Bhutan is possibly the most theocratic nation in the world. India identified and singled out the two Islamic states of Afghanistan and Pak...
Bhutan is possibly the most theocratic nation in the world.
India identified and singled out the two Islamic states of Afghanistan and Pakistan when it justified the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019, and threw in Bangladesh for good measure. But Bhutan has escaped attention because it is Buddhist and therefore acceptable to the BJP, though it is more of a religious state than any other in India’s neighbourhood.
The hereditary Buddhist king controls both the religion and the State. The Constitution says that “His Majesty the Druk Gyalpo is the Head of State and the symbol of unity of the Kingdom and of the people of Bhutan” and that “the Chhoe-sidnyi of Bhutan shall be unified in the person of the Druk Gyalpo who, as a Buddhist, shall be the upholder of the Chhoe-sid”. Chhoe-sid-nyi is a phrase meaning “religious and material”, and the Druk Gyalpo is the king. He is the person who appoints the Chief Abbott. Other than the king, no other religious figure can dabble in politics.
The Parliament has no power to amend any of this, per section 26 of Article 2. The king “shall not be answerable in a court of law for His actions and His...
