The King Four
Bhutan celebrated the 70th birthday of King four—Jigme Singye Wangchuk on November 11. He is the father of the present monarch—Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk who is popularly known as King five. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bhutan to participate in the birthday celebrations of King four. In his address on the occasion he said “The life of His Majesty The Fourth King of Bhutan is a combination of Wisdom, Simplicity, Courage, and Selfless Service to the Nation”. It is not uncommon for dignitaries to praise their hosts or their guests on state or official visits. This applies even more in cases where the visits are on occasions concerning an important personal event in the life of the host or guest. However, Modi’s words regarding King four are honest and true. He has shown great simplicity in his personal life and equally displayed great wisdom when he ruled as Bhutan’s King. Indeed, there are few leaders of nations in recent history who have shown the foresightedness in charting the course for their people’s future as King four has.
King four became monarch when he was not even seventeen years of age. His father King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk died in July 1972 and three days after his demise King four took over the reins of the Bhutan state. King Jigme Dorji who was born in 1928 and received his early education in Simla sought to lay the foundation of modern Bhutan. He was determined to improve the lives of his people and develop the country’s infrastructure without impairing its Buddhist cultural roots. He got the opportunity to put his ideas and ideals into practice after becoming King in 1952. At that time Bhutan was virtually un-connected with the world. It only became a member of the United Nations in 1971.
It is clear that King Jigme Dorji realised that his Kingdom needed security. He would have been conscious of the developments taking place in Tibet as the Chinese went about changing its traditions to stamp their rule in the 1950s. The King looked towards India even as his country lacked modern connectivity with this country. India too realised Bhutan’s strategic importance. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made an ardous journey to the Kingdom in 1958. That set the path towards comprehensive bilateral ties including in the security sector. India assured Bhutan that it would be its security provider and beginning with the 1960s it assisted Bhutan in building its communications networks which would make it possible for India to ensure that it fulfilled its assurance. Since then India and Bhutan have not wavered in their mutual commitments in the security sector.
King four built on the traditions of this father. He was also committed to Bhutan’s development but at the same time did not want its environment to bear the brunt of quick development. This should great sagacity for much before it became fashionable to talk of sustainable development King four decided that was the path that Bhutan would follow. Under his influence Bhutan restricted tourism to prevent its fragile mountains from becoming strained. This is an example for all the Himalayan range’s tourist spots. Recent natural disasters in parts of theIndian Himalayans profile the validity of King four’s approach. For giving Bhutan financial stability King four developed its water resources with India’s cooperation.
While his people resisted the idea of the introduction of a constitutional monarchy, King four went ahead to introduce democracy. This was perhaps unprecedented in history. Normally, monarchs hand over power to the people under pressure. Instead, King four who understands historical processes---he is a scholar of world affairs and his reflections on global developments bear the stamp of deep reflection---decided that, in this age, the people must handle power through democratic governance. His method of doing so ensured political and social stability. The introduction of the new system also coincided with his decision to hand over the kingship to his son. Obviously, he realised that under his influence both the monarchy and the people would be able to get familiar with new governance structures.
As part of making both the people’s representatives and the bureaucracy understand what should be the nature of the relationship between the two, the Bhutan government invited a group of retired and serving Indian civil servants to share their experiences with the two. This was in 2007. King five had taken over. This writer was part of the group. He was staying with the Indian ambassador and King four came to the embassy residence to meet the ambassador. This writer took part in the conversation. As this writer had served as India’s ambassador to Thailand the conversation turned to the situation then prevailing in the Thai Kingdom. King four displayed a masterly understanding of the political situation prevailing there. He also showed great knowledge of ASEAN. Clearly, he spent a great deal of his time in following global affairs.
King four has an intimate understanding of India as well. This is not only on account of India being Bhutan’s close ally in its development process but also because he has been in power since 1972 and has had an opportunity to deal with Indian leaders, diplomats, military officers and officials through all these decades. He has also shown a great belief that Indian and Bhutan’s interests coincide. However, in these changing times it is inevitable that Bhutan will have to open up more to the world. In this process King four’s wisdom will be an asset to the Himalayan Kingdom.
