Reviews of the latest books from and on Southasia

Seminar (614): The Pursuit of Happiness
October 2010

The venerable New Delhi-based monthly journal's decision to devote an entire issue to Gross National Happiness came as a welcome recent surprise. 'GNH' is Bhutan's unique development strategy, introduced by its former king in the early 1970s as a parallel development indicator to gross national product, and incorporated into Bhutan's new Constitution in 2008. As it has become an increasingly central guiding principle for the Bhutanese state, however, GNH has appeared to veer wildly between altruistic inspiration and self-serving manipulation. One of the most baffling aspects has been the clear opportunity inherent in this holistic development approach, versus the Bhutan state's apparent inability to accept any criticism of GNH – combined with its refusal to apply the idea to all of Bhutan's ethnic communities equally.

Unfortunately, not only have the Seminar editors done nothing new to explore this discrepancy; they have done nothing whatsoever. Incredibly, over the course of a dozen articles, there is not a single line devoted to any kind of critical examination – or even dismissal of criticism. In addition to missing a significant opportunity to further the public discussion on this important topic, then, in allowing itself to become a mere propaganda tool Seminar has done a clear disservice to the people of Bhutan and further afield. Gross National Happiness is an important, thought-provoking idea; let's treat it as such. (Carey L Biron)