Today, we are in
the midst of nationwide celebration to mark the auspicious birthday of our
beloved and great king Jigme Singye Wangchuck. This year’s celebration is
different from those of the past years as His Majesty completes a 60 year cycle
in the Bhutanese calendar called Rabjung. The celebrations have begun in
earnest across the country and it is heartening to see whole-hearted
dedications being exhibited by people including those in the villages led by
gewog officials.
Despite various
programme currently underway including those that concluded days prior to
November 11 to commemorate and pay our respect to His Majesty, nothing would suffice
in our expression of gratitude to our beloved Drukgyal Zhipa.
Even as we
celebrate his birthday with so much fervor recollecting all the great and
extraordinary deeds in the past 30 years of his reign everything we do today in
the name of expressing our gratitude, will fall short of how indebted we all
are to everything he has done for nation’s well being. In fact, at times we
Bhutanese have failed miserably to live up to the expectations of His Majesty.
We must feel so lucky to have had been ruled by a selfless king like him but
hang our head in shame for failing him when he needed our support the most.
It is heartbreaking
today to watch clips of his speech on how when as a last resort, he had to
mobilize military options to flush out foreign militants, just a handful of
people, that too mostly farmers came forward to serve the country. The footage
that we get to watch today makes us realize how he had to shoulder the most
difficult task forsaking his own safety along with few hundred regular
servicemen and he is right when he said, “If you don’t come forward and serve
your nation when in need, when are you going to do that. It is a matter of
utmost shame for all able bodied citizens of the country who spoke loudly of
patriotism but failed when it is most needed.”
He rightly said
that those few volunteers who came forward to the call of the nation are the
true sons of Palden Drukpa. I can only agree that these volunteers, where they
may be living today, are the true sons of Bhutan. Let’s not forget them too.
Another profound
legacy of Drukgyal Zhipa is conservation of our environment. It is amazing on
how he became the architect of putting environment at the centre of our
development. He is truly a champion of the earth and it was befitting that he
was the recipient of numerous prestigious international awards for his lifelong
service to environment conservation. Today, despite our claims of enormous success
in environmental conservation, it is alarming to see proliferation of mines and
quarries which benefit just a few at the larger cost of the nation. We need to
re-evaluate our actions and follow the lead of His Majesty in this front if we
really care of His Majesty’s vision and aspirations.
I think we all need
to reevaluate our priorities and actions, come to our senses and live and work to
fulfill the aspirations and lead provided by His Majesty Drukgyal Zhipa for
over three decades. We failed him in 2003, let’s not fail him in this more
subtle but profound and enlightened vision of a happy country. Let’s celebrate
his birthday the way we always do but, more than the celebration with various
programme, I am sure His Majesty would be more pleased if we all work together
to fulfill his aspirations and dreams for the well being of our country.
May His Majesty
live forever and be a continuous source of inspiration for us all and radiate
his wisdom like the rays of the sun that leaves no place in darkness.
Tashi Delek and
Happy Reading.
Gyembo Namgyal
November 10, 2015
