$Unique_ID{COW00386}
$Pretitle{235A}
$Title{Bhutan
Chapter 4.    Social Development}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{George L. Harris}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{bhutan
country

}
$Date{1973}
$Log{}
Country:     Bhutan
Book:        Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, An Area Study: Bhutan
Author:      George L. Harris
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1973

Chapter 4.    Social Development

     When the present Maharaja, Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, was enthroned on October
27, 1952, the people of the country enjoyed a standard of living better than
that prevailing in much of South Asia. Although the standard diet lacked
essential vitamins and minerals, nearly everyone had enough to eat and was
adequately clothed and housed. On the other hand the country had only a
handful of schools, none of which went beyond the primary level, and an
estimated 99 percent of the population was unable to read and write.
Dysentery, a consequence of poor sanitary conditions, and venereal disease
were commonplace throughout the country, whereas goiter, smallpox, malaria,
leprosy and tuberculosis were prevalent in particular localities. Modern
medical care was almost unknown; when illness struck, the mass of the people
turned either to Buddhist priests or sorcerers, depending on the nature of the
illness. Water supplies throughout the country were exposed to contamination
and pollution.

     Under the leadership of the present maharaja and the prime minister,
efforts have been made to remedy some of these problems. Programs have been
set up for development in both the economic and social spheres, giving the
highest priorities to road building, education and health projects, in that
order. The blueprint for progress was the Five-Year Plan (1961-66) prepared
the financed by India, calling for a total expenditure of IR175 million.
Tension caused by the Chinese-Indian clash of October 1962 interfered to a
considerable extent with the implementation of the Plan, but some progress has
been recorded.

     Government officials reported that as of early 1964 about 95 state
schools were being operated in parts of Bhutan, providing primary level
education for some 15,000 pupils. In addition, an unknown number of young
persons, some of whom would eventually join the Buddhist clergy, were being
given religious instruction in the monasteries. As yet the country had no
secondary school, but one such institution was scheduled to be opened by
Jesuit missionaries in the eastern region before 1965. Moreover, the
government, having discontinued its policy of opposition to the entry of
foreigners, was looking to India for recruits for teaching posts in Bhutan and
had opened the way for several hundred youths to study in India. Most of them
were in Darjeeling.

     Indian aid was also being used toward the development of medical services
and raising the low level of health. As of early 1964 there were two small,
ill-equipped hospitals-one at Thimbu and the other at Paro Dzong-and a few
dispensaries. More were to be built and some mobile units introduced. Also
scheduled were the organization of a health directorate, campaigns to
eradicate various endemic diseases, and the improvement of the water supply.
American and British physicians and Catholic missionaries had been invited to
participate in the medical program.

     Efforts were being made to lessen the isolation of the population in the
high valleys of the center, where means for the communication of ideas other
than word of mouth hardly existed beyond some ancient Tibetan manuscripts and
a few outdated newspapers and magazines published abroad. Development of
communications was slow, but by early 1964 radio had assumed some importance.
Bhutan House, a building at Kalimpong where the Maharaja usually spends part
of the year, was linked by radio with government offices in Thimbu. Eight
wireless stations had been put into use in different parts of Bhutan itself;
radio receivers were found in some monasteries; and some road construction
workers owned transistor sets.

     Another problem for Bhutan was the future of the roughly 4,000 Tibetan
refugees who had entered the country after the Chinese Communist takeover
of Tibet. Plans to use them in road construction work where additional
labor was badly needed had not worked out successfully, and it remained for
government authorities to find another solution. A proposal to resettle most
of the refugees in northeast Bhutan was being considered.