Foreign T.V. Channel Invasion on Bhutanese Culture:

Last Monday we started revising the above topic. I had already selected 4 topics for the purpose. After I had finished writing the topics on the board, I asked the students of XII Arts B to select one form them and write an argumentative essay on the topic. After some discussion, the class decided to write on the topic: The foreign T.V. Channels are detrimental to the Bhutanese Culture.

Once the topic was chosen, I spent some time reminding them about the Introduction of the essay. I told them that if they could write the Introduction properly with ‘the hook’, background history, thesis statement containing the supporting points and their stance, writing the rest of the essay may not be a big problem. While they were writing their essays, I decided to give it a try, writing the introductory part as well. I might have taken not more than 10 minutes for doing so. Once I had finished it, Ms. Deepa Rai wanted to have a look at it. So did a couple of students more. I would like to share it with you all for your comments and feedback.

Foreign T.V. Channels Invasion on Bhutanese Culture:

Of late Bhutanese parents seem to have the devil’s own time disciplining their children about the ill effects of whiling away their time watching all those foreign T.V. channels. Foreign television channels like Zee, Star World, Star Sports, HBO, B4U and so on are proving to be a bad influence not only on the children but also on the youth and the adults alike. In a recent survey conducted by a reputed organisation, most of the Bhutanese are believed to be spending 7-8 hours on an average watching these T.V. Channels. Things have come to such a pass that nowadays in places like Thimphu, Paro, Phuentsholing, Samtse, the sight of the Bhutanese youth, dressed in torn jeans and T-shirts with some eye-catching slogans written on them, with Korean hip-hop hair style and tattoos all over their bodies has become quite common. If this trend goes on, the day is not far off when the youth of the country will stop wearing the national dress and feel ashamed of using the national language at the cost of the unique identity and sovereignty of the country. It is absolutely a must therefore, to ban most of these channels, if not all.

Now opponents of the idea may claim that ‘fashion maketh the man’. The more colourful dresses the youth start wearing imitating their favourite stars on the channels, the brighter will be the prospect of a growing economy of the country. They have their point in thinking like that but a growing economy at the cost of the age-old cultural heritage of the country can never be a welcome idea. Dzongkha, the national language, has been a great unifying factor over the years, having held the country through thick and thin. Dzongkha gives the country its very identity. Their Majesties, Lyenchens, Lyenpos, and the elite of the society, always prefer to speak in the national language due to their pride in it and for the purpose of promoting the national language. So long as Dzongkha retains its status as the national language of Bhutan, just like the national dress, the independence and sovereignty of the country rests assured. In spite of a handful of the Bhutanese youth seen in foreign clothes and all, an invasion on the culture of the country is not even remotely possible.

Those who disagree assert that a large section of the populace is picking up foreign languages like ducks to water. They are found to be conversing in Hindi, Korean, English and even in Japanese as if speaking in these languages is the most important part of their lives. They have picked up these languages from the T.V.Channels, no doubt. However, the gho and the kira are some important components of the national dress. Just like the national language, the national dress gives the country its unique identity. In a recently posted video, Lyenchen Tshering Tobgay, honourable Prime Minister of Bhutan, is seen addressing a packed auditorium in the American city of New York about the significance of the national dress of Bhutan, dressed in the same! This goes to show how proud he is of wearing the national dress of Bhutan. This is a perfect example of wearing the national dress with pride and dignity. The lyenchen looks a living embodiment in the video, of the preservation and promotion of the cultural heritage through the very act of wearing the national dress of Bhutan with pride while talking to a large assemblage of people dressed mostly in suits. So, the argument of the critics is irrelevant and as long as the national dress and the national language are used with pride, nothing can pose a serious threat to the sovereignty of the country.

Critics have always made it a point to talk about what they consider to be the disadvantages of the national dress and the national language of Bhutan. They claim that a large section of the population in some parts of the country find it difficult to speak in Dzongkha. They also speak of how discomforting and time-consuming it is to put on the national dress. What is wrong with the people trying to converse in English or Hindi for the matter? These are international languages, they opine. What is wrong with the youth in jeans, having their ears pierced or bodies tattooed? They are right upto a certain extent in thinking like that. Wearing the national dress may be time-consuming for some. But how will a Bhutanese dressed in an immaculate suit, speaking in flawless English or Korean, be looked upon? Dressed that way, he may look very smart but he will simply be one nobody among hundreds and thousands of equally well-dressed people, simply for the very reason that he will not have a distinct identity of his own. On the other side, imagine a Bhutanese dressed like a Bhutanese (in gho or kira), speaking in English the Bhutanese style while addressing an international gathering. Will he not be a proud Bhutanese, proud of his unique identity and cultural heritage?

The long and the short of the matter is that as long as the Bhutanese take pride in their national language and national dress, they stand united as members of ‘One Nation, One People’. And the question of threat, like the threat of the foreign channels posing a great challenge to the sovereignty of the country does not arise. A small price for a nation, the leaders and the people of which have always put the country before anything else selflessly and defied all foreign invasions fearlessly for protecting the sovereignty of the motherland.