Ambassador Pavan K Varma of India leaves Bhutan in January to enter public life. The representative of the world’s largest democracy spoke to Kuensel’s Sonam Pelden about his stay in the world’s youngest democracy.
Excerpts
Four years on and now you are leaving Bhutan. What comes to your mind?
I believed my stint as ambassador to Bhutan will remain perhaps as one of my most cherished diplomatic assignments.
When I am leaving, what comes to my mind is also a sense of gratitude at the fact that I had the opportunity to serve my country and Bhutan and work for Indo-Bhutan relationship; a sense of regret that I am leaving from this paradise and a sense of optimism and hope about the relevance of what I am planning to do next.
Almost five years since Bhutan transited to a parliamentary democracy. Do you think its working?
I genuinely believe that the human resource quotient of Bhutan is among the highest and from that stems my belief that there is sync to which the Bhutanese apply their mind including the great democratic experiment. They will succeed without the usual distortions that may happen in other countries. Bhutan is a small and cohesive society and in my view, democracy has fared exceptionally well in Bhutan.
So you think the political process is moving in the right direction?
I believe, essentially yes. Of course there will be teething problems. To my mind it would be abnormal if these didn’t happen. You are dealing with something new, you are moving into untested waters, unchartered territory. Therefore, it can only be expected that in some areas, between theory and practice; or between expectation and delivery; or between promise and performance or between hope and reality, there could be minor gaps. That in fact is the subtext of all democracies. So I think that essentially the movement is in the right direction, and the fact that this is happening is a real miracle.
What are the pitfalls that Bhutan needs to look out for in this democratic process?
I’ve been working myself on this subject in the context of my country. I’ve just finished a book called Chanakya’s new manifesto. I believe the biggest pitfall is first, there is never room for excess in democracy; second - the state must always be above partisan interests; third - there should be no conflict between governance and democracy. Democracy must become the biggest enabler for governance and governance must draw its energy and direction from a robust democracy. This interplay, this dialectic is something democracies should never lose sight of. If you do, the pitfalls emerge.
Has the role of an ambassador changed after Bhutan’s transition to a parliamentary democracy?
Roles of ambassadors is to further friendship and cooperation between two countries. Fortunately, where India and Bhutan are concerned, the foundation of this friendship is so strong that sometimes an ambassador can even be redundant. The fact that as the representative of the world’s largest democracy I am dealing with the world’s youngest democracy. It makes the task both more challenging and more rewarding.
How would you describe India-Bhutan relation and its future?
I feel there’s no other country to which India is closer. I think the reasons for these are verifiable - geographical proximity, we are neighbours; decades of interaction in more recent times and resolve that India has made to see Bhutan as a fully sovereign country. We deal with each other as equals with a great deal of respect and affection. These incidentally include people to people contacts in education and culture. I have recently started interactions in the fields, which are relatively ignored like literature, the mountain echoes literary festival, the art camps. For all these reasons, I am exceptionally optimistic about this relationship both for the foundations of the past and the possibilities of the future.
Will Mountain Echoes continue?
Bilateral relations cannot be restricted merely to interactions at the political and government level. It must spill over into interactions in other areas including the creative fields. That was my main motivation to start the Mountain Echoes literary festival. What will happen to it? The first premise that you must understand is that ambassadors are dispensable. So I am hopeful and I would like indeed for Mountain Echoes to continue because by now, this I say with humility, I have given it institutional basis.
The feeling that India is not very happy with Bhutan warming up to China...
I have said this before and let me say it again. Bhutan is a sovereign country. It’s for Bhutan to make its choices. I remain confident that whatever choices Bhutan makes will never be antithetical to the strong foundations of India-Bhutan friendship.
Your views on Bhutan trying to do too much too soon, particularly, in hydropower projects.
Well, the waters in the river are flowing. If you can harness them I don’t see what is the right time. As it is, your hydropower potential is estimated at 25,000MW. What we are committed to is 10,000MW so if you start today, you will have all of them reach fruition only in a period of 10-1 2 years. I think that is a pace that Bhutan can absorb. You have the resource; you need the revenue. We need the power, you need the revenue, and it’s a win-win situation for both the countries.
The Rupee shortage that we’re facing has shown how dependent we are on India. How should Bhutan deal with it?
I believe the Rupee problem is a transitional problem. You are not the first nation to face a transitional crunch in resources. The crisis would be, from my personal view, very serious if there is no light at the end of the tunnel. However, in the case of Bhutan, once the first three power projects come online, Punatshangchu I, II and Mangdechu, you would have quadrupled your electricity output. Electricity is white gold. So it’s a transitional crunch, which requires policy responses but it’s not a malignant crisis because there is hope at the end of the tunnel, which is not in some very remote future but in the next 3-4 years. I am sure, in response to this temporary crisis, Bhutan will rise to the challenge.
Any doubts on the policy measures the government is taking today?
The first premise for an ambassador is that he doesn’t make a comment on internal decisions of a sovereign country. Let me just add that I am confident that, as in so many examples in other areas, Bhutan will rise to the challenge.
Did you at times feel that the government was wrong?
Governments can never be wrong.
Small nations like Bhutan always have a threat perception. How and where does that factor in the Indo-Bhutan relation?
As far as India is concerned, I think the one thing that we have put to rest forever is that Bhutan faces any threat from India. There is no evidence at all in support of that. From the visit of Jawaharlal Nehru in September 1958, we have resolved as a nation, cutting across the entire political spectrum, endorsed by the will of the people of India to see Bhutan as a sovereign and independent nation. Where is the threat from? In fact on the contrary, India and Bhutan have had a healthy tradition of cooperating with each other on matters of security.
Where do you go from here?
I took a decision to resign prematurely, primarily because I want the freedom to enter the national discourse of my country at a time when we are going through a certain phase, where in, however, small a measure, I feel I can contribute. I, therefore, will enter public life. From here, I’ll definitely, should the opportunity arise, also work in political line.
What will you take from Bhutan?
I will leave so much of myself in Bhutan, what can I take from here. I wrote four books when I was here; two of my children got married when I was here; and above all, I have made friendships at all levels of your society, which fortunately I hope will endure because in Delhi, I am just two hours away.
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