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Bhutan’s relations with India are historic and over the years have continued to widen and deepen. Ever since Nehru’s visit, India has played a major role in Bhutan’s economic development and continues to do so. From Bhutan’s first five year plan onwards, Indian assistance has been mainly in the infrastructure sectors such as roads, health, education, industries and power and in a number of major projects such as the impressive international airport at Paro. As Bhutan gradually emerged from its self-imposed isolation to modernization, so did its political institution evolve simultaneously without disturbing overmuch their traditional culture and civilization, especially with visionary resolution of the fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the true architect of present day Bhutan. The geographical configuration of Bhutan has made it what may be termed as “mini yam between two rocks”. This description implies that Bhutan is strategically placed between two powerful neighbours, China and India. This book mainly deals with the important aspects of bilateral relations between India and Bhutan. It takes a brief notice of its early history and focuses on different stages of political relations with India to the present, and makes a comparative study of its political status and commercial relations between the two countries through the trade treaties. The hydel power projects are best examples of benefits which can flow from agreements through diplomacy to both the countries. Terrorism, national and international, is a feature of the modern world that has spared no state today. This kind of international entanglement is stronger than the political organizations of the nation-states. The book exposes problems of terrorism confronting the two nation states - India and Bhutan, involving international community, too. With Bhutan’s ingenious and convivial initiatives in modernization, democracy, Gross National Happiness; and India’s firm belief in global interdependence, territorial integrity and offering a self-reliant base and good neighbourliness; the Himalayas have acted more as a bridge than a barrier in the Indo-Bhutan relations. The combination of all diversified capacities gives India the promise for cooperation with the world at different international organizations and movements. Both India and Bhutan have been able to demonstrate that. However, the book also deals with added emphasis on some of the problems in the bilateral relationship, such as Bhutan’s position as a traditional ally of India, India-Bhutan-China tangle, bilateralism, ethnic anchorage. There is no dispute to the fact that Indo-Bhutan relations have its major stake in the stability and prosperity of Bhutan. In the agenda of Gross National Happiness (GNH), Bhutan’s transformation from monarchy to democracy plays a vital role especially in the context of globalized state system where all the state actors exist entangled not only in interdependent relationship but also have to come to each other’s proximity with the advent of technological upheaval. Hence Bhutan’s ushering of democracy, as the book depicts will not only bind the two neighbours more firmly but will indeed take the existing India Bhutan relations to a new height.
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