Bhutan is a small landlocked country in the Himalayas stuck between India and China. On 18th of July 2008 the goal according to the constitution of Bhutan was to increase Gross National Happiness (GNH). GNH is a measure of the people's happiness within Bhutan, this is a measure of individual well-fare used in the stead of GDP and other economic measures. According to a first hand account the questions every citizen receives are very subjective. Though the government collects these answers they don't present an immediate solution.
Though this system has some potential as a measure of an individual's wellbeing instead of using more traditional economic measurements. The hypocrisy of Bhutan using this method is all too prevalent when you consider they forcibly removed Nepalese residents living in Bhutan in the 1990s. This established Bhutan as the largest creator of refugees per capita. Bhutan expelled the Lhotshampa, an ethnic group with its origins in Nepal which made up one-sixth of Bhutan’s population. This was justified as preserving the unique Bhutanese culture and language. Many of the members of the Lhotshampa were Bhutanese citizens and forced out by the military and forced to sign papers saying it was voluntary. It has been more than 20 years since the explosion of these individuals, the Bhutanese government has admitted no wrongdoing or provided them with any means of survival. Many refugees have sought refuge in Europe and North America never able to return home.
Bhutan wishes to be an example of a government that puts its peoples wellbeing above all else, to the Bhutanese government the “people” they care about are only those who are born, speak, and follow Bhutanese culture. Bhutan has become an example of how to create a humanitarian crisis not an example of how to increase the peoples happiness.
A Lhotshampa refugee presets a Bhutanese passport.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lotshampa_refugees_in_Beldangi_Camp.jpg
https://thediplomat.com/2016/09/bhutans-dark-secret-the-lhotshampa-expulsion/
http://bhutaneserefugees.com/
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