Bhutan: My Nation then My Mother
I used to sit in front of a wonderful device called the “Telephone” most of the day in expectation of a ring. Despite my enthusiasm in picking it up to say, “Hello and talk a little longer” there would be an interruption with wrong numbers. People speaking in a native Sharchop language, looking for Pasang, Dema, Karma and Pema. Until I reached the sixth grade to receive a call looking for me by one of my secret admirer asking, “What is my favorite color” so she can put it up on her the Face-book of those days, “the slam book or popularly known as the auto book.” Playing tennis balls in dust trying to break seven piled stones, collecting pictures of wrestlers, listening to walkman with thoughts diverted more on the life of batteries than the songs being ran. Planning to sneak out of house late night to watch, Bruce-lee and his Big Boss in the nearest theater were the few transformation periods I experienced to see.
What does Bhutanese way of development mean? With the introduction of Television and Internet in the year 1999, Bhutan has achieved a rapid development and dramatic progress in the field of telecommunications. Bhutan has come a long way. A way through which the Nations Great Father Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal has walked with hope that his people will “one fine” day be connected through the means of Air and Breeze. But to achieve such a wonderful dream to connect people through means of air was not at all an easy task. Nonetheless when His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, stepped in as the Third King of the tiny isolated Nation. A dream that the idealist once had became feasible because of his vision and commitment to his forefathers promises. Road’s were built after he walked the mule tracks, hospitals were instituted, Laws were written, Schools were unlocked and many more. With his sudden demise at a very young age, the nation’s development activities were prolonged.
Nevertheless, a young prince (His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck) similar to that of King Arthur, who pulled out a Sword from the stone with message in-scripted on it, came to power in the year 1972 and exhilarated the entire development process with his channelized development activities. Out of many, “The introduction of Telecommunications” in the field of electronic mobile devices and decentralization of his supremacy to his subjects were of the most acclaimed, and considered to be audacity of hope in his people. As a result! Today Bhutan has five hundred thousand mobile subscribers with B-mobile and Tashi-cell. There are offices, Institutions, organizations and households connected through 22,000 fixed telephone lines. Not to be staggered, the Baggage of Globalization with tools of exposure in a country of eight hundred thousand people is an Achievement. And it is testimonial that history is made by those heroes with thousand eyes, the eyes that never lied.
Development in Bhutan is a wonderful story with hope as a central activity. I realized it may be time to address an issue peripherally raised by the youths today about our telecommunications that has been entirely ignored or seen as disgust amidst all the luxury. My short memories in the beginning opens with and features horrifying scenes of having nothing, with the innocence and backwardness torturing youths then, including with no television connections to learn about the world. Not only is there no outrage, we all seem to take such scenes like mine for granted: the general view appears to be that this sort of thing probably should be a history to appreciate with what we have achieved so far.
