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Published: June 28th 2008
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By the way, I left Ladakh about two weeks ago. Ever since I arrived in Ladakh I had a nagging feeling that I wanted to return to Bhutan. Throughout my visit there I often thought about ways to return. So, once I got permission to return and volunteer with Tarayana, I moved quickly and left sort of suddenly.
When I arrived in Bhutan, I looked out my window and absorbed the peacefulness and had that certain feeling that happens when things are on track. It’s somewhere between sorrow and joy.
Before I left Ladakh I was in Leh, continuing the volunteer work with SECMOL. However, I noticed how damaged the organization was. It seems they were picking up the pieces after a year or so in conflict with the regional government. Their operations in education reform seemed rather diminished and they were reforming the organization to adapt to new circumstances. However, they seemed to be limping along.
A major indicator of the damage was the grade 10 exam results. As I previously reported, with SECMOL’s influence, the passing rate went from 5 percent to 55 percent within a decade. This year the passing rate was 25 percent. Without
SECMOL’s full involvement and with the regional government’s resistance to reforms, the results were that stark. I was told that almost all NGOs in Ladakh recently suffered resistance. The one that seemed to be doing well - Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG) - usually doesn’t do any partnerships with the Jammu & Kashmir government.
Ladakh is viewed as a wasteland by the J & K government and it is politically bound to J & Ks dominance. Culturally and ecologically Ladakh has needs that the state government either chooses to ignore or can not comprehend. Many Ladakhis talk about separating from J & K and forming a Union Territory (UT). One of the political parties in the Ladakh hill council - a semi-autonomous governing body - made UT a central part of their platform. However, one of their ministers, who recently declared himself independent, criticized them for not actually pursing UT status. Even though, as he said, the Congress’ (the other dominant party) ministers in Ladakh espouse UT. However, the Congress minister’s actions are tethered by the Congress’ national politics.
The politics of Ladakh are bound up with and subservient to J & K politics. J & K and
the Indian government will perhaps never allow Ladakh to separate, because connecting Ladakh to J & K bolsters the Indian claim to Kashmir. Also, J & K holds on to successive claims by its former existence as a Mughal principality then Sikh principality to govern Ladakh. Historically, the weak Kings of Ladakh botched their sovereignty. However, they were still spiritually led by Lhasa in Tibet until the 1960s when China invaded Tibet then fought a war with India over land in eastern Ladakh. Subsequently, the border was closed. It’s a messy part of the world and we may see it cleaned up in the next couple decades. However, Ladakhis will perhaps never have a responsive government to their specific cultural desires.
The trend amongst youngsters in Ladakh seems to move slowly closer to Indianization of their culture. Though there is Ladakhi cinema, just as in Bhutan, Bollywood songs are quite popular. If anything, the Hindi songs are redone with Ladakhi adapted lyrics. However, I asked several Ladakhis to identify as only one of four choices: Ladakhi, Indian, Tibetan, and Kashmiri. Everyone, said Ladakhi, though most also felt ties to India. Curiously, none really considered being Tibetan though they understood
that Ladakhi is a Tibetan language and their religion is influenced by Tibet.
Ladakh now seems so long ago. It’s a fascinating place. Before I left I did several video interviews we key people in the various indigenous NGOs. It seems that the issues of concern in Ladakh are all issues that Bhutan’s GNH looks at. I was reminded of the four pillars of GNH: environmental sustainability, social well-being, cultural conservation, and good governance.
I returned to Bhutan in the growing season, when the monsoons filter up through the evergreen covered foothills of the Himalaya. Rain is deposited throughout the valleys of Bhutan and the result is the transformation of the hillsides from mint green trees and golden red grasses to a thick dark green growing landscape. It’s fertile. The rice fields are irrigated with standing water and the green rice sticks up through the surface in loose rows. The air is warm but moist, comfortable - like late spring in the Northwest. I fit right back in to the familiarity.
And for now a few statistics about Bhutan:
GDP: Nu 41 billion (approx. $956,937,771.70) (up from Nu 25 billion)
Per capita income: $1586 (up from
$755 in 2002)
Inflation: 4.8% (up from 6.6% in 2002)
Government revenue: Nu 10 billion (approx. $233,399,456.50)
Government expenditure: Nu 15 billion (approx. $350,099,184.70)
1 in 4 Bhutanese own mobile phones
149,439 mobile subscribers
1 in 16 own a vehicle
35,700 vehicles registered
1 in 88 Bhutanese have Internet connections
Electricity generation tripled from 2,064 million units to 6,422 million units from 2002 to 2007.
1,929 villages electrified (up from 646 in 2002)
*as reported in Bhutan Times June 25, 2008: “A gigantic leap - figures say it all”
National Assembly: 3% Female/97% Male
Civil Service: 28% Female/72% Male
Local Level Officials: 1% Female/99% Male
Access to credit: 38% Female/62% Male
Labor Force: 42.7% Female/67.5% Male
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Robert Vermeers
non-member comment
Progress and happiness
It seems to me that, while all the progress in each category is remarkable, it is still important to involve groups that emphasize non-material categories like GNH. As is the case everywhere if the population is not happy no amount of material goods will matter in the long run. Keeping material welfare in perspective with a firm spiritual foundation is what I see as one of your goals.