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Bhutan News Service

Bhutan News Service

Bhutan: A Happy Nation?

Posted: 14 Sep 2010 09:06 AM PDT

Gross National Happiness
Bhutan is a 'happiness' country. None other than the Prime Minister of this tiny Himalayan kingdom is a staunch believer of this. He is the champion of Gross National Happiness (GNH) theory and Bhutan's face to the outside world. Recently Prime Minister, Jigme Y Thinley quipped 'in Bhutan even the street dogs seem to be smiling'. But that is not enough. GNH has a great 'sound bite' – and Bhutan has large ambitions to do more. The Bhutanese government thinks more people including the Americans should also experience happiness. So, the first Gross National Happiness Conference in USA was organized in June in Burlington, Vermont under the stewardship of a Vermont based non-profit organization called the GNHUSA. Bhutan takes its participation at such conferences seriously – no doubt – its aim is to impress the westerners and create an environment for its export. Karma Tshiteem, Secretary of the Gross National Happiness Commission of Bhutan himself led a team of Bhutanese experts to Vermont, where he was also the key note speaker.

An excitement is currently sailing in Bhutan, mostly in part due to the success it continues to have in exporting GNH abroad. Coincidentally, there are about 25,000 Bhutanese refugees currently living in USA. A small group of Bhutanese youth activists from among them too had an opportunity to participate and share their perspectives.

Tiny Bhutan is sandwiched between two economic power houses, India and China. 'Gross National Happiness' is a new found development concept that originated in Bhutan. An unknown and poor country, tainted by a century of isolation – Bhutan was at first shy of publicizing a philosophy, indigenous only to Bhutan's own social and cultural milieu. The dilemma still continues as Bhutan works slyly to keep a balance between materialism and spiritualism. But amidst a world engrossed by economic growth and beleaguered by conspicuous material consumption, Bhutan has seemingly figured out a sensible reconciliation in the GNH – a development philosophy, which has significantly helped Bhutan bounce back into the center stage of development debate in the region and in the world. The essence of the GNH concept is to 'weave development around people, not the people around development'.

The GNH concept is central to the political thought and governance in Bhutan. As a holistic and multidimensional approach to development, the GNH concept denotes a huge paradigm shift in modern development thought. It seeks to maximize happiness instead of economic growth. Apparently, maximization of gross happiness of its people is the ultimate goal of Bhutan's current development practice. In Article 9 of the kingdom's first Constitution, Bhutan has clearly attempted to legislate 'happiness' thus 'the State shall strive to promote those conditions that will enable the pursuit of Gross National Happiness'. Accordingly, the Bhutanese have identified its four basic pillars – economic growth and development – preservation and promotion of culture and heritage – preservation and sustainable use of environment – and good governance. A separate government department called the Gross National Happiness Commission, headed by a Secretary has been instituted to support the development of this concept.

Unhappiness
The GNH, no doubt appears to be a wonderful philosophy; however, there is much that GNH leaves behind. Seen even from the Bhutanese national context, a holistic interpretation of GNH philosophy is lacking. It has nothing that makes it really 'gross' or 'national' – nor is it a good recipe for 'happiness'. The existing ground realities in Bhutan and in exile defeat any assertion, that the 'Bhutanese' in general are its beneficiaries. Most Bhutanese in exile say that the GNH philosophy represents only a fraction of population, living in the capital city. Much like its democracy, the GNH concept is not inclusive of all citizens in the country. In fact, the pedestal of GNH divides the people on the basis of political class, beliefs and ethic affiliations. A sixth of Bhutan's population today lives in exile, being evicted forcefully on the grounds of political belief, cultural differentiation and ethic affiliation. The chances of their possible return to Bhutan, even though an ongoing exercise – is forever in doubt. The Bhutanese government likes to scoff off or avoid repatriation talks with Nepal, which has been hosting the Bhutanese refugees in its soil for the last two decades.

Across Bhutan, about 80% of its population lives below poverty line. Forests cover 72% of the land – which means – in an agricultural country, where 79% of the population depends on sustenance agriculture – not enough land is available for cultivation. Roads are few and far and development activities lean heavily towards the capital. The regional imbalance in growth and development is not without social ramifications – rural-urban migration, unemployment and drug related social crimes are on the rise every year.

