Personal Reflection on Political cultures in Bhutan

Personal reflection on political trends in Bhutan.

The fourth-century classical Greek Philosopher Aristotle claimed that a man is by nature a political animal. I am not sure what could have been the complexity of politics during his times. Queries spring up more often complex than what answers based on data and experience can give us today. However, politics has become much more complex than it is thought in the wake of sapiens and their need to make a comfortable livelihood. So is the case of politics in Bhutan. The democratic system of governance has brought about substantial development in the country. The two earlier governments did so much to the citizens and their livelihood and the current government is of no exception. With this, there are numbers of incidences that are becoming a political trend or culture in our society. The following paragraph would unfurl my reflection on this note.

Let us pause for a moment and rewind to instances of the past democratic elections, for its landmark significance to the democratic history of Bhutan and a concert from which lessons are learnt. The political culture and traditions that happen now is partly the result of the ways in which the first democratic election and government went through. The socialization processes of it have a long-lasting impact on the electorates.

For instance, one of the reasons the intellectuals point out for people voting to National Yellow Party during the mock election was its symbolic association with the monarch. In doing so, when the dice of party politics is rolled in the years that succeeded, every party or individual tried maximum association to the monarch. People are cultured or socialized in such a way that the votes are reserved for those candidates and party who could show maximum subjection and obedience to the monarch, which sometimes would be a mere card played for wooing the votes. Similarly, there are numerous other instances which would live for centuries, down the line, as political norms and legitimate culture.

We Bhutanese claim that democracy is a ‘gift from the throne’ and the transition to democracy has come unprecedented in the sense that the transition was peaceful unlike in other democracies. While the Constitution has laid down the foundation for peace and prosperity for all times, the vision of democracy is nestled in the extremes of both ignorance and presumption. These extremes do not come from sheer obliviousness of the democratic processes but out of blind attachment, or rather out of lack of more holistic future.

As and when the democracy keeps growing up in the Bhutanese society, the people’s knowledge has enlarged as much as the ignorance and illegitimate presumption challenge the existing political norms and culture. The people’s demand for grandiose manifestoes in each election is becoming a trend. On the other hand, we could see the scenarios in which the party coordinators and supporters play a part in influencing the people to believe only to one party’s ideology, and creates hatred to the other party and its supporters. Moreover, becoming an interest group and lobbyist by the apolitical institutions such as civil servants and monastic personal is also becoming a trend which is not a feature of a healthy democracy. Through such small but accumulated incidences can divide the society at the grass-root level and that is not the vision of our democracy.

My personal observation over the last three elections is that as much as electorates honour the qualifications and experiences of the candidates, the sentiments and kinship plays a part in bestowing one’s sacred votes. Let’s assume that I am a fresh graduate candidate from my village who is contesting with other experienced elders. I am confident that from my village at least, I would secure the highest vote. A similar thing is certain to have happened in the last elections in our country. Through this, it is obvious that sentiments, instead of rationale, alters whom to vote. In the bigger picture, the stronghold of constituencies to the respective party, which has become a consistent trend, substantiate my reflection.

As a concluding remark, whatever happens, we will have to live by each other as the subject of our Visionary Monarchs. The only solution to incidences which have already become a political trend or culture such as this is the thoughts of His Majesty the King as the guardian of peace and symbol of unity. Having pointed out few incidences which can mislead the purpose of democracy in future, let us always embrace only the good political activities and trends which would become a norm and legitimate culture that would result in healthy democracy down the line. So let us move forward, let us not measure development backwards, let us leverage on the development we see now and aspire more for future, the future of our children. Let us be the custodian of our own development and democracy.

*** Purely written for my self-consumption.