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The erstwhile King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, turns 70 connected November 11, 2025. The begetter of the existent King of Bhutan is popularly known arsenic K4 (the 4th King of the Wangchuck line), portion his lad Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who sits connected the throne astatine present, is referred to arsenic K5.
Jigme Singye Wangchuk is held successful large esteem, awe, pridefulness and reverence by his radical who often telephone him the Bodhisattva King. He ruled Bhutan from the property of 17 years till helium abdicated successful 2006 successful favour of his son.
He is revered astir similar a Buddha due to the fact that helium ruled wisely, honestly and virtually dragged Bhutan into the 21st century, modernising it successful galore ways. Now, to people his 70th commencement anniversary, determination is simply a immense solemnisation successful Thimphu connected November 11, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting India’s mountainous neighbour.
Two nations, their adjacent ties
Mr. Modi has ever fixed overmuch value to India’s narration with Bhutan. In 2014, connected being elected Prime Minister, helium had not simply spoken astir Neighbourhood First but had besides made Bhutan the archetypal overseas state helium visited. Now too, Mr. Modi realises the tremendous value that the day celebrations has for the radical of Bhutan and is ensuring that helium is with them successful this clip of joy. His sojourn is an apt awesome of however adjacent the radical of India are to the radical of Bhutan.
It was K4 who further strengthened Bhutan’s narration with India, during his reign arsenic king, exhibiting large knowing that autarkic India was a adjacent person of his federation for which each threats to its independence, sovereignty oregon mode of beingness came from its northbound and not from the different direction. It was Jigme Singye Wangchuck who got India’s Border Roads Organisation to build, run and support the roadworthy web of his country. Today, Bhutanese firms are susceptible of doing this connected their ain and person rightly been tasked with this. Again, it was Jigme Singye Wangchuck who saw the imaginable of generating energy from Bhutan’s rivers and supplying it to India, thereby enabling a dependable gross watercourse for his nation, which successful crook has lifted incomes there.
Hydropower diplomacy
Hydropower practice betwixt India and Bhutan has, implicit the years, developed into 1 of the strongest and astir important pillars of the narration betwixt the 2 countries. Therefore, it is apt, symbolic of this relationship and important successful itself, that the Punatsangchhu II hydroelectric task volition beryllium formally inaugurated by Mr. Modi and K5 during the trip. The 1,020 MW task has been generating energy for immoderate months now, helping Bhutan successful further raising its economical profile.
The Punatsangchhu II project, similar galore of its predecessors, was constructed arsenic a cooperative task betwixt the Government of India and the Royal Government of Bhutan, with India providing the archetypal superior for it — this is paid disconnected by the task from the income watercourse generated by the merchantability of energy to India astatine rates which are competitory but adjusted each fewer years to bespeak existent realities.
This exemplary has worked good till present but it has been decided that successful future, the 2 countries indispensable pat different sources of superior for specified hydropower projects. Now that backstage superior is readily disposable successful capable quantity, aboriginal projects are to beryllium done by backstage firms of India successful collaboration with Bhutanese companies. Significantly, Tata Power and Adani Power person readily taken up a fewer of the projects connected connection successful Bhutan.
India continues to supply improvement assistance to Bhutan beyond hydropower whether it is for assemblage improvement projects oregon larger schemes that scope from infrastructure improvement to upgrading older institutions and adjacent monasteries.
Issues of nationalist security
K5 continues to question his father’s — K4’s — proposal connected matters of nationalist security. Whether it pertains to the territorial integrity of Bhutan oregon to the operational readiness of the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA), K4 is ever consulted by his son. K4 has a heavy knowing of not simply India and however its ideology functions but besides astir Communist China, what motivates and drives that federation and the implications it has for Bhutan-China relations.
India volition ever beryllium grateful to K4 for having personally led Operation All Clear successful December 2003 wherever the RBA drove retired respective 100 cadres of Indian insurgent groups that had taken structure successful the jungles of Bhutan conscionable crossed Assam and West Bengal. On India’s broadside of the border, the Indian Army was capable to easy apprehension these Indian insurgent groups and proceed against them arsenic successful the law.
Thus, November 11 is not simply the day solemnisation of a sage and omniscient erstwhile King of Bhutan. Mr. Modi’s beingness astatine these events successful Thimphu besides makes it a solemnisation of India-Bhutan relationship and cooperation.
Gautam Bambawale is simply a erstwhile Indian Ambassador to Bhutan and is presently Trustee of the Pune International Centre