In southern Bhutan, where local health units and schools have remained closed for almost two decades, happiness is a rare commodity. Southern Bhutan is effectively closed for outsiders, even journalists. In a shoddy socio-political environment like this, the apprehension and psychological stress people go through routinely – is the biggest enemy of their 'happiness'

To a lay person, GNH is mainly what falls into his plate every day, or if he has a roof above his head to shelter his family. To him, GNH is having clothes to keep his children warm during the freezing Himalayan winter or having money to buy medication for an ailing child, before landing in the emergency room. GNH in his interpretation is having access to local transportation, hospitals, electricity, a proper sanitation or a drinking water facility. To him, GNH is living in his house with family members and working in his farms – instead of living in road side slums – doing the unpaid work for the government – in the name of compulsory labor contribution. If he can feel secure that night after returning home from a 'villagers' meeting – if he can get himself counted in the regular census exercises – if he can live free from the ghost of expulsion – if he can feel included and participate in the national political process without fear of persecution – if he can dream that one day – he and his proud generation will see a Bhutan proudly diverse yet genuinely united and moving together towards a common destiny – then – and only then, he can say he is living and breathing GNH.

Unfortunately, the majority of the Bhutanese citizens neither have a feel of that security nor the access to some of the modest amenities that are necessary to experience happiness. One needs to ask – could these ordinary citizens be happy? Is a 'Layap' who walks for more than three days to reach the nearest market place to buy his kilogram of salt, happy? Is a Khengpa, living in the remote parts of Zhemgang district – who travels days with a sick baby on his back to reach the nearest dispensary, happy? Are the Christians – who practice their faith under constant fear of persecution, happy? Are the Hindus happy? Are the Sarchhops happy? Are the Bhutanese refugees, who make up a big chunk of the Bhutanese population happy? The million dollar question then is – on what basis can the Bhutanese government claim 'happiness' for every one? Is an emerging philosophy – confined only to the book shelves of university libraries and in the research corners of some academicians – adequate enough to spawn positive changes in the life of the ordinary mass?

Question of illegal immigration
Much like America, Bhutan is a land of immigrants. It is a diversified, pluralistic society – composed of a multi-ethnic, multi religious, multi-cultural and a multi-lingual population. Unfortunately, the Bhutanese have been trying to reverse this pluralism and diversity. To the Bhutanese authorities, 'illegal immigration' was at first only a ploy to discredit, disown and expel its citizens. It subsequently, graduated into a tool to offset claims by those citizens in exile for repatriation. The Bhutanese authorities have shown no hesitation in explaining the origin of the refugee camps in Nepal, as an offshoot of Article 2 of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950; which allows the 'Nepalese' citizens to freely enter or leave India without a visa. According to this view, the current Bhutanese problem is as a corollary of the 'humanitarian situation caused by demographic explosion, ecological disaster and economic depreciation' in Nepal – which compelled hordes of Nepalese to immigrate into adjacent India and Bhutan. Bhutan's intention is to divert the issue and make it look like a 'Nepalese' problem. The proliferation of lies such as this not only smears the image and identity of the southern Bhutanese people but is also an insult to their long standing history in Bhutan.

That has never been the reason for the mass expulsion of genuine Bhutanese citizens in the 1990s. The government's strategic goal then was to restructure the country's demographic balance by reducing the population of the 'nepali-speaking southern Bhutanese citizens' from 45% to 25%. A carefully planned, systematic depopulation strategy followed – and the refugees were created. However, Bhutan can not easily waive off ownership of its citizens just by covering them under the tag of 'illegal immigration'. The Bhutanese citizenship identity cards, paid land tax receipts, labor contribution documents, school certificates etc in the possession of these refugees amply speak of their identity as true Bhutanese citizens. A proof – the verification of the refugees in one of the refugee camps in 2001, conducted jointly by Bhutan and Nepal found that more than 95% of the people in that camp were genuine Bhutanese citizens.

In strict measure, it is hard to understand how outsiders can freely enter into Bhutan in hundredths of thousands and become its citizens without being noticed by government authorities. Bhutan as always, has been very sensitive on the issue of immigration. Its authorities keep a close watch on every visitor from outside – even in remote villages. Border surveillance is strict – any strangers or suspicious visitors need to be reported first to the local police station. Permission should be taken for the number of days the visitor will stay with the host. It is like obtaining a parking ticket in big western cities. To say that these strangers all of a sudden became Bhutanese citizens is an insult to injury. Bhutanese law on obtaining citizenship is perhaps the most stringent and inflexible in the whole world. It prescribes land ownership and parenthood as the basic criteria for obtaining citizenship. Outsiders cannot buy land in Bhutan and citizenship is conferred only to those who can provide proof of valid land ownership in Bhutan. In other words, only genuine Bhutanese citizens can buy landed properties in Bhutan. One can say – that in Bhutan, land is not just a property – it is a form of citizenship. The Bhutanese people by law – cannot sell away all their land because land is what they need to retain their citizenship. The good side of such a decree is that – there are no 'landless' people in Bhutan. Every citizen must own a land and all who own a piece of land become citizens by default.

