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Bhutan BHUTAN
![[GIF]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/bhutan/bt06_00a.gif)
Bhutan's national symbol. The traditional sacred wheel of Buddhism
is used to symbolize the king (center) surrounded by his ministers (the
spokes). The two dragons surrounding the wheel stand for religious and
secular administrations. The jeweled umbrella, a Buddhist symbol of luck,
suggests spiritual protection for the people of Bhutan; the lotus blossom
at the bottom represents peace and gentleness.
"IN THE THUNDER DRAGON KINGDOM, adorned with
sandalwood, the
protector who guards the teachings of the dual system; he,
the
precious and glorious ruler, causes dominion to spread
while his
unchanging person abides in constancy, as the doctrine of
the
Buddha flourishes, may the sun of peace and happiness
shine on the
people." These few words--the text of the national anthem
of
Bhutan--sum up much about the spirit and culture of a
society that
sprang from an aboriginal people and was enriched by
Tibetan,
Mongol, and Indo-Burman migrants. Buddhism has been a
pervasive
influence in Bhutan throughout most of its history and has
long
been the state religion and source of civil law. Unified
Bhutan has
had two forms of monarchy: from the sixteenth century to
the early
twentieth century, a dual system of shared civil and
spiritual
rule; and since 1907 the hereditary monarchy of the
Wangchuck
family.
Once one of the many independent Himalayan kingdoms and
principalities, Bhutan, like Nepal, is situated between
two Asian
powers, India and China, which, at best, have had an
uneasy
standoff politically and militarily for nearly half a
century
(see
fig. 2). Bhutan's independence has long been at issue in
the
geopolitical maneuverings between Tibet (and later China)
and
India. In the late twentieth century, Bhutan has fended
off this
external threat with conscientiously planned economic
development.
A serious internal threat to Bhutan's traditional identity
started
peacefully in the 1950s and 1960s among the growing
Nepalese
minority, which represented 28 percent or more of the
population in
the early 1990s and emerged as a violent "prodemocracy"
movement in
the late 1980s. The 1990s promised to be a crucial period
for the
monarchy as it continued to foster economic and
administrative
reform amid efforts to retain traditional culture and to
assuage
minority unrest.
Data as of September 1991
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