Desecration of Dakphel Chorten- an Atrocious Blasphemy

Hardly a month ago, a Chorten (stupa) in Dhakphel, around 18 KMs from Zhemgang towards Tingtingbi met the brutal fate like its several other mates- VANDALISM!!!

The Chorten in Dakphel, divested of its Zung

The Chorten is located just by the road and there are houses quite nearby. The one who vandalized must have gathered a hell lot of nerves while performing the unwholesome act. Any time, a vehicle could have passed by or people residing nearby could have caught him digging!!! He was such a brave man!!!

But the unfortunate reality is that he misused his moral fiber. Had he used the same amount of courage to pursue a decent vocation rather than wrecking a religious artifact, he could have led a dignified life. Now, his conscience would not allow him to remain at peace, unless he is suffering from kleptomania and has committed similar crimes repeatedly.

Source: kuenselonline

There figure above shows that there were 761 cases of chorten vandalism from 2008-2012 alone, which means, there would have been numerous other cases before 2008 and after 2012. 

Hence, with such crimes on the rise, we need to look for measures to safeguard our sacred artifacts in the vulnerable parts of our country and also, it would be wiser to rethink constructing such artifacts in places far from settlements. Creating awareness about the fate of such callous act, both legal and spiritual and installing less tempting Zungs into the Chorten, as discussed in the National Council in September, last year might work, perhaps. Meanwhile, we may also think of streamlining the construction of such piece whereby certain safety measures are incorporated so that we don’t lose our spiritual wealth to the heartless crooks.

Can We Correct This?

On August 14, 2013, I had the honour of representing His Majesty and Dasho Dzongdag in delivering the Royal Semso to the mothers of the two natives of Nyakhar village in Zhemgang who both succumbed to the injuries that they suffered while a huge boulder hit them when they were drilling at the Buli-Tshaildang road construction site in Nangkor Gewog under Zhemgang Dzongkhag.

I felt really very sad! One of the victims was a disrobed monk and another was a school dropout. Had they continued to learn in their respective institutions, they might not have met this fate at the very tender age of 19 and 21! Of the two, one was not even one day old on the job! But this is the least reason of my sorrow.

While one of them passed away at around 01:30pm, the other one died at around 04:00pm. The villagers were not allowed to take the dead bodies back home because the investigations had to be carried out at the particular place where the accident occurred, which was quite a distance from their village and amidst a dense jungle. When the police investigation team and I, accompanied by the Local Leaders reached at the site, it was already 08:00pm and by the time when everything was done (from snapping the cuts and bruises of the victims to filling up the inquest forms), it was around 10:21pm. It would have taken them another hour and a half or even more than that to reach home; it was already getting late for the rituals of the two unfortunate ones. Yet, this is also not the major reason that I was sad.

I was also not frustrated because I arrived back home in Zhemgang at 3 in the morning.

What saddened me the most was that, when all the formalities were completed and when it was time for the villagers to carry the bodies back home, everybody was rushing to carry one body and literally neglecting the other one. Gosh, I was taken aback by the weird, callous deed! Upon asking the Tshogpa about why it was happening, he told me that while one was somewhat well off, the other one was very poor. The financial status was the reason for embracing one and shunning the other. Do you believe it, it was the wealth?

Well, this is happening in a country which is renowned for practicing Buddhism and the GNH. If any misfortune happens to the wealthy and influential ones, there are hundreds of thousands who are concerned and readily render their support while the problems of the poor and the marginalized ones go unattended.

What I genuinely feel is that, the wealthier and the influential ones have got enough people to help them. Therefore, it will be apt to help the have nots rather than supporting the already stable ones. But then, can we correct this?

Electioneering Helps Promote our National Language

If we use the way that our MPs used to speak in the Parliament as the baseline and compare them with the status quo, I can proudly say that almost all of them have improved, both in terms of confidence and spoken Dzongkha. (We should not however forget that there are quite a handful of them who have hardly stood up to make their points in the parliament and therefore, their Dzongkha would have remained almost the same as how it was five years ago. But that is a different story, altogether).

We have always been complaining about Dzongkha not being used as widely as English. If we analyze, the candidates of the National Council and National Assembly exclusively use Dzongkha to debate and present their manifestoes; in electioneering, in a nutshell. Parliamentarians use our national language to debate, deliberate and enact laws in the parliaments. What greater platform can we expect our national language to be used in?

The effect does not stop there! The debates are aired live on BBS. Many of us have followed them, thereby improving Dzongkha vocabulary among the viewers. Moreover, there are so many aspiring MPs among us. If we are to ever think of contesting an election, Dzongkha is the most essential prerequisite. Students who aim to take up politics after their graduation might also be learning Dzongkha more seriously. It is also very important for the electorate to understand Dzongkha in order to make an informed choice of a party/candidate. 

The whole election process means learning/knowing Dzongkha! Therefore, I genuinely feel that it has immensely contributed in promoting our national language nationwide. This is a brighter side of the status of our national language that merits our appreciation, rather than lamenting about the limitations all the time. 

Druk Superstar in Retrospection

Druk Superstar is a reality show founded by Kencho Wangdi, with noble objective of preserving and promoting our rich cultural heritage, the third pillar of our country’s Development Philosophy, Gross National Happiness, among others.

Out of every 5 Ngultrums or out of every vote one casts, 2 Ngultrums goes to the telecom companies (Tashi Cell and Bhutan Telecom) and Kencho Ongdi takes the rest. He also pays a lump sum of Nu. 11,50,000 to the BBS for letting him air his program live every weekends, which in other countries is otherwise.

There are various supporter beguiled by him to sponsor for his show and he shoots advertisements for various agencies, besides the share that he gets from the votes.

It is quite enriching to take part in such reality shows. I believe that I would have missed a lot of experiences had I chosen not to partake.

With his show and the likes, many aspiring Bhutanese singers have started picking interest in the traditional genre also. The show has also instilled love for the Bhutanese songs of all genre and all in all, the Bhutanese culture in many of the Bhutanese as it has incorporated Lozey and other traditional flavors into the Show.

It does not forget to entertain the youth; the show includes dance items and the contemporary Bhutanese songs known as Rigsar. So, in a nutshell, the show is a complete package, for the young and the elderly alike.

People are impatiently yearning for the next season of the show. May his show come up with more variety and amusements, this year too and save the Bhutanese, especially those devoid of recreational activities from boredom.

I am sure, Mr. Kencho Ongdi would also take various initiatives to meet global standards of such reality shows so that we gain audience both within and abroad, from both Bhutanese and others.