We won the happiness battle
Bhutan is leading the movement of happiness today. Though not a new idea, a new twist made people to listen Bhutan. But have anyone following Bhutan’s path to happiness dared to look at why Bhutan is happy today. This article attempts to dig out one of many causes behind Bhutanese story of happiness.
OF MANY objectives one sets in life, earning happiness is at the top.
Animal or human being, all want a happier life to live. Unhappy living makes life meaningless.
Researches have shown that an unhappy person cannot make optimum use of his/her intellectual ability, which in turn affect advancement of society’s development – human civilization in broader sense.
What makes human beings happy? It depends on reasons, circumstances and environment – A single thing can make one happy, others sad.
Bhutanese citizens of Nepali origin stand as example of this – their presence in Bhutan was cause of unhappiness for Bhutanese regime but their presence here in Australia is one of many causes of happiness for Australians.
The scientific revolution of western civilization and its impact on improving the living standard is obviously the reasons for humans to be happy. No one dares to say a poor man is happy – at least until today’s definition.
Earning good money and living a decent life might make poor people happy and earning even more might make the rich happy. In a capitalistic society, no doubt, earning money makes people happy to an extent. However, money is not all in all and Bhutan has emerged against this capitalistic approach of earning happiness. According to Bhutan, capitalism and consumerism has degraded human civilization and if one agrees with Bhutan, the problems we are facing today are the result of capitalism and making money, instead of happiness, as humanities ultimate goal.
Intellectuals and pundits of western civilization are getting ready to listen to what Bhutan has to say about happiness. Does this mean they are blank with the theory of happiness? No. European thinkers in the past have extensively written and debated happiness theory. United States has a constitutional provision that happiness would be a governance goal of the country. The only twist here is: a country that included happiness in its constitution has come forward to listen to the Bhutanese version of happiness and be part of the mission.
For the first time this April, while in New York to lead the international conference on happiness called by United Nations, Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Thinely revealed the truth that Bhutan is not happy. In all his previous statements Thinley had always claimed Bhutan to be a happy country. In an interview with Al Jazeera TV, Thinley had claimed even the street dogs in Bhutan are happy.
Bhutan becomes an example in all articles, debates and speeches on happiness for now. At times, Bhutan is mentioned as the happiest country in the world. The happiness reports published in the last few years however, either do not mention Bhutan or put it as a less happy nation. Despite this, researchers and intellectuals cite Bhutan as a happy country. I don’t mean Bhutan isn’t a happy country, but it is not to the extent it has been talked and promoted.
Pundits promoting Bhutan as the happiest country have not dared to look at the real reasons why it has been so. Whatever might be the propaganda at the front, the background of Bhutanese happiness is entirely different and it can never be revealed unless these thinkers change the way they look at the Bhutanese happiness mission. Those who have already joined the Bhutanese happiness movement are unlikely to dig into this secret, neither today nor in future, because increasing influences of the Bhutanese happiness business has blocked all ways leading to that inquiry.
For many, Bhutan’s background for happiness is its successful implementation, to this day, of a policy to eliminate ‘a civilization’ in Bhutan. Bhutan has promoted itself as a happiness theory propagator from the day it prepared the policy to eliminate the civilization. The evolution of Nepali language and culture in Bhutan turned out to be such a threat to the ruling elites that they feared being dominated by this culture and language. In political statements, the rulers have blamed Nepali-Speaking Bhutanese to be immigrants. However, in critical circumstances the leaders and king have clearly mentioned the growing influence of Nepali language and culture was the reason behind the mass eviction – citing an example in Sikkim. In this sense, Bhutan is a nation that cannot tolerate allowing other civilizations to flourish. That is why PM Thinely attacked western civilization saying consumerism is turning human beings into animals.
The Bhutanese rulers ignored the positive efforts of promoting declining cultures and instead chose to crush other cultures that were influencing them. Can this be ethical in human civilization? There is less possibility of sustainable happiness created through such an act. As the political system opens up society, realities are emerging – those who were ordered to say ‘I am happy’ are gradually speaking the truth.
Language is a centrifugal force for civilization. Elimination of Nepali language in Bhutan is the result of Bhutanese policy to remove Nepali civilization. Today, Bhutan has no marks of any Nepali-ism. A whole generation of Nepali-speaking Bhutanese in the country do not know how to read, write and speak Nepali. They have not seen the Nepali alphabets.
Yet, language and society can never be apart. Though Bhutan eliminated Nepali language from the land it has continued to bloom, even though these evicted people lived as refugees in Nepal for two decades. In the last four years, this mission has shifted to the west as they travel for resettlement in western countries. They have organised their mission to focus on promoting and protecting language. Back in Bhutan, new generations are growing, unaware of the importance of a language the older generation still fear to speak.
It is unlikely Nepali-language movement leaders from the Diaspora will influence the Nepali-speaking community in Bhutan about language and literature. Bhutan has become successful in its mission, thus formulating its policy of Gross National Happiness.
Bhutanese-Nepali’s remain happy in fostering their civilization and not destroying others. Whether it is under absolute dictators in Bhutan or hardships in Nepal as refugees or abroad, they invest their thoughts and actions to promote Nepali language and culture. The initiation of a Nepali-language school in South Australian capital of Adelaide is one example to that mission. The school intents to impart knowledge of Nepali language and culture to young people who came here as infants or were born here.
Bhutan has become happy by eliminating a civilization that was growing within its boundaries, while we are happy being able to continue our efforts to keep our culture and language alive even in a foreign land like Australia. Bhutan has made good business out of happiness but it is not as happy as those evicted. They are in countries like Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Australia, USA or New Zealand, who top the list of the happiest countries in world.
Bhutan might have received applause for promoting happiness theory but we the evicted Bhutanese have won the battle to live a happier life.