Bhutan Happiness....Gross National Happiness(GNH)

Gross National Happiness

Gross National Happiness. What really happiness is for people around the world means.....For Economist Happiness means Gross National Product. But for Bhutan, we depend on GNH...(Gross National Happiness).

The concept of gross national happiness (GNH) was developed in an attempt to define an indicator that measures the quality of life or social progress in more holistic and psychological terms than gross national product or GDP.

After centuries Bhutan was in isolation from the rest of t In 1961 Bhutan opened its doors to the world. The Bhutanese learn that in the pursuit of economic prosperity, many countries had lost their cultural identities, their spirituality, and compromised their environment. For Bhutanese economic growth alone did not bring contentment.

The term was coined in 1972 by Bhutan's Fourth King King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who has opened up Bhutan to the age of modernization.He used the phrase to signal his commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan's unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values. The Bhutanese grounding in Buddhist ideals suggests that beneficial development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance. At this level of generality, the concept of GNH is transcultural--a nation need not be Buddhist in order to value sustainable development, cultural integrity, ecosystem conservation, and good governance. In 1998 Prime minister of Bhutan Jigme Y. Thinley identified the "Four Pillars" of GNH.

The first Pillar is "Sustainable and equitable socio-economic development". This stresses the improvement of the economic health of people, road and bridge, education, trade and commerce, employment, urban development, and housing. In Bhutan education and health are provided free of cost to all Bhutanese.

The second pillar is "Conservation of the environment". Only 16% of Bhutan's land is arable, so there is pressure to fell trees and sell timber. But the law requires that the proportion of tree cover must not be less than 65%. At present, about 72% of Bhutan is covered with forest. 

The third pillar is "Preservation and promotion of culture". The present government views this as a crucial strategy to preserve the country's sovereignty. It has implemented policies that conserve and promote Bhutanese religion, language, art & architecture, performing arts, national dress, traditional etiquette, sports and recreation. 

The fourth and last pillar is "Good governance". The Bhutanese believe that good governance is vital for the happiness of the people. Our Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuk handed his power to power to the people. Now Bhutan is Constitutional Monarchy in 2008.