The decisive victory of Bhutan’s chief opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the just-concluded elections has resurrected hopes of smoothing recent strains in the “unique and special relationship” between New Delhi and Thimphu.
Pavan K. Varma, who served as India’s ambassador to Bhutan at a time when the Himalayan state witnessed multifarious transformation, is upbeat about the trajectory of India-Bhutan relations and predicts better days for Indian diplomacy in the Himalayan state if it adapts to what he calls the dynamics of change in the neighbouring country.
In this interview with Manish Chand, Editor-in-Chief of India Writes, www.indiawrites.org, Varma, who is now an adviser to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, says India-Bhutan relations are solidly anchored in a reservoir of mutual goodwill and underlines that India should not get paranoid about Beijing’s perceived foray into the picturesque Himalayan state that is rapidly embracing modernity and change.
Q) How do you look at the prospects of India-Bhutan relations under the new government which is expected to be formed by the PDP?
A) The expectation is that, as Bhutan’s PDP leader has himself said, that the new government will desist from foreign policy adventurism. He has publicly said that India is primary to Bhutan’s external relations. A change of government is, however, not going to affect the India-Bhutan relations significantly. The sheer compass and range of India-Bhutan economic partnership, besides cooperation in areas of education and culture, has a self-propelling momentum. India is, after all, the largest developmental and trading partner of Bhutan. There is a huge amount of goodwill for India. And that is not going to change; on the contrary the relations should get stronger in days to come.
Q) How do you look at the changes in Bhutan in the last four-five years that coincided with your tenure as India’s envoy to Thimphu?
A) Bhutan is part of a changing dynamic. You can’t fossilize the relationship in the prism of time. The relationship will keep evolving, and we have to adapt with the changing times. Hydropower is the largest area of economic cooperation between India and Bhutan. Around 10,000 MW of joint hydropower projects are in the pipeline. Once these projects are completed by 2020, they will transform Bhutan.
Q) There are anxieties in India about Bhutan’s diplomatic outreach to China. Do you think such apprehensions are justified?
A) If Bhutan has cooperation with its largest neighbour, India must not get paranoid about such a development. India’s foreign policy must be based on our ongoing multi-faceted cooperation with Bhutan. Bhutan of 1948 is not the same as Bhutan of 2013. We should not mind Bhutan developing relations with other countries if our irreducible interests in that country are no affected. Our aim should be to ensure that as Bhutan democratises and modernises, it should not do anything that is detrimental or contrary to India’s interests.
Q) So India need not fear the so-called Chinese foray into Bhutan. China has emerged as Bhutan’s second largest source of imports, after India.
A) This (dealing with a changing Bhutan) requires an agility and flexibility on the part of a mature democracy. At the moment, these fears are unfounded. But, needless to say, we have to be vigilant at all times to protect our interests.
Author Profile
- Manish Chand is Founder-CEO and Editor-in-Chief of India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) and India and World, a pioneering magazine focused on international affairs. He is CEO/Director of TGII Media Private Limited, an India-based media, publishing, research and consultancy company.
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