During our village school days, while we used to graze our cattle on the vast rice field, we often witnessed a glowing series of hills on the northern horizon illuminated by the evening sunlight; it was the Land of the Thunder Dragon, officially known as the Bhutan Kingdom at the eastern Himalayan foothills. We also encountered a group of Bhutanese traders, who came every year to participate in Makhibaha Sabha (an important rural socio-religious fair in western Assam) to sell their domestic products till the Eighties. An endless curiosity developed among us about the mystical place (then we had no idea that it was a neighbouring country to our north named Druk Yul in the Bhutanese language Zongkha). Later, whenever I visited the land of Buddhist Gompas with less than one million cheerful Bhutanese nationals nurtured by a series of dark green mountains, fertile hills with vegetation, clean river streams, picturesque valleys, and the paradise on earth unfolded astonishing experiences every time for me. When I arrived in Thimphu soon after our marriage, my wife was mesmerised with the eternal beauty of the land and proclaimed, if we have a daughter, she would be named Shangri-La.

Now the Himalayan kingdom comes absolutely closer to us in socio-cultural and economic fronts, as Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently paid a four-day visit to Thimphu following an official invitation from the Royal Bhutan government, where he discussed a series of bilateral issues with King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who serves as head (locally known as Druk Gyalpo) of the South Asian country, and the democratically elected Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay, serving as the head of the government in Thimphu. Being the first chief minister of Assam to receive such an invitation and subsequent greetings from Bhutan’s monarchical democracy, Sarma also attended a number of programs, including their 117th national day celebrations, during his stay from 16 to 19 December 2024 in the capital city.

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Accompanied by his spouse, Riniki Bhuyan, and a few senior officials, Sarma pursued different issues focusing on trades, regional security, and mutual collaboration with the friendly regime in Thimphu. The high-level delegation from Assam, after arriving at Paro International Airport by a Drukair flight, was welcomed by Bhutanese Foreign Minister DN Dhungyel, along with Indian Ambassador (to Bhutan) Sudhakar Dalela and others. Later the state government chief accompanied PM Tobgay to attend a business event hosted by the Assam government in Thimphu as a prelude to Advantage Assam 2.0, an investment summit scheduled for 25 and 26 February in Guwahati. Assam and Bhutan share an enduring bond, a relationship nurtured over centuries through cultural, historical, and economic exchanges, commented Sarma, adding that the ancient trade routes connecting the two geographical territories were not merely conduits for goods like tea, silk and other commodities but were lifelines of mutual understanding and interdependence.

Assam plans to host Advantage Assam 2.0: Investment and Infrastructure Summit 2025 to foster investments and partnerships across the South Asian region, where the crucial event is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Expressing his gratitude to PM Tobgay for his presence at the last edition of Advantage Assam, Sarma extended an invitation to him once again to grace the forthcoming summit and a mega cultural event. Collaborative tourism circuits linking Bhutan’s pristine landscapes with Assam’s iconic sites, such as Kaziranga and Manas forest reserves as well as Majuli, would enhance ecotourism and promote conservation initiatives in the region, observed Sarma, adding that joint efforts in wildlife tourism and preservation in border areas would further enrich this partnership. He also mentioned Assam’s extensive cancer-care network, one of the largest in South Asia, which can serve the Bhutanese patients with timely & quality medical care.

In a separate meeting with PM Tobgay, along with his wife, Tashi Doma, Sarma noted that Assam and Bhutan had historically maintained connectivity through seven established trade routes, underscoring the enduring nature of their economic ties. In the course of the discussions, Sarma assured that the Assam government remains committed to bolstering trade infrastructures along the Assam-Bhutan border. He emphasised creating more trade routes to facilitate trade and commerce in line with the needs of Bhutanese traders. The energetic leader also highlighted Assam’s efforts under the Asom Mala initiative to strengthen road connectivity, particularly between Kokrajhar and Gelephu. PM Tobgay was offered some exquisite gifts, including Muga clothes, tea items, and rice wine by Sarma, when he stated that a close neighbour is more important than a distant relative.

Bhutan King Jigme Khesar and Queen Jetsun Pema also gave an audience to Sarma along with his wife at the Golden Throne Room in Tashichhodzong. They discussed various ways to strengthen the age-old cultural, historical, and economic ties between Assam and Bhutan. In the coming days, they lay emphasis on enhancing energy cooperation, tourism, healthcare, education, skill development, water resources management, etc. Later, Sarma met India’s revered spiritual preacher, Sadhguru, at India House in Thimphu, where PM Tobgay and other dignitaries were also present. He also congratulated educationist Arun Kapur, who was honoured during Bhutan’s national day observations for his decades of exemplary services in the global sphere of public & private education. The saffron leader also visited the Indian embassy in Thimphu, Bhutan’s iconic spiritual centre, Simtokha Dzong, and Kuenrey Hall, where he prayed, lighting a lamp in front of the majestic statue of Gautam Buddha.

