Updated on June 21th 2006
Bhutan is a kingdom stretching over 47,000 sq. km. situated on the South side of the Himalayas and inhabited by 6,30,000 people. The Tibetan influence was predominant in the past centuries and shows in various socio-cultural domains, including religion.
In fact the study of different facets of working-class culture, linguistic data and ecology shows that this country finds itself at the cultural and ecological meeting point of Tibet and Southeast Asia, and an exceptional school for Tibeto-Burmese languages.
Unlike Nepal, Bhutan did not allow foreign researchers to stay in the country and do fieldwork there without permissions. The reasons were varied but one of them was connected with the very recent acceptance of the notions of research and critical path method, understood only by an elite. These notions were totally unthinkable in a country always functioning on religious principles and where the monks are traditional keepers of knowledge.
The discipline of Social Science was therefore unknown in this country where modern non-monastic education only started in 1965. Right till the 1980s, their very concept was still not understood and caused great mistrust.
At the end of the 1980s, opening up to research in general and Social Science in particular, went hand in hand with the development of the country and its departure from geopolitical isolation. This opening was accompanied by a political will to train Bhutanese researchers rather than to depend on foreign researchers. This choice is completely in line with the sustainable development policy in all the sectors chosen by the government.
Following individual foreign efforts, favorable circumstances, quick opening to ‘others’ mentalities’ and global concepts, the country is experiencing a great leap ahead in the domain of Social Science from the middle of the 1990s.
Different foreign institutions, one of which is CNRS, were able to weave links between Bhutanese institutions that were created in parallel through individual researchers: Centre for Bhutan Studies (CBS), Institute for language and cultural studies (ILCS), Sherubtse College – both part of the Royal Univerity of Bhutan-, Dzongkha Development Commission (DDC), National Library.
These institutions today serve as correspondents for the researchers wanting to work on a specific subject on Bhutan if a Bhutanese has not already take up this study.
Higher education scholarships abroad of more or less long duration were granted to Bhutanese scholars by different countries: Australia, Canada, France, Japan, The Netherlands, United Kingdom. English being the official language of Bhutan, France is at a disadvantage.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs actively supports the involvement of CNRS researchers in training Bhutanese scholars in Social Science.
In fact, the presence of CNRS researchers could be described as ‘historical’ since it’s the oldest, dating back to the 1980s.
This long familiarity with the country enabled these researchers to provide a great number of publications and create Bhutanese program within the then UMR 8047 (CNRS-EPHE), now the UMR 7133 that acts as a center of studies and brings together foreign researchers working in Bhutan.
The studies carried out by foreign and Bhutanese researchers, are very varied but can be defined as political and social studies, history, history of religions, socio-economic history, ethnography, literature and linguistics.
The national interest for culture has also enabled a real renewal of traditional historiographical studies in Dzongkha, the national language, and oral compilations of literature.
On the other hand, nowadays the Bhutanese hardly produce any philosophical studies of the Buddhist doctrine be it within a research center or a monastic school, except for one researcher based in Cambridge, UK and associate member of the CNRS.
UNESCO plays a significant role in the country. In fact the divisions of education, tangible and intangible assets support preservation projects that use methods and disciplines of Social Sciences, particularly ritual documentation.
Since 1999, the Journal of Bhutan Studies (JBS) is published by the Centre of Bhutan Studies and various articles can be downloaded from the site www.bhutanstudies.org.bt'
At least three publishing houses enable the release of English and Dzongkha books.
In 2003, 2004, and 2006 the organization of three international conferences in Bhutan by the Centre for Bhutan Studies and the publication of their acts are major events in the country for circulating the concept of research in Social Science.
However, what we see is rather an influence of the Anglo-Saxon idea of Social Science research applied to development within the framework of specific projects in the fields of health, education or social development, grass- root governance especially within rural communities.
Moreover the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) which underlines the nation development philosophy and its path to democracy, has received wide international coverage and the Centre for Bhutan Studies in Thimphu is working on the contents of this concept with the assistance of the UNDP and Canada.
Fundamental research is difficult to fund in a developing country that is short of highly skilled human resources. Most of the persons considered being researchers are civil servants, for the most part scholars, who cannot devote all their time to books or field work.
Having received an English education, the Bhutanese do not have any access to the numerous French publications on Tibet or Nepal. They are unaware of the work of medievalists such as J. Le Goff or G. Duby whose analysis of the Western Middle Age reveals a new perspective on a culture where sacred and power are still interlinked.
At the same time English education gives the Bhutanese a definite advantage over their colleagues from other Asian countries who have less linguistic abilities to speak in international for a or read specialized works. Finally, uncensored access to Internet enables the Bhutanese intellectuals to be abreast with events and publications in their concerned disciplines and in contact with their foreign colleagues.
Virtually unknown fifteen years ago, Social Sciences are now recognized positively in Bhutan and the government ensures its development in different institutions. |
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