Gross national Happiness

fly over bridge: Zamtari

The concept of Gross National Happiness interwoven with balanced economic development was first mooted some four decades ago by the farsighted monarch his majesty the fourth Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wanchuk. Since then Bhutan and Bhutanese had been striving really hard to achieve it.

Now around the globe because of the economic crisis, war and life threatening warning of global warming… draws the attention of leaders of world towards this philosophy. The United Nations resolution of happiness was adopted in July 2011, and almost a year later in March this year UN declared as a World Happiness Day. Bhutan is also seeking for the seat of non permanent Security Council in coming election.  If elected the concept of GNH can penetrate in larger sections of world and work on the process of building more secure world.

Gross National Happiness is everywhere these days, key notes in conferences, blood and bones for the writers, headlines for the news papers, an advertisement to magnetize the tourists for the tour operators and it is a slogan to the entire politician to harvest the votes from the public.

 Gross National Happiness is not about the seminar and conferences but it is about the welfare of the citizen, the happiness of all sections of life. It’s not about rich becomes richer and poor becomes poorer, it’s about bridging the gap between two.    It is about the understanding of the life and its co-existence of relationship of the societies. It is a bond that embraces the far flung villages together.

 To a farmer who lives in remote places like Shingkhar Lauri, it is about having the road connectivity and access to better health facilities. It is about having electricity to charge the mobile phones and saving green trees from felling down for fire woods and having other basic amenities.

We are preaching Gross National Happiness to outside world, but at the same time we need to roll up our sleeves and work hard to put into practice. It doesn’t do any goods in papers. 

GNH to me is looking for pragmatic solutions for the exponential rise in employment rates in country, the inflation rates soaring into the clouds, which beget sky rocketing prices of essential goods, balancing imports and exports, unaffordable rents in capitals and other towns, rupee crunch that leads banking business and construction sectors to standstill, and studying the effect of pedestrian day, combating the corruptions, solving the land scam cases are few to rectify immediately.

Then may be Bhutan can be outstanding example of GNH country.