Bhutan has been lauded worldwide for the
miraculous transition it made from a monarchy to a democratic state in 2008.
With the world used to savoring on the colossal turmoil and chaos preceding a
radical change in a government, it was awestruck to witness the flair with
which the great Fourth led Bhutan through the change. The Bhutanese should
invariably remember this great achievement of the Fourth Druk Gyalpo among many
of his other sacrifices for the country.
Since the transition, Bhutan has seen 3
different political parties head the government. Being new to the political
structure, it was certain that the parties were not going to have the smoothest
of sails in leading Bhutan through the treacherous phase of modernization. And
indeed, the sea got rough and the government found itself, time and again,
making decisions in the clarity of summer Gedu fogs. DPT nearly drove off
road with its education city initiative. PDP blew out the tyres with its
voracious appetite for regional tourists and now DNT wants teachers and doctors
on the front seat as it takes control of the wheel.
The two-faced politicians have taken the trusts
out of Bhutanese people and used them as stepping stones to build their great
enclaves from where they scratch their heads in search for solutions to eradicate
poverty, reduce unemployment and narrow the gap. And mind you, they have
succeeded to accomplish this mistrust just within a decade of democracy. Unlike
a butterfly, when they break out of their cocoon after the election win, they
come out uglier and meaner, their pre-win persons completely shed off like the
lifeless remains of a dead snake skin. They gaze up into the sky from their enclaves,
and consult with foreign “experts” on solving the country’s problem, when the
more viable solutions remain right under their noses.
Do we not have a competent group of people who
wants to serve the country out of passion and not just for the financial perks that
accompany the post? Why does every parliamentarian just want to increase their
pay right after they get into their offices? Is it in the voting period, that
we are going wrong? Maybe the problem lies much deeper within the Bhutanese community
who doesn’t want to see anything beyond the short-term gains from the people
they elect. Patience is one virtue, milked dry by every Bhutanese for their rhetoric
deliveries but actually practiced by only a handful. Do we need to select a
voting population, based not just on age but on a set of moral criteria? Should
we frame similar criteria for those seeking to join the politics?
We must not forget the responsibility assigned
to us by our great monarchs. They trusted us enough to relent their thrones and
let the people have say in where the nation heads. We cannot afford to lose our
focus and let those driven by wealth and greed head the sacred institutions responsible
for making laws and policies that shape our country - the country which has
been passed down by our forefathers who proudly fought and sacrificed their
lives from every threat that came their way. As a young democracy today, we are
faced with the danger of getting destabilized from within. We should think for
the long run and never give in to the temptations that will inevitably come
along our way. Greater good is what we should strive for, as has been done by
the monarchs who built this country amidst all the turmoil.
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