Both 'parenthood' and 'land ownership' are not an option for an outsider. Hence, any claim of outsiders, receiving Bhutanese citizenship becomes a question in itself. The Bhutanese refugees living in the camps in Nepal had properties in Bhutan for many generations – and land was the primary form of property. Land transactions are dealt with directly by the all powerful Home Ministry, whose discretions almost equal the verdict of a Court of law. The whole world knows that most of the people living in the refugee camps in Nepal are genuine Bhutanese citizens but in a recent interview to Aljazeera, Prime Minister Jigme Y. Thinley, said that these refugees were "illegal immigrants". Bhutan's allegations must be assessed against the backdrop of the involvement of the United Nations and the core group of countries – USA, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand and United Kingdom in the current third country resettlement of these refugees. The process requires in the first place, that an individual, desirous of resettlement abroad prove himself or herself as a genuine 'Bhutanese refugee'. The core group of countries know better that these refugees are the true citizens of Bhutan and hence the offer to resettle them.

The international community will judge how much of propaganda coming out of Bhutan is reality and how much of it is rhetoric. But as long as the Bhutanese authorities continue to use GNH – as the foreign policy arm of the government to weaken its political opponents, a solemn question will always haunt peoples' minds – is Bhutan's Gross National Happiness theory really 'gross' or is it just a 'farce'?

(Subba is a political analyst and Mishra, associated with BNS, is also the author of 'Becoming a Journalist in Exile'. They can be reached at: rpsubbba@gmail.com and twmnbhutan@gmail.com respectively.)

NH Bhutanese observe Teej

Posted: 14 Sep 2010 08:51 AM PDT

Resettled Bhutanese community of Manchester in New Hampshire observed one of the most awaited Nepali women festivals Teej yesterday at Catholic Church with more than one hundred observers.

Women perform Sangini dance. Photo Courtesy/Maya Khanal

The Bhutanese Community of Manchester, NH (BCoNH) informed BNS that the invitees were welcomed by typical Nepali food items along with 'Sangini' (traditional folk dance) dance.

During the program, the audiences hailed the Sangini dance along with the song penned by Bhutanese women.

One of the speakers, Laxmi Mishra said that the Teej festival venerates the unification of lord Shivaji and goddess Parbati or the day in which lord Shivaji accepted goddess Parvati as his consort. To mark this event, married women keep fasting wishing prosperity of their husband. Likewise, unmarried girls also do three-day fasting aspiring future husband like lord Shivaji.

Mishra further added that some females rejoice this day as a liberation day. Literally, liberation from her laws household works and his man's services.

Meanwhile, one of the guest invitees Sister Irin said, "I am very much thrilled to observe your cultural abundance and wish to work with you all to preserve and to relegate your cultural rituals to your younger generation."
The Teej program was observed for three hours amidst special events including the Sangini dance, songs and group dance.

(Contributed by Suraj Budathoki from Manchester, NH)

Adelaide sees ‘innovative’ religious practice

Posted: 14 Sep 2010 05:33 AM PDT

Deviating sharply from the aged-old tradition of performing rituals, the Bhutanese resettled in Adelaide experienced a 'new practice' initiated by one of the families in the community here.

Ghimirey greets guests. Photo Courtesy/Jogen Gazmere

The guests began pouring in after 2 pm on the Friday afternoon at the residence of Gopal Ghimirey, the former Vice President of the People's Forum for Human Rights, Bhutan (PFHRB).

Most of the invitees had no idea what they were invited for. “I think there is a meeting happening,” said one of the guests getting off his car. “I think there is a party,” another guessed. But, the confusion grew taller when they entered the house.

On one side of the room was a table against the wall on which sliced fruits, flower, rice grain and an unlit oil lamp (Diyo) were kept. Leaned against the cupboard above the table were the lists of Ghimirey's ancestors while on the other side was the lists of his mother's and wife's ancestors.

In the middle was the name of his father, late Tula Ram Ghimirey. And, the event was named 'Pitri Smriti Diwas', meaning 'ancestor's memorial day'.