Mentionable is that Bhutan celebrates its National Day every year on 17 December to commemorate the coronation of their first Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck in 1907. It marked the beginning of the Wangchuck dynasty that now rules Bhutan, and the current king, Jigme Khesar, became the fifth ruler, who was crowned at a sacred ceremony in 2008. The country adopted the status of a constitutional monarchy in 2008 and conducted its first general election. The 117th statehood celebrations honoured their ancestors, enriched with cultural heritage, and reaffirmed commitment for enduring peace, prosperity, and happiness in the Himalayan nation. Nearly 200 international guests witnessed the auspicious celebration this year, which was organised at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu.

Addressing the annual celebrations, His Majesty Jigme Khesar revealed that the sacred occasion means for Bhutanese nationals to pay tribute to the visionary monarchs and forefathers for their sacrifices in building this precious nation and maintaining its sovereignty. It’s also a moment for deep reflection—an opportunity for all the proud denizens of the Pelden Drukpa to look back at the extraordinary journey traversed under the enlightened leadership of the Wangchuck dynasty, he stated, adding that from a small, poor, landlocked kingdom, Bhutan has transformed now into a modern, peaceful, and prosperous nation. Asserting that the nation has leapfrogged from the mediaeval to the modern era, the young monarch put his vision to augment the tiny nation with a well-educated and skilled populace.

Thimphu is presently working on an ambitious project with international standards, but maintaining the sanctity of its environment, tradition and obviously sustained peace & tranquility. The urban venture named Gelephu Mindfulness City (adjacent to the Assam border) was introduced to Sarma by the concerned officials. The national project is expected to comprise world-class infrastructure, including an airport, office premises, recreational facilities, educational institutions, healthcare services, residential complexes, etc., at Gelephu.

The proposed city, spanning over 1,000 square kilometres (250,000 acres) with all basic amenities, is expected to be completed in the next few years and function like Singapore to Southeast Asia and Dubai to the Middle East. Sarma opined that Bhutan’s expertise on hydropower & clean energy will be beneficial for Assam as well as northeastern states. He also welcomed the Bhutanese students to exploit reservation benefits (5 seats) in the government medical colleges of Assam along with specialised programmes in auxiliary and general nursing courses.

Bhutan, which promotes Gross National Happiness (rather than emphasising Gross Domestic Products by other nations in the globe), shares an international border (around 699 kilometres) with four northeast states, namely Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Assam has the highest 266 km land boundary with Bhutan, having settlements on both sides. Even centuries back, both regions maintained connectivity when the far eastern part of India was known as Kamrup and later emerged as present-day Asom. For some days, Assam’s separatist armed militants started operating from its southern territory, which were later flushed out with ‘Operation All Clear’ in December 2003 by the Bhutanese armed forces. Recently, an immigration check post was inaugurated at Darranga, adjacent to Bhutan’s Samdrup-Jongkhar locality, through which the international tourists can now enter & exit both the neighbouring countries as it’s done through the integrated checkpoints like Phuentsholing or Paro.

Mentionable is that the constitutional monarch visited Assam (prior to his departure to New Delhi and Mumbai) in November 2023 and raced a number of meetings with CM Sarma and the then Governor Gulab Chand Kataria. The Bhutan king, who came to Assam for the first time after being crowned, paid a visit to Shaktipeeth Kamakhya Devalaya atop the Nilachal hills and prayed to Mother Goddess Kamakhya. He also enjoyed the charming beauty of the world-famous Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve in eastern Assam. Very recently, both the king and his queen arrived in New Delhi and met PM Modi and foreign minister S. Jaishankar. Their discussions covered various issues, including the Gelephu project. Earlier, Modi visited Bhutan in March 2024 to receive Bhutan’s highest civilian award, the Order of the Druk Gyalpo.

As Bhutan shares an ecological proximity with the Brahmaputra River basin, the surface water running from the hilly nation needs to be gauged for both drinking & irrigation purposes as well as preempting a disaster in the rainy season. The people of lower Assam on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra often face unusual floods due to the swollen Kurichhu River in southeastern Bhutan. The sudden rise of water in the Kurichhu hydropower plant may directly overflow a number of rivers in lower riparian localities, including Beki, Manah, Pahumara, Kaldia, Palla, Nakhanda, Burhadia, etc. We were brought up on the bank of Burhadia that keeps rolling since time immemorial, breaking the dream of farmers in every flood season, but also nourishing them with abundant rice, vegetables, and fish. Probably it’s also time for a comprehensive and sustainable development initiative encompassing the entire region that remains resourceful but ecologically fragile in nature.

The writer is a Guwahati-based special representative of The Statesman