, which was fundamentally democratic and egalitarian.
Topic:
Democratization, Politics, Reform, and Monarchy
Political Geography:
South Asia and Bhutan

5. Bhutan’s Faustian Bargain?

Author:
William J. Long
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Bhutan Studies
Institution:
Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
Abstract:
Two decades ago, Bhutan opened to the outside world and created a mixed market economy directed toward the pursuit of greater Gross National Happiness (GNH) for its citizens, not merely an expansion of Gross National Product (GNP). A mere ten years ago, Bhutan underwent a political transformation: transitioning from a monarchy to a constitutional democracy. In many respects, these changes have been remarkably successful. Across many domains of gross national happiness—standard of living, education and health—Bhutan has made significant progress and has done so with policies consistent with Buddhist principles that emphasize equality, poverty eradication, full employment, provision of essential human needs and protection of the natural environment. For example, gross national income per capita in purchasing power parity terms increased from US $3591 in 2000 to US $7176 in 2014; poverty levels fell from 23.2% in 2007 to 12.7% in 2012; expected years of schooling for children entering school increased from 7.6 years in 2000 to 12.6 years in 2014; and, life expectancy rose from 52.4 years to 69.5 years during that period (UNDP, 2015). Despite rapid growth, Bhutan remains carbon negative and over 72% of the country’s land area is covered in natural forests (up from 66% in 2000) (UNFAO, 2016). The World Bank Survey of Bhutan concluded, “The Kingdom of Bhutan is considered a development success story with decreasing poverty and improvements in human development indicators” (World Bank, 2016). Reflecting these trends, the GNH Survey reported that overall national happiness was measurably, if modestly, on the rise in Bhutan from 2010 to 2015. The GNH Happiness Index for the population increased nearly 2% when all domains were accounted for equally.
Topic:
Politics, Reform, Monarchy, Market Economy, and Gross National Happiness (GNH)
Political Geography:
South Asia and Bhutan

6. Ahom-Bhutan Relations with Specific Reference to Royal Bhutanese Embassy Visiting Ahom Capital in 1801

Author:
J. N. Phukan
Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Bhutan Studies
Institution:
Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
Abstract:
This paper is confined to the period when the Ahom power came into contact with Bhutan. This happened towards the beginning of the seventeenth century when the Ahom kingdom annexed Kamrup and Darrang to the north of which lay the territory of Bhutan. Thereafter, for more than a hundred years the relations with Bhutan were primarily dealt with by the Darrang Raja who was made a tributary Raja by the Ahom king. However, whenever required, the Raja was assisted by Ahom force to deal with situation. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, there were troubles in the Ahom kingdom. Among these were the Moamaria uprising that spread even to lower Assam. The rebellious prince of Darrang Krishna Narayan with his supporters took the help of Burendazes, mercenary soldiers from Bengal. When Capt. Welsh came to Assam to take them back, many of them with Krishna Narayan took shelter in the bordering areas of Bhutan and created troubles there. Bhutanese authorities made appeal to the Barphukan of Guwahati. To ascertain the situation he sent an embassy to Bhutan in 1801. In return, the King of Bhutan sent a royal embassy to the Ahom court that arrived at Jorhat, the Ahom capital in 1802. The envoys were well received by the King and the Prime Minister. They brought many presents that were valuable at that time. The Ahom and the Prime Minister also sent valuable presents to the Bhutan King. In this paper, I have devoted to this embassy in the background of Ahom history.
Topic:
Diplomacy, History, and Monarchy
Political Geography:
South Asia and Bhutan

7. Ahom-Bhutan Relations with Specific Reference to Royal Bhutanese Embassy Visiting Ahom Capital in 1801

Author:
J. N. Phukan
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Bhutan Studies
Institution:
Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
Abstract:
This paper is confined to the period when the Ahom power came into contact with Bhutan. This happened towards the beginning of the seventeenth century when the Ahom kingdom annexed Kamrup and Darrang to the north of which lay the territory of Bhutan. Thereafter, for more than a hundred years the relations with Bhutan were primarily dealt with by the Darrang Raja who was made a tributary Raja by the Ahom king. However, whenever required, the Raja was assisted by Ahom force to deal with situation. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, there were troubles in the Ahom kingdom. Among these were the Moamaria uprising that spread even to lower Assam. The rebellious prince of Darrang Krishna Narayan with his supporters took the help of Burendazes, mercenary soldiers from Bengal. When Capt. Welsh came to Assam to take them back, many of them with Krishna Narayan took shelter in the bordering areas of Bhutan and created troubles there. Bhutanese authorities made appeal to the Barphukan of Guwahati. To ascertain the situation he sent an embassy to Bhutan in 1801. In return, the King of Bhutan sent a royal embassy to the Ahom court that arrived at Jorhat, the Ahom capital in 1802. The envoys were well received by the King and the Prime Minister. They brought many presents that were valuable at that time. The Ahom and the Prime Minister also sent valuable presents to the Bhutan King. In this paper, I have devoted to this embassy in the background of Ahom history.
Topic:
History and Monarchy
Political Geography:
South Asia and Bhutan

8. Exploring Bhutan’s ‘Natural Democracy’: In Search of an Alternative View of Democracy

Author:
Katsu Masaki
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Bhutan Studies
Institution:
Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
Abstract:
This paper seeks to make an alternative translation/ interpretation of Bhutan’s democracy, in place of the mainstream view that the country has recently made a decisive transition toward democracy. It calls our attention to the country’s time-honored ‘natural democracy,’ which rests on monarchical authority and cohesive rural communities. Both of them represent vernacular forms of freedom and equality, contrary to their widely held image as being averse to democracy. This research was made possible by funding from the Japanese Government's Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research.
Topic:
Government, Politics, Democracy, Monarchy, and Authority
Political Geography:
South Asia and Bhutan