New Delhi. After losing out to China in much of the South Asian region and elsewhere, India may have just about pre-empted the more powerful and aggressive neighbour in Bhutan.

Bhutan is crucial for the obvious geophysical location between India and China. It has not been hostile like Pakistan or Bangladesh, nor has it made a policy of maintaining an equidistance as Nepal has done between India and China.

The principal reason has been the presence of a century-old monarchy and Bhutan’s isolation from much of the world. India has remained the principal gateway.

But things are changing, what with the enlightened monarchy itself organizing elections to usher in the world’s newest democracy in the Himalayan kingdom.

And it was just as well that within weeks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh paid a two-day visit mid-May.

He held talks with the previous king, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, and his son and the present monarch, 28-year-old Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk.

Before discussing the visit, there is need for a flashback to December 2003 to underline Bhutan’s importance for India’s internal security.

New Delhi approached the then monarch for help in flushing out fugitive rebels from the Indian northeast, belonging to various militant organisations, operating from Bhutan.

Donning the military fatigue, the monarch himself led the Bhutanese security forces and conducted a cleansing operation. At least 600 were caught and handed over to India and many more hundreds fled to Bhutanese territory.

The “Operation All Clear” was a success.

It is another matter that this splendid gesture was not effectively followed by India and the militants escaped to Bangladesh and Myanmar, or melted away in the Indian northeastern region.

Mercifully, the Indian PM’s visit was fairly well-publicized in contrast with the election coverage by the Indian media that is forever preoccupied with Hollywood and Bollywood, and ready to lap up what the international media has to say about things in its neighbourhood.

Unfortunately, very few newspapers dispatched correspondents to report the historic elections, while the rest depended upon the international wire services.

India has enjoyed an advantage having taken care of Bhutan’s security under the 1949 Friendship Treaty and secured its support on regional and international issues. It is just appropriate that India revised this treaty last year, giving greater scope and movement for Bhutan.

There has always been understanding in fact between the two neighbours, and the revision in favour of Bhutan should help consolidate it further.

After the elections, Bhutan’s leadership is now a combination of the benign, enlightened monarchy and an elected legislature of 47 members.

It wants to reach out to the world.

India can help in that – indeed, India is best placed for this.

Hence, it was most appropriate that at the political level, as Dr Manmohan Singh pointed out, the updated India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty gave Thimphu more freedom in international diplomacy and nonlethal military purchases. It was a watershed event, keeping in mind that India supports the Bhutanese economy to a considerable extent.

The Indian Prime Minister in fact announced a whopping Rs 100 billion ($ 2.5 billion) economic package over the next five years, and did so while addressing the new Bhutanese Parliament.

This is one of the biggest economic packages, if not the biggest, that India has promised another country, the importance of which cannot be minimized. He also utilized the occasion to announce the building of Bhutan’s first rail link connecting Hashimara to Phuentsholing, called the Golden Jubilee Rail Line, linking Bhutan with the entire railway network of India, which is one of the largest in the world.

Most of all, it would provide Bhutan access to the Indian ports for its foreign trade.

Dr Manmohan Singh was the first foreign leader to address Bhutan’s national Assembly.

He made it amply clear that India supported Bhutan’s transition from a kingdom to the world’s youngest democracy.

“As Bhutan enters a new era in its history, you can continue to count on India as a friend. As we enter a new era in our ties and a new century, I come to seek and reinforce the same meeting of minds.”

He pointed out to vast opportunities that the Indian market offered for Bhutan’s agriculture, industry and service sectors. India imports a substantial quantity of food products and electricity from Bhutan but there is scope for the Himalayan kingdom to produce more and for India to absorb much more.

For this tranquil country of less than 650,000 people that still prides in sticking by the concept of prioritising Gross National Happiness (GNH) over Gross Domestic Product (GDP), education and healthcare are free and most villages have water and electricity.

But there are problems as unemployment, especially in the rural hinterland is rising, and a huge swathe of the population still lives below the poverty line.

The Indian PM outlined a future roadmap where more could be achieved. “India and Bhutan are well placed to create a new paradigm for inter-governmental cooperation in the areas of water security and environmental integrity.

“We know we are on the right path when electricity generated in the mountains and valleys of Chukha, Kurichhu and Tala lights homes in Bihar, West Bengal and Delhi and generates wealth for Bhutan,” he said.

He also announced a significant move to broaden India’s own energy basket by pledging to import 10,000 MW of electricity by 2020 from Bhutan, a country with one of the world’s largest hydropower potentials.

Selling power to India means more money, more funds for development for Bhutan, a point that has been driven home ever since Bhutan’s electricity joined the Indian power grid two years ago.

Following his address , Dr Manmohan Singh dedicated the Tala project, built with India’s assistance, to Bhutan and laid the foundation of the 1,095 MW Punatsangchhu hydroelectric project.

“We will commence the preparation of detailed project reports for four new projects,” he announced, adding that implementation of these projects will help achieve the target of at least 5,000 MW of electricity from Bhutan to India by 2020.

Dr Manmohan Singh also offered to strengthen Indo-Bhutanese ties with institutional linkages between the judiciary, election commissions and other constitutional bodies.

While doing so, he also took the opportunity of driving some home truths about how to make a functioning democracy before his Bhutanese audience.

He pointed out that the ability to accommodate dissent and show tolerance to the others’ point of view are some of the crucial elements to make a democracy work.

“We do know that democracy is not merely about holding elections.

Democracy requires sustained commitment to tolerance and the judicious exercise of power as a societal trust to be used for public good. “It requires a deep commitment to the rule of law. It requires the building of strong institutions of governance and respect for the other’s viewpoint.”