The Forgottens

The First Five Year Plan took off in 1961 and now we are into the 11th FYP. It has been 52 years since Bhutan embarked on the road to development. The Bhutanese people from all walks of life have reaped immense benefits from these development plans. The road connectivity has enabled us to travel to places in few hours which previously took weeks. Farmers can now easily sell their produce and their lives are uplifted.  Education has played a bigger role in civilizing and organizing our people into social strata thereby enhancing harmony and social balance. Education has given Bhutan legs to sprint in the race towards modernization. Electricity has revolutionized our lives. We have tamed technologies to cook, wash and sing for us. Our lives are very much comfortable now.

But there is a dark side of these Development Plans; its inherent flaw that it is not able to reach the whole populace. The brushes of modern development hasn’t been able to paint the entire canvas with equal and uniform strokes. No development plan can reach all pockets of society and thus its outcome/benefits cannot be utilized to the intended extent. For instance, what’s the use of electricity to a household that cannot afford to buy a light bulb? What’s the use of school to a family who cannot afford to send their children to school? What is the use of having land and having access to better agricultural techniques to a household with no workforce and to the disabled and elderly citizens? Though the physical structures may be present, it is of no use. Thus, a different approach to development befitting the beneficiary may be adopted so that we can see uniform brush strokes on the canvas. And it’s only after that a painting may be considered complete.

His Majesty the King has come to the rescue and has touched the lives of people living in such pathetic conditions. His Majesty’s kidu is the only source of hope and has provided relief to those in destitution. But why didn’t the government come up with plans to address these issues? The average citizens were continuously reaping the benefits of development, yet at the same time, underprivileged citizens have been missed out. It seems the whole budget were for the privileged ones while no separate budget were earmarked aside to help the people in destitution. Don’t they also have equal rights to the government treasury? It’s sad that there is no budget head sidelined to help them in the 11^th FYP too. Though the Political parties said they are “kidu sesepai butshu” I don’t think they faced the hardships that the under privileged people have faced and are facing every single day of their lives. Or else, some measures would have been taken or a voice raised for them a very long time ago.

For the policy makers, it is very important that they take a holistic approach towards development so that no section of society is left behind. Even if they are not able to encompass all section of the society, certain provision has to be provided in order to help such people. I hope the victorious political party this July would be sensible enough and use their “kidu sesepai” experience to develop policies and plans that could seep into the lives of those people living in destitution.

Take development as a boat and I bet we would all love to sail to the shore with equal ease and safety; not some enjoying cool coconut juices enjoying the palm trees, sea gull vista and yet others breaking every muscles in their body to oar it to the shoreline. We are all humans – mortals- to be precise and who doesn’t love an equal distribution of sunshines and shades in their lives.

A True Fiction

            While I was busy gulping down beef fried rice and suja in one of the restaurants in Thimphu, my friend, Tenzin, had his eyes glued to a waitress. The Waitress was also flashing a look every now and then from her shy eyes. This encouraged Tenzin to throw his smiles at her while she daintily served other customers. I knew what was going on in Tenzin’s head but I was more interested in the beef fried rice. It costed my friend another two meals before she gave her mobile number. She was smart as she did not tell him her real name but not smart enough as she has given him her mobile number.

            She was a fine woman, in her early twenties that any guy would like to be with. I left them alone after that as, I knew my friend was just playing a game and, I was well aware of his intentions. He also had a wife studying in a college in India. So, the waitress was just a temporary catch. I didn’t even care to know her name.

These stuffs did not bother me as I was aware of it happening all around me. I knew it is a phase in a man’s life before he settles down and also a phase in a woman’s life when she is trying to settle down. It’s a topsy turvy world where everyone is trying to gain something out of everything and lands up getting nothing. No one really gains from it. All these made no or very little sense to me, so I never embarked on this road. I just ignored it.

But for how long can I ignore it?

        After I was placed in Trashiyangtse as a kidu officer, a realization hit me like a bolt of lightning. My job demands me to visit rural villages and identify poor families and household in need of kidu intervention. On one of my many visits to the villages, I was ushered to the poorest household of the remotest village in Trashiyangtse.In a single-storied hut, a family of four lived under a leaky roof. The door did not even have a latch since there wasn't any valuables worth stealing in the house. 

A 71 year old grandmother along with three children was its inhabitants. The children didn’t know the whereabouts of their fathers (all the children were from different fathers) and they lost their mother to alcohol. The grandma, though old and weak, tilled their acre and half Chuzhing to feed the hungry children. The children were all studying, the eldest in class VII and the youngest in Class II. The middle one was a shy girl studying in class IV. Her shyness was too familiar to  not notice. They had an elder sister who dropped out of Class VIII and went to Thimphu to look for a job in order to support the family. 

 My brain instantly flashed back the image of the waitress in Thimphu. The shy eyes of the little girl in front of me confirmed it. But, now she has mothered a fatherless child. I was sad. A girl from a poor household from a remote village goes to Thimphu to earn for her family, but lands up not able to support herself. She tries to uplift her family out of poverty but land herself in poverty, pulling her deeply into its vicious cycle. Somehow, I felt I am also a reason for her misery. I could have dissuaded my friend. I could have been a better friend, a responsible citizen, a savior to that girl but I just ignored it. Now I know the realities and hardships of the poor. I have seen a daughter pull out of school and become the backbone of a family.

PLEASE DO NOT BREAK THAT BACKBONE!!!

[This is a story of many young village girls who come to urban areas searching for better economic opportunities. Most of them are from poor families and the whole family back home depends on them. But we know the harsh realities they face; the difficulties of getting a job, the cost of living, workplace harassment (in drayangs, bars, etc) aggravated by betrayals and false promises. But I feel we can make a difference in their lives by not taking advantage of their vulnerabilities. Who knows, a poor family may be pulled out of destitution by one of these girls.]