Exclusive: Bhutanese Locals Express Relief Over Doklam Resolution
How do Bhutanese locals near Doklam feel about the resolution? Don’t miss The Quint’s exclusive ground report.
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(As India and China announced the resolution of the face-off at the Sikkim border on 28 August, The Quint brings you an exclusive ground report from the villages around Damthang, Bhutan, 15 km away from the Doklam plateau, where troops from both countries have been engaged in a two-month long standoff.)
The two guards, who were recently deployed just short of the entrance to Bhutan Army’s prime China-focused base at Damthang, had no clue that the high-drama Indo-China face-off at Doklam had been called off. As of the afternoon of 28 August, the two continued checking each vehicle for errant tourists and, more importantly, journalists masquerading as tourists.
The Doklam plateau is barely at a crow's flight distance of 15 km from Damthang, yet, curiously enough, the people in the neighbouring villages of Haatey, Ingo and even in the town of Haa seem nonplussed over the dispute, or its apparent resolution for now.
“Fear China But Have Faith in Friendship With India”
What makes an average Bhutanese nervous, however, is a possibility of the most unequal military contest in the world – the gargantuan PLA versus the less than 10,000 soldiers strong military of Bhutan. They don't want to annoy China even if most of them support India.
The announcement of disengagement assuages some of their fears.
From an engagement with the natives of Haa, it seems clear that the Indian military's long presence in Damthang to train the Bhutanese army is a matter worth cherishing. The IMTRAT-run hospital, for example, had been serving as the district's only medical facility till recently. The new state-run hospital hasn't started functioning as yet. Many locals depend on the stores inside the IMTRAT camp for their grocery purchases.
While a part of the press establishment from the West has highlighted the anti-India sentiment in Bhutan, the on-ground reality seems quite different. While some residents of Haa may want their Dzong – the monastic and administrative centre of a Bhutan district – back from the Indian military, they don't resent India's presence in their country.
Reacting to the announcement of the disengagement, Nidup, a teacher of Economics at the Central School of Haa who doubles up as the basketball coach there, said, "Bhutan is a tiny country in the middle of two giant powers in the region. It's a matter of great relief to us that the conflict has been resolved." The boys team he was training for an upcoming tournament clapped as he concluded.
History of China’s Agression Against Bhutan
China's territorial aggression against Bhutan dates back to the 1960s, when it started driving away the Haa valley yak herders from the grazing grounds of Doklam, Sinchulumpa, Charithang and Dramana. In 1980, negotiations were opened to resolve the issue but nothing came of it as Bhutan refused to comply with China's demand for a territory swap that meant giving up the border areas of the western sector. In 2009, China began building a road from Zuri, flouting previous agreements. A little later, PLA troops pitched tents in the disputed territory, in the northern district of Bumthang in 2013. People in Bhutan are not happy about these incursions even if they choose to stay quiet on the issue.
As John, a carpenter who has come to Haa to build a palace for the king from Montana, US, commented, “This town does not deserve any tensions”. Bhutan doesn't deserve any bullying.
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