<i>Thinley says people now 'economic animals'</i>
Bhutanese Prime Minister and Saarc Chairman Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley calls on President Zillur Rahman at Bangabhaban in the city yesterday. Photo: PID
Bhutanese Prime Minister and Saarc Chairman Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley yesterday insisted that the people in the today's world have become “economic animals.” He said all development activities have become tools for attaining economic and materialistic growth, and are doing little to keep the people happy. As a result, the nations are trying to increase their GDP and economic growth, he said. “But these are lives of misery,” said Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley, “They are not happy.” The Bhutanese premier was delivering a lecture on “Gross National Happiness” at the Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban in Dhaka University. Many developing countries have high GDPs and well off citizens. But they also have high suicide rates, he said. He said an alternative and a more holistic approach are needed in this regard, which can be achieved by the Gross National Happiness (GNH). Bhutan is the only country in the world that has accepted happiness as a national agenda. And the rest of the world is also realising the importance of collective happiness in a country, he said. Speaking as the chair, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique said the GNH is a quantitative measure of human happiness. So, it reflects the well being of a nation in a more holistic manner, he added. Dhaka University Pro-VC Prof Harun-or-Rashid and Treasurer Prof Dr Mizanur Rahman, among others, were present. After a four-day visit, the Bhutanese prime minister will leave here on Friday. The concept of GNH was coined by Bhutanese former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 1972 to define an indicator that measures quality of life or social progress in more holistic and psychological terms than gross domestic product (GDP).
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