Bhutan bungle

The incident inexplicably unforeseen by New Delhi also hints at Indias lack of sophistication in failing to factor in popular opinion in the neighbourhood in the conduct of routine as well as coercive actions. Blaming the outrage in Bhutan over the subsidy withdrawal on its election schedule inverts the issue to nobodys good. It is a foreign policy establishments responsibility to anticipate how any action may play out. That Delhi did not,to the extent that it now has to scramble to make amends,is unfortunate. The fact is that,as societies democratise,the conduct of foreign policy and bilateral relations needs to be made more explicit and explanatory. As Bhutan continues to take gradual and guided steps away from monarchical rule to representative government,myriad anxieties are bound to play out in the public domain,and not just at election time. For all the royal familys fidelity to indices of Gross National Happiness,as Bhutan opens up internally and to the world,the public discourse will become increasingly complex,as it should. It is perhaps inevitable that the spectre of the India-China rivalry for regional influence will be harnessed locally for political purpose as has happened in Nepal in the past decade,that too catching India quite by surprise.

Given Indias large and exclusive footprint in Bhutan,there needs to be a proper reckoning of how Delhis default position of reticence in explaining itself is so easily construed as conspiratorial guile.