The programme began with lighting the lamp when Sushil Pokhrel, who had arrived all the way from Murray Bridge, some two hour drive from Adelaide City, chanted mantras. Welcoming guests, Ghimirey explained them about the programme.

Only then, most of the guests fully knew that they were invited to attend Shraadha (homage) ceremony of Ghimirey's father late Tula Ram.

Following the schedule list, the guests observed a two minute silence for the peace of Tula Ram's soul. Then, the family and the guests offered tributes. The formal programme ended with 'Mangalacharan', a prayer for the wellbeing of the planet and its components.

Justifying his initiative to jump into this model of practice instead of slowly moving towards it, Ghimirey said BNS, “It was a long dream, a dream of 15 years, and with the support from my family and friends, I have made it happen. First, we are in Australia where work matters more than our tradition.”

Further he added, “Anything we do should be justifiable and whatever I have done I can explain to my children and grandchildren. If we do not modify our tradition making it in line with the environment we live in today, I am afraid our children will completely ignore our culture.”

You have just seen my son driving off for his work and you can see everyone eating together on the same table as a family, he expressed, no one is stopped at the door because he belongs to the so called lower caste.

Saraswati Ghimirey, 84, widow of late Tula Ram Ghimirey actually encouraged her son Gopal Ghimirey to begin the new practice in South Australia.

“When one of my neighbours said she would not like to have tea at my house because we allow access to all castes people into our home, I felt that following their way meant committing an unpardonable crime against humanity,” she said with tears on her eyes.

On the discussion that followed the programme, all the guests unanimously supported Ghimirey's innovative move and vowed to fight against any form of discrimination done to the members of the same community on the basis of their castes.

(Reported by Ichha Poudel from Adelaide, Australia)

Funeral rites of Purni on Thurs, AZ mourns

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 09:05 PM PDT

A meeting organized by the Bhutanese Community in Arizona (BCA) yesterday to discuss on  contemporary issues including the election in BCA expressed condolence to the bereaved family of late Purni Maya Tamang and mourned for a couple of minutes.

The meeting also announced the financial aid collected from the community members for the funeral procession of late Purni. An estimated $ 527 has been reportedly collected so far to assist the bereaved family of late Purni. According to the relatives of late Purni, the dead body is still in the hospital.

Late Purni, 17, who was found critically injured in a swimming pool on September 7, died in the hospital during the course of treatment.

Addressing the program, Manorath Khanal, chair person of the BCA, has urged the Bhutanese community to extend possible helping hands during emergency situations such as the death of fellow citizens.

According to our Phoenix correspondent, Case Manager at the Catholic Charity Community Service, Khagendra Baral, has been actively involved in garnering financial support of the resettlement agency for the funeral processing of late Purni.

Meanwhile, an estimated $ 278 has been collected solely by the Bhutanese residing in the same apartment complex where the bereaved Tamang family dwells. Around $ 500 has been collected by Dhana Sanyasi from Burmese refugees from the same apartment complex.

The dead body, which will be released from the hospital on Wednesday, shall be kept at the funeral home from 5-7 pm for the purpose of condolence exchange.

It is reported that the funeral processing will be carried on in accordance with the Buddhist culture and tradition on Thursday at 8.30 am.

Meanwhile, the BCA has formed an election commission headed by Dillip Mishra. According to Mishra, they will hold the election on November 21. Currently BCA is run by the interim board.

Addressing the program, Dr. Purna Chhetri, chairman of Association of Bhutanese in America informed the mass that attempts are underway to form a single platform of Bhutanese in America.

(Based on the reports received from our Arizona correspondents Nandita Khanal and Ganga Neopaney)

Why New Alliance?

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 08:18 PM PDT

I was arrested in 1997 by the Government of India at the behest of Royal Government of Bhutan in Delhi. I was imprisoned for 14 months at Tihar jail. On 12 June, 1998, I was released on bail by the Delhi High Court. However, my bail conditions required that I had to report to the local police station twice a week and I couldn’t go out of Delhi. My arrest itself was against Indian law. I was booked for not posessing valid travel documents. In fact, at the time of my arrest, I had a valid travel document issued to me by the Government of Nepal. In addition, the Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty of 1949 doesn’t require Bhutanese citizens to have visa or travel permit to travel to India.

Despite politically fabricated and motivated charges against me, the extradition proceedings dragged on. The positive side to all the misery that I was subjected to was the assurance of the Indian democratic spirit and the rights of individual finally prevail when the Government of India dropped the extraditions case against me on April 21 of this year.

After the end to a torturous judicial journey of 13 years, the Indo-Bhutan Friendship Society, an organisation promoting friendly ties between the people of Bhutan and India, wrote a letter to the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck.

It was mentioned that, “In view of Bhutan instituting a democratic system of Government, it is logical that the Royal Government of Bhutan allow Mr. R.K. Dorji and those of his party members who are presently in exile, into the country without any preconditions. They must be allowed to participate in the democratic process of Bhutan so that they can contribute towards the building of a healthy democratic order in Bhutan. We believe that the Government of India will also most certainly facilitate and assist the reconciliation process”. A copy of letter was sent to the Prime Ministers of India and Bhutan. Besides, I also wrote a letter to the King presenting the need for both of us to work towards reconciliation and including me and my party into the polity of Bhutan. No reply was received.

The purpose of my visit to Nepal
After dropping the false, fabricated charges against me, the Government of Bhutan is now trying to treat me like an animal, which has been released and left to the elements, after years of confinement. I am no animal. I am a human being. I have the rights of human being. And this indifference of the Bhutanese government is not acceptable. I have been imprisoned for struggling for the establishment of democracy in Bhutan. I will continue to strive for democratic rights and justice as is enshrined in the Constitution of the Bhutan. Since travelling might be required often, I went to Nepal to renew my travel documents.

In Kathmandu, Nepal, I met Mr. Teknath Rizal, the noted human rights campaigner of Bhutan and Chairman of People Forum for Human Rights in Bhutan, Mr. Balaram Poudel, President of the Bhutan Peoples’ Party and Dr. D.N.S. Dhakal, Acting Chief Executive of the Bhutan National Democratic Party. During course of discussion, they stressed on the need for a new alliance amongst us for pursuing national reconciliation, inclusive democracy and the repatriation of exiled Bhutanese to their country. Incidentally, all these are long-standing organisations have a great deal of working experience. On the 22nd of August this year, we agreed to work together. I agreed to upgrade existing Druk National Congress (DNC) party office at Kathmandu, Nepal, which hereafter will also coordinate all the activities of the Bhutanese in the exile. This office is in addition to the existing DNC contact office and Indo-Bhutan Friendship Society’s office at New Delhi, India. We unanimously agreed to work on following basic points. i.e.:

1. The exiled political parties and the exiled Bhutanese must be permitted to participate in the forth-coming elections.

2. The Bhutanese refugees must be repatriated with honour and dignity, and must be allowed to participate in the political process. To call upon the international community to pressurize Bhutan to take back its citizens.

3. The immediate unconditional release of all the political prisoners in Bhutan who have been in prisons since the early 1990s.

4. To promote and strengthen the existing bonds of friendship at the people to people level among the citizens of Bhutan, India, and Nepal, which hasn’t been promoted to the desired level thus far.

5. To extend thanks to the international community and all well-wishers of the Bhutanese democratic struggle and seek continued support and solidarity.

The Alliance
The alliance entrusted me to lead the unified democratic movement. Our activities will be peaceful. All we want is constitutional rights which are granted to us by the Constitution of Bhutan, promulgated in 2008. We will keep the Government of Nepal informed and also seek their assistance and support in our initiatives. A delegation of the alliance will also meet the Government of India sometime in December to seek assistance to facilitate our repatriation and safeguard our democratic rights in Bhutan. We will urge the Government of India to assist us because the Government of India is the largest donor to Bhutan, and Bhutan and India also enjoy excellent friendly relations. India in fact has the responsibility to facilitate our repatriation and reconciliation so that its friendly neighbouring country, Bhutan, is not plunge into instability and unrest. The delegation will meet the International Community to garner our support and to pressure the Government of Bhutan to accede to our demands.

This alliance is unlike before and is beyond the realm of refugee camps politics. The follower of Bhutanese refugee’s issues would note that there are some 52 organisations in the Bhutanese refugee camps alone. What confounds one more is that individuals of one organisation will also be holding seats in more than three other organisations as well. In spite of such confusion, I would welcome any organisation which might feel they were left behind by the alliance. However, merely declaring interest to join the alliance won’t do. Those interested to join must demonstrate their commitment and ability to contribute to the alliance before joining.

The alliance wants to make certain other matters clear. First, to our Bhutanese brethren inside Bhutan, we want to bring caution to the misinformation by some with vested interests to interpret our work as negative. Our work is to strengthen the sovereignty, democracy, independence and peace in Bhutan, not the contrary. We want to reiterate the respect we have for the institution of Monarchy. We however, want democratic rights as enshrined in the Constitution of Bhutan. Every Bhutanese must recognise the fundamental truth that democracy is the right of the public and not just the right of a single individual. Democracy is for everyone – students, teachers, civil servants, the army, farmers, businessmen and others, and also for the King himself! In short, every citizen needs democracy in their life to lead their life in honour and dignity. We know that democracy in the real sense is absent in Bhutan. Therefore the time has come for us to seek our democratic rights granted under the Constitution.

We want to reassure our friendly neighbour India, that we will always value our excellent friendly bonds existing between us. We are optimistic that the Government of India will hold talks with the Government of Bhutan to enable us to return to Bhutan and lead the life of democracy loving citizens in Bhutan. We are also optimist that the United National Organisation, democracy-loving citizens and the democratic countries of the world will support our truthful initiatives and inalienable rights.

(Dorji is President of Druk National Congress)

Bhutanese brothers robbed in India

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 08:10 PM PDT

Two Bhutanese brothers hailing from Pemagatshel have returned home being robbed their entire belongings after  missing for a week.

Nar Bahadur Tamang, 40, and his brother, Aita Tamang, 22, who were on their way to Phuent­sholing to take delivery of a Mahindra Bolero pickup were drugged and robbed of Nu 30,000 in cash and a cheque for Nu 503,000 in a train in India.

On August 28, the Tamang brothers reached Samdrup Jongkhar  from where they went to Ran­gia where they boarded the train.  The Tamang brothers were offered  biscuit and made them loose their consciousness by a decent looking man who later robbed their entire belongings. Later, the found themselves in an unknown place in the middle of the forest.

The next morning when the elder brother returned to the train after going out to search food, his brother was found missing.

"An elderly man on a train bound for Delhi, who spoke some Nepali, advised me to stay in Karagpur from where it is easier to catch an­other train back to Rangia. He gave me Rs 100. I broke down and cried until tears ceased to flow from my eyes”, recalls Nar.

Somehow, with help of the travelers, he reached back to Pemagatshel six days after he went missing. Two days later, Aita also reached home after he walked 49 km from Rangia to Samdrup Jongkhar.

भूटानको खुशियालीबारे अमेरिकी लेखिकाको पुस्तक

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 08:01 PM PDT

भूटानको राजदरबारले प्रायोजन गरेको ''राष्ट्रिय खुशियालीको'' नारालाई बल दिने हिसाबमा अमेरिकी लेखिका डोरिस ली एमसी कोइले 'द म्याजिक अफ ग्रस नेशनल ह्याप्पिनेश' (राष्ट्रिय खुशियालीको जादू) शीर्षक दिएर आफ्नो पाँचौ पुस्तक प्रकाशन गराएकी छन्। १० सेप्टेम्बर २०१० का दिन थिम्पूको तारायाना फाउण्डेशन सभागृहमा सो पुस्तकको विमोचन गरियो।

के भूटानमा साँच्चै राष्ट्रिय खुशियाली छ त?

डोरिसको मत अनुसार खुशियालीको दृष्टिकोणले भूटान संसारको आठौं स्थानमा आउने देश हो। उनको अध्ययन र दाबीमा समग्र खुशियालीको दृष्टिले अमेरिका २३ औं, जर्मनी 35 औं र बेलायत 41 औं स्थानमा छन्। डोरिसले विश्वमा खुशियाली र प्रफुल्ल मानसिकताको महत्त्व झल्काउँदै अमेरिकामा जम्मा 26 वटा 'ह्याप्पिनेश क्लबस' (खुशियाली क्लबहरू) रहेका पनि बताएकी छन्। प्रथम नौवटा देशहरूको उदाहरण लिएर विश्वका विभिन्न देशहरूले पनि ती उदाहरण उपयोग गर्न सकून् भन्ने कामनासमेत लेखिका डोरिसले व्यक्त गरेकी छन्।

तर चाखलाग्दो कुरा यो पुस्तकमा के छ भने, केवल आफ्नो सांस्कृतिक धरोहर र समग्र देशको खुशियालीको रक्षा गर्नखोज्दा सजायस्वरूप लखेटिएका त्यही देशका नागरिकहरूका बारे पुस्तक एकै वचन बोलेको छैन!