Waiting for the time to ripen
After a news portal made public the arrest of some citizens from west-southern district in last week of May, fear spread among the democratic enthusiasts in Thimphu that they may also face similar consequences. However, after police announced that the people were linked with some communist group formed by Bhutanese refugees in Nepal, the suffocation among the people flexed. Yet the fear has not cleared for the spies of the wangchuks run around the Thimphu looking after people having link with these people called communists.
At the same time, I heard of some rumours that the wangchuk government has finalised the plans to crash some more citizens and that the plans would begin to be executed from south-eastern districts.
Thus, the circumstances forced me to run to these places to see how the people have been living. I reached Samdrup Jongkhar with my secret plans.
I face shortage of my money to stay in hotels here, however, there are no relatives who can accommodate me. Finally, an Indian who runs small business turned to be a new friend, in need, indeed.
I looked through the districts and contacted some people around if the rumours spread in Thimphu was correct. I had concluded while in Thimphu that the rumours should have some facts behind because the government had already announced 80,000 illegal immigrants still living in the country.
And yes, the rumour was correct. After the arrest of the communist enthusiast in west, the local authorities, on assumption that these communists have been running training camps in eastern districts, asked some six families to leave the country immediately. I met four of these families and suggested not to obey the wangchuk promulgated orders and believe that in either way victory of the people, the suppressed voices, is certain. It takes time, have patience.
Yet the fear that dominated the psychology of these threatened families has so deepened that in the days ahead, they would not find alternatives than to leave the country.
Militarisation of eastern and southern districts has already begun in the name of catching the communist enthusiasts. The people in eastern districts have been living under state terror at this present situation. They are unaware what the wangchuk government would do now on.
Even then, the ire among the common people against the establishment has been increasing. Hopefully, the exasperation prevailing for a long period would come out once the wangchuks opens up the politics. The parties formed under the direction of the wangchuks would become a boomerang to topple the tyrants, people wait for the opportunities.