Personal Perspectives on Current Events III

A tribute to Hon’ble Nelson Mandela 1918-2013

He was jailed for 27 years. For over seven decades, he endured the wrath of the apartheid regime of South African minority whites. The humiliation, pain and suffering heaped upon him far surpassed that of Lord Buddha of Buddhism, Holy Christ of Christians and Mahatma of India. And in his ultimate success, he liberated more humans than all of them put together.

In liberating the black people of South Africa, he brought a new liberation to all supposed liberated black people in the whole world including America. And the rippling effect of the change in South Africa even raised the plateau of the oriental race to the level of the plateau of the White race. Today prejudices remain between races, religion, rich & poor, man and woman but the exclusive club of white race has been vanquished from the world because Nelson Mandela refused to bow down to inequality and the dictates of Apartheid.

He was born into Xhosa speaking Thembu people of South Africa. It almost sounds as if he was born into Zongkha speaking Thimphu people of Bhutan. Like Lord Buddha, he was a prince but he fought for salvation of others in this world.

Nelson Mandela the soul of humanity passed into state of Nirvana on 5^th December, 2013. May Madiba the father of South Africa grace the heavenly abode of the thousand Buddhas.

Tobacco Act Amendment again!

If Tobacco Act was a name of a patient, I could comprehend the proposal of another surgery. But Tobacco Act is a devil created by the group of elites to terrorize the poorest of the poor masses in Bhutan. If the present National Council and the National Assembly posses any sense of basic human propriety, the devil of a Tobacco Act need to be vanquished.

More stringent penalty for drug peddlers!

The Chithuen Phendhey Association must be a pseudonym for an authoritarian civic agency that is desperately groping for national power. These people seem to have the same brand mentality as those behind the Tobacco Act. There are always hopeless leaders who cannot lead but occupies the front row and ultimately end up leading the society into ambush of Chamgang Central Jail or more despicable situation.

It seems Bhutanese administrative and civic leaderships are totally bankrupt in solutions and therefore brimming with oceans of threats and penalties that would further deteriorate the social environment.

Agreed that drug peddlers are social nuisance but they do not represent organized Crime Associations who are said to make millions in other countries. Bhutanese drug peddlers are desperate individuals attempting possibly a last resort to feed themselves and their families through sale of mostly painkiller tablets. Of course drug peddlers must be discouraged and prevailing laws do that. The Royal Bhutan Police seem to have a good network of informers and RBP could take far more effective measures if necessary resources like fund and personnel are made available.

More legislations and heavier penalties do not solve larger social issue of drugs. Broken families, unemployment, iron fisted laws and penalties lead to social despair that force people to turn to drugs which in turn creates a demand for role of drug peddlers. There is the need to tackle the root cause because window dressing like that of Chithuen Phendhey Association drive for signature for harsher penalties causes the social wounds to go septic.

Whether it is Tobacco Act or Drug Act or any other Act to treat undesirable social ills, the mentality of Bhutanese proponents and legislators must move away from draconian apartheid attitudes wherein penalties, restrictions and levies suppresses the society that it is suppose to uplift.