Yesterday towards dawn, I had a dream. I thought it was a terrible dream. The whole of Haa Central Valley was swirling with never imagined Indian population. There was also three statues of RISUM GOENPOS. But an Indian para- military Unit had modified the busts in plaster of paris and one fitted with Punjabi turban and another with cloth turban like head gear that I think Rajasthan people wear. The third I could not make out except kind of long hair. I was figuring out how to remove the plaster of paris mold without damaging the original busts of the RISUM Goenpos. Then I saw the swirl of hordes of Indian population.
What disturbed me was during Tsechu celebration, I never thought of anything about India and yet this dream happened out of blue. But this evening I realised how pertinent my dream was. I was unaware but the foreign secretary of India had arrived in Thimphu yesterday and today according to BBS news, he had met His Majesty the King, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of Bhutan. So almost like my dream, it was India the whole environment.
I was not worried about my person. But I had jotted down the dream in detail yesterday morning out of perplexity. And last night I related it to my wife because it kept pricking my mind. I thought something politically could be happening though I had no way of knowing anything.
There was no news yesterday of the arrival from New Delhi. I learnt the vocabulary ' premonition ' so long ago in school but this is the first time a political premonition woke me up before dawn yesterday.
I do pray and hope that all is well with Palden Drukpa. Palden Drukpa! Lha Gyel Lo!
I am sure the foreign secretary of India went to India to do damage control. The Doklam incident exposed once and for all the resentment of the Bhutanese against the suffocating India's 'embrace' and India knows it. Will India took a mid-course correction and fundamentally scrap its hegemonic mindset when dealing with its neighbors or will India double down on the current path and make the embrace even tighter? I don't know but if I have to venture a guess it is probably the latter.
ReplyDeleteMr. Wangcha Sangey has come across as an out-spoken Indian critic during the crisis and I am sure he has caught the attention of the Indian policy makers. You are a patriot and a brave man. Please take some precautions for your personal safety.
http://m.deccanherald.com/articles.php?name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.deccanherald.com%2Fcontent%2F635907%2Fjaishankar-bhutan-amid-reports-fresh.html
ReplyDeleteIf it is true, Doklam has again become the point of contention.
India has exhausted goodwill from the Chinese side. Let's be honest, countries threaten the use of force but seldom actually use force. Once military force is used against another country and territory has been invaded, the red line has been crossed. China swallowed it in this time to diffuse the issue at Dong Long because of other more important considerations. But don't be naïve and think the Chinese leadership will not rethink China's approach toward India and its companies. Goodwill may very well have become a word for the past. I am an ordinary Chinese and if I were the one to make a decision, I knew there would be no more of the business as usual as in the past. And Bhutan needs to make a choice. Being India's company, then expect being treated as such. That is probably what India wishes, as a choice like that will automatically and irreversibly put Bhutan on the path to the same fate as Sikkim. The India foreign secretary and the India news media may have a keen interest in blowing the "Chinese Threat" out of proportion in an effort to scare Bhutan into making the choice India wants. But I have confidence in the Bhutanese people, as exampled by Mr. Wangcha Sangey. They are wise and hopefully will become better informed. The government of Bhutan has acted wisely so far also. I don't see a visit by the India foreign secretary will change the course.
DeleteMr. Wangcha Sangay, you have always defended Pelden Drukpi gyalkhap through your writings. And its my belief that Pelden Lhamo will protect those that defend this great nation of ours.
ReplyDeleteMy only wild guess for the visit of Indian Foreign Secretary is that he has come with some agenda (a very important agenda i suppose).
ReplyDeleteIt is impossible for me to understand what the agenda could be, but i am sure the delegate will have a very important mission to accomplish.
History tell us that whenever there is a visit of high profile Indian delegate, it is not for the sake of site seeing or for visiting some Hydro Power project site.
For a ordinary people, the visit might seem another visit to further strengthen and cement the good relationship between the two countries. But for those who think out of box, the visit transcend those reasons.
Only god knows what the real reason is and the implications of such a visit will be visible few months or few years down the line!
A weird dream. Foreign Secretary coming to Bhutan is a regular thing.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what India is doing in Bhutan is highlighted and none about China. Inch by inch china is taking Bhutan territory as those areas are rarely patroled by Bhutan army. Remember what China leaders said about Bhutan as one of its five fingers.
ReplyDelete