Are we happy yet? Bhutanese Refugees and the Contradiction of Gross National Happiness.

Is the Notion of Bhutan as an Ethical Utopia Misleading?

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Is the Notion of Bhutan as an Ethical Utopia Misleading? Prepared for Southern Cross University, Ethics and Sustainability unit. January, 2012.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Method 1.2 Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index 1.3 Four key factors to GNH 1.4 GNH & Community The Refugee Situation in Bhutan 2.0 Application of ethical theory in GNH index 2.1 Communalism & Murray Bookchin 2.2 Contradictions of Bhutans practice of GNH determinants 3.0 Effects of GNH in practice 3.1 Exposure of contractor happiness practices in Bhutan 3.2 Alternatives and resolution 4.0 Conclusion and Recommendations 5.0 References Executive Summary The purpose of this report was to apply critical analytical methodology to the notion of Gross National Happiness (within Bhutan) and to highlight contradictions in the application of such notion while underpinning the intent of Gross National Happiness concepts with the ethical theorem of Communalism (as espoused by Murray Bookchin1).

Introduction 1.0 The concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) was first explored in 1972, by the then 4th King of Bhutan. The GNH notion came about through the desire to further develop Bhutans economic foundation, its social infrastructure, health and education services and to ensure that happiness was a primary foundation within Bhutans approach to developing as a country. The GNH index is tied to a number of ethical theorems, one in particular encapsulates the GNH concept, that being Communalism2. This case study will focus on the period when Bhutanese people who were of Nepalese origins were ethnically cleansed from their home land of Bhutan and the period in which GNH became a focus of Western practice and interest. 1.1 Method of research this case study was prepared through literature research and informal consultation with the ACT Refugee and Immigrant Centre. 1.2 The Gross National Happiness Index

The GNH concept remains an attempt by Bhutanese community members and proponents of such ideological approaches to live as holistically and psychologically sounds as possible within their setting. First termed in 1972 by the King of Bhutan at the time, the GNH notion looked towards building a strong economy without disenfranchising culture and Indigenous persons, while maintaining Buddhist spiritual values and environmentally sustainable practices. According to a Program Officer with the United Nations (UN) in Bhutan, the vision has emerged as an astonishingly smooth and undistorted process of change (Priesner, 2001?). Introducing Priesners paper is a disclaimer that the views held by the author are not representative of the UN. Priesner contributes to a large collective of material espousing the practice of GNH as a way of life and a means to creating a truly holistically happy community. GNH merges with Gross National Product (GNP) in Bhutan, with a significant amount of GNP being that of agriculture, it is no wonder the sustainment and proper management of the environment remains high on the agenda for Bhutan and appears intrinsically intertwined within GNH concepts. The pursuit of happiness in Western and European countries has generally been affiliated with economic states and affairs. The drive and desire to work, earn money and be financially comfortable, has long been a presumed measure of happiness particularly in Western settings. Regarding GNH and Bhutan, it really wasnt until the late 1980s, early 1990s that the King really bought about an integrated understanding of the links between happiness (maintaining culture and spiritual values) and economic development. While the 1970s in Bhutan were a time of conscious and spiritual priming, which resulted in the realization that GNP should never be at the sacrifice of national happiness, cultural preservation and spiritual practice. There were a number of National approaches put in place during this time to ensure increased happiness, while acknowledging the importance of environmental sustainability and economic stability. Here we have a King and his people who seek happiness as the ultimate form of wealth and assume that economic and environmental robustness will follow. There were a number of practical actions taken by the King and his people, which included; - Limiting tourism to Bhutan in order to preserve the environment and culture - Rejecting and resisting Western influence and impact (Television and the Internet was introduced further down the track) - Sustaining cultural beliefs and practices - Practicing spiritual matters daily and committedly (Bates, 2009) Equivocations over the semantics of GNH appear to have eluded the Bhutanese, with the community members appearing uninterested in what happiness actually means, rather they simply are. 1.3 Four key factors to Gross National Happiness

The thinking behind Gross National Happiness (GNH) is primarily anchored to four main facets of practice. These are as follows; 1) Socio-economic development should be equitable and sustainable: GNH places an emphasis on sustainable practices in both economic (heath, education, agriculture and other economic components) and environmental areas. There should be equity for all members of the community, which addresses the local of people living in rural and remote areas, where services delivery requires more effort. 2) Sponsorship and preservation of culture: The ensuring of a cultural framework and background in which to set peoples happiness against is central to the fruition of GNH ethos. 3) Conservation of the Environment: Environmental policy and practice is intrinsically linked to Buddhist philosophy. The sustaining of the environment is a direct reflection of the Nations happiness. Some have tried to measure environmental obloquy against GNH as a determinant of happiness. 4) Good Governance: The system of Government must attune its function and capability towards happiness outcomes. Bhutan remains the youngest democracy in the world, having declared itself thus in 2008.

Growingly a number of western advocates of GNH are becoming outspoken regarding the value of the West adopting such ethos. What is rarely recognized in the literature is the contradictory nature of Bhutans GNH practice, since it is this Nation that is also responsible of the grouse atrocities that occurred in the 1990s relating to the ethnic cleansing of Bhutanese people with Nepalese origins being exiled from their motherland.

1.4 GNH & Community The Refugee Situation in Bhutan The practice of GNH depends on a sense of collective or community. Without community participation, such approaches to happiness could not be instigated or maintained. The GNH approach to National welfare links in closely with the theoretical philosophy of communalism, which forms a component of Social Ecology. Communalism concerns itself with power, in particular the inequality of power. It seeks to disseminate power equally amongst all community members, and as with the King of Bhutan, it espouses this methodology or practice should not be limited to only one community, yet should diversify across all communities. Within the region of Bhutan, the King sees the practice of GNH (and thereby the essence of communalism) to be extended to communities outside of Bhutan. This undoubtedly puts Bhutan

and its King in a favorable light for the misinformed, and creates a sense of striving for a universal utopia. Since GNH with its links to communalism, depends on all members of the community engaging in the pursuit of happiness, one is left to wonder where this leaves the previously exiled Bhutan community members that have sought refuge in nearby Nepal, Australia, America, Canada and Great Britain. Where is the sense of community, when a King can turn against his own people based on ethnicity and have them forcefully removed from their country of birth? Clearly this flies in the face of the communalist and indeed the utilitarian ethos so reverently looked upon as a model the West should adopt. 2.1 Communalism & Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin was a renowned ethical (some would say radical) writer and spokesperson. Bookchin moved away from the practice and analysis of anarchy and into the area of communalism as a means to empower communities and the individuals making up the collective. Bookchin felt that when there is oppression of any group within a culture or society, there will be consequential degradation of the environment, a lack of willingness to contribute to society and a general disregard for the country in which people live. Communitarian ethos requires individuals to concern themselves with not only their own personal self-interest, yet that of others. With the deemphasis on the individual and the over-riding socially responsible prioritization, this model of ethical conduct forms the basis of GNH, at least in theory. While communitarian practice places an emphasis on sustainability of the environment, there is also a shift away from centralized agencies and governments, and a clear move away from democracy.