Himalayas
Western writers have often projected the image of Bhutan as an isolated country, a kind of autarchic mountainous island. This article is an attempt to show that, in fact, Bhutan carried out a substantial trade with her southern neighbours – Bengal (Cooch Bihar) and Assam (Kamrup) – at least from the 17th century, if not earlier. This trade is documented in British reports and...
According to the official figures issued in July 1999, 136 lhakhangs and 1,132 chortens had been subject to theft, arson, desecration and their caretakers attacked and murdered. The thefts and the desecrations were a recurrent topic which fuelled discussion, and at times, disagreement. Arguably, they serve as a metaphor for the changes and the problems facing contemporary Bhutan. The events...
The object of study concerns Bhutan’s state-religious architecture, embodied by the monastery-fortress or dzong. Designated as Bhutan’s architectural tour de force, the monastery-fortress exhibits the very best of what this particular dwelling culture can achieve at a specific time juncture. To a large extent it is the majestic and monumental character that provides the monastery-...
This paper would like to present the recent scholarship on Bhutan by the Bhutanese themselves and to show that the studies of these scholars are the offsprings of a long tradition of Bhutanese scholarship but that they also demonstrate new trends, which are in tune with the socio-cultural changes in the country.
The topic is Bhutanese scholarship in what are generally called "the Human...
The present paper is a preliminary analysis of the oldest surviving census of Bhutan’s population and economy. This census was used as the basis for computing the distribution of gifts to state officials, monks and ordinary citizens in celebration of the 1747 enthronement of Zhabdrung Jigme Dragpa I (1725-1761) as religious head of state. He was the first of the Mind incarnations (thugs...
Mass Media in Bhutan primarily refers to the radio, Kuensel (the national newspaper), cinema halls, television and Internet. These are the main media disseminating information and serving as sources of entertainment. Although different forms of media were introduced since the launching of socio-economic development in the 1960s, television and Internet services were introduced only in June...
Popular songs and music, which came to be known as rigsar, began to develop in Bhutan in the late 1960s, and they have gradually become part of a new entertainment culture. There has been an unprecedented growth of lyricists, singers, musicians and composers who have, within a short period of time, created a market for themselves. However, the development of rigsar songs is not a logical...
The process of economic modernisation involves urbanisation, industrialisation, secularisation, media participation, education, and democratisation. Other changes include the adoption of scientific technology and market economy resulting in a fundamental shift in people's values, attitudes and expectations as a response to the changing economic and social circumstances. In the case of Bhutan,...
Bhutan's tourism industry began in 1974. It was introduced with the primary objective of generating revenue, especially foreign exchange; publicising the country's unique culture and traditions to the outside world, and to contribute to the country's socio-economic development1. Since then the number of tourists visiting Bhutan has increased from just 287 in 1974 to over 2,850 in 1992 and over...
The Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC) was established in 1991 as a sustainable, domestic funding source for Bhutan's environmental programmes. Almost a decade after its inception, the trust fund has spent US$1.66 million against an accumulated capital base of US$34.71 million. Grant making is guided by five-year funding objectives, focusing on conservation of biological...
Páginas
