Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Development Challenges in Bhutan pp 115–134Cite as

Law, “Tradition” and Legitimacy: Contesting Driglam Namzha

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Contemporary South Asian Studies ((CSAS))

Abstract

During the 1990s, the High Court of Justice played a significant role in the promotion of Bhutanese culture, intertwining the development of the Bhutanese legal system with Bhutanese cultural traditions. Notably, the Research Unit of the High Court of Justice actively researched Bhutanese cultural traditions and incorporated them into the development of judicial proceedings, the legal education of the emerging cadre of legally trained judges and the iconography of the court rooms and court buildings. This chapter focusses on driglam namzha. Driglam namzha or code of discipline or conduct was introduced by the founder of Bhutan, the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, in the seventeenth century. Practised in the main administrative centres, dzongs, and maintained with the emergence of the monarchy in 1907, it appeared to decline in importance during the 1960s and 1970s as Bhutan experienced major social, political and economic changes. However, it re-emerged in debates about culture and concerns over perceived threats to Bhutanese cultural identity. The discourses around driglam namzha provide an important vantage point from which to examine law, tradition and legitimacy in Bhutan. The parallel development of the legal system and the role of the National Assembly trace the legal and political development of Bhutan during a period of its history when it began to increasingly engage with outside pressures. Central to this process of engaging with international legal concepts is the role of Bhutanese law as it has been shaped over the last 20 years and integral to the process of defining Bhutan in the twenty-first century.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Tibetan/Dzongkha : sgrigs lam rnam gzhag.

  2. 2.

    Tibetan/Dzongkha : rTsa yig Chen mo.

  3. 3.

    Tibetan/Dzongkha /Choskad: rnam gzhag.

  4. 4.

    Tibetan/Dzongkha /Choskad: rnam shes.

  5. 5.

    Tibetan/Dzongkha /Choskad: gzan skyur ‘bebs’.

  6. 6.

    The National Library of Bhutan text (1999: xxxvii) states: Driglam namzha probably evolved in “Bhutan with the advent of Buddhism in the seventh century”. Teachers and intellectuals of the time drew the appropriate excerpts from the “Kangyur and Tengyur, the sacred teachings of Lord Buddha and his disciples.”

  7. 7.

    As is standard practice, I have anonymized informants’ names.

  8. 8.

    Under the system of government established by the Zhabdrung , the head of the state was remained a monk, whilst secular authority rested with the Desi. Importantly, many of the lay officials took semi-monastic vows when in the service of the Druk government emphasising the interrelationship between religious and secular authority. This system remained in place until shortly before the establishment of the monarchy .

  9. 9.

    Kuensel 14/03/1987: 7 “Driglam namzha; backbone of national identity ”.

  10. 10.

    Kuensel 10/07/1999: 5 “A unanimous agreement on the importance of driglam namzha ”. Also see “The deeper values —editorial” 10.07/1999: 2.

  11. 11.

    Dz: sems kyi gnas sa lus yid pas: lus bdag ‘dzin yod na spyod ain. My translation.

  12. 12.

    The titles are: sGrig lam rnam gzhag gi deb ther nor bu’i ‘phreng ba (1999) by mNga’ bdag rgyal po’ i gzim dpon, and sGrig lam rnam gzhag lag len ‘thab thangs (1999) compiled by dRag Krar Karma dBang ‘dus. The third book, sGrig lam rnam gzhag (1997) Dasho mKha’gro.

  13. 13.

    Full title: “Former High Court Official received best writer award”.

  14. 14.

    Thadamtshi refers to respect towards one’s elders and lejumdre to the Buddhist concept of “cause (le) and effect (dre)”. See Whitecross, RW (2010).

  15. 15.

    Kuensel reports indicate a renewed emphasis on training government officials at all levels in driglam namzha starting in the mid-1980s (e.g. Kuensel “Driglam namzha training for dzongda” 08/08/1987: 1).

  16. 16.

    Oral communication. Jigme Wangchuck, 30 June 2001.

  17. 17.

    Dzongkha : sbe/‘bad bzhag.

  18. 18.

    As Phuntsho (2004) points out, driglam namzha became part of a rhetoric that included and, in his view distorted, other Bhutanese values [e.g. thadamshi and tsa wa sum (loyalty to the king, people and country)].

  19. 19.

    Kuensel 1999: 5. “A unanimous agreement on the importance of driglam namzha ”.

  20. 20.

    Since 2000 there have been growing concerns over the lack of employment for young Bhutanese graduating from school and college. Increasingly, Bhutanese are commenting on the rise in drug and alcohol abuse and in violence reflecting deeper social tensions among young, educated Bhutanese.

  21. 21.

    Personal communication, