Bhutan Reluctantly Enters 20th Century : Himalayan Kingdom Carefully Intertwines Technology, Tradition

The captain of one of the world’s most remote basketball teams was having a bad day.

Nothing, it seemed, was going right: His shots were caroming off the rim, he had taken a couple of elbows to the ribs and his team was losing late in the game.

But, as befits any enchanted kingdom, one of the captain’s teammates executed a perfect layup to clinch the contest with seconds to go--and the captain, His Majesty King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, could savor another afternoon’s victory on the basketball court.

Off the court as well, the king has much of which he is proud, for this is Bhutan, the Land of the Thunder Dragon. A nation of staggering physical beauty, Bhutan is passionately committed to preserving its customs in the face of change.

Unlike many Third World nations, the often-overlooked jewel in the Himalayas has taken extraordinary steps to intertwine technology and tradition--and seems to be succeeding.

‘Cautious and Slow’

“Our whole approach has been cautious and slow,” acknowledged Sonam Tobden Rabgye, charge d’affaires at the Bhutanese mission to the United Nations.

And one State Department official observed: “In many ways, it’s really a one-of-a-kind situation. Few other countries in the world in the 20th Century would be capable of insulating their people from modern influences as well as Bhutan has.”

Bhutan’s extreme remoteness and small population, estimated by the World Bank at only 1.2 million, with only 18,000 square miles of territory, have been key factors in its ability to preserve the special qualities of a land where waterfalls cascade down densely forested slopes, double rainbows arc over green fields and snow peaks glitter above massive medieval fortresses and Buddhist monasteries.

But the further measures taken by its leaders have also been significant. For example:

--Entry by foreigners is highly restricted. Tourism is controlled by the government, which prohibits travel by individuals and charges more than $100 a day for accommodations. Barely 2,000 visitors were allowed to enter in 1986.

--”Preservation and promotion of the national identity and cultural heritage” were formally listed as top goals in a draft of Bhutan’s five-year plan for 1987-92.

--Bhutanese who have been schooled overseas--and who thus may have absorbed Western influences--are required to reacquaint themselves with their homeland by spending six months of national service in villages and rural areas.

--To discourage the proliferation of high-rises or other modern architecture, all buildings must appear traditional, a look that features ornately embellished designs and motifs and narrow, tiered windows.

--Until the last decade, Bhutanese were barred by law from wearing Western clothing. Even today, the overwhelming majority of men dress in a traditional boku, a sort of knee-length robe. And most women keep their hair short and wear long, embroidered dresses known as kiras.

Emergence into Modern Society

Indeed, much of Bhutan’s emergence into modern society has occurred only in the last 20 years, under the reign of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who was 19 at the time of his coronation in 1974, and that of his father, the late King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.

Between them, they have expanded the base of Bhutan’s economy, solidified cooperation among the nation’s 18 districts and strengthened key international ties, bringing a political stability unmatched on the Indian subcontinent.

Thus, Bhutan is not part of the “simmering pot from Afghanistan east where everyone perceives their neighbors as out to get them,” said Charles Ebinger, director of the energy and strategic resources program at Georgetown University’s Center for Strategic and International Studies. Most valuable resources do not have to be diverted to the military to guard against an apparent security threat.

The king’s stated emphasis on an “essential balance” between progress and tradition reverberates strongly among his subjects, who find the bedrock of their tradition in the pervasive influence of Tibetan Buddhism. They are mindful of what has happened to neighboring nations in the last three decades.

Many other South Asian countries, including Pakistan and India, are plagued by development problems that include not only tremendous overpopulation but also a significant migration of the rural population to the cities, which has strained family and religious ties, according to Ebinger.

Third World Growth

“Almost no Third World countries can keep up with the explosive growth of urban centers,” he said.

Yet, Bhutan’s largest city, Thimphu, the capital, has a population of only 20,000, and most major towns boast little more than one street of shops.

“We were able to see that one should not pursue development for development’s sake,” Rabgye said. “When priorities were made, we decided we should concentrate on the basic necessities.”

Up to now, one of the country’s foremost economic priorities was the construction of the Chukha hydroelectric project near the Indian border. The first turbine in the 336-megawatt plant began turning in September, and the massive underground site not only generates power for Bhutan and dry northern India but also crucial revenue that will boost the annual national budget to a projected total of $726.5 million for the next five years.

Other economic projects include cement, plywood and calcium carbide plants, as well as fruit-juice manufacturing and alcohol distilling.

A Forested Land

Now, according to Rabgye, Bhutan “would like to go into investments which will have more economic productivity, especially in agriculture and animal husbandry.” Limestone, gypsum and coal also are valuable resources that may be tapped, he says. But, noting that 80% of Bhutan is forested, he cautions, “We don’t want to destroy the environment.”

There are obstacles to even limited economic growth.

The State Department official, who asked not to be identified, cautions that “there will be changing pressures” to enable development to continue--potentially at the expense of the traditional social fabric. “It will be a continual struggle,” he predicts.

Rabgye said: “Our main problem at the moment is that we lack trained manpower--not unemployment but underemployment. That is a unique problem, we think.”

Diana K. Myers, a Washington-based consultant on development in the Himalayas, agrees. “It’s really hard to find ways to send people away for training, because there’s no one to do their jobs while they’re away,” she said.

‘Blessing in Disguise’

In part, Bhutan faces this particular dilemma because it is so thinly populated. But overall, “it has been a sort of blessing in disguise, because it hasn’t created pressure in the economy,” Rabgye said.

Even without a high-powered economy, Bhutan has been able to provide an adequate standard of living for most of its people. Although the World Bank notes that Bhutan has one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world, the debilitating poverty that sweeps from Calcutta to Manila is rarely evident here.

Officials say Bhutan receives the most foreign aid in the world on a per capita basis--about $100 a person, compared to less than 20 cents in India, for example. Up to 80% of that aid comes from India, with other money coming from the United Nations, Japan, Switzerland, Australia and Scandinavia.

But Bhutan may be reaching a crucial point in terms of aid, Myers cautions. “Being able to say ‘no’ to foreign money is very hard,” she says. “. . . They need to assess how much they can absorb” without undermining their goal of economic independence.

In foreign policy as well as economic development, Bhutan has adopted a go-slow approach, and it has yet to establish diplomatic relations with the United States, the Soviet Union or its neighbor, China.

Reaching Out

Yet, residents of Druk Yul, as the Bhutanese call their homeland, realize that the self-imposed isolation that prevailed for centuries is diminishing. Virtually cut off in three directions by the Himalayas, Bhutan has reached out in the last 15 years to gain admittance to the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the Nonaligned Movement and other global organizations to aid its development plans.

In these international circles, Bhutan’s policies have won acceptance if not outright approval.

“Bhutan has made fantastic strides in development since the 1960s and is heading in the right direction,” Paul Mathews, a United Nations representative in Thimphu, told the national newspaper Kuensel in a recent interview.

And the State Department official concludes: “They seem to be careful enough in the changes that they are accepting--although traditions will change, as traditions do. But it appears to be an evolutionary situation rather than a revolutionary situation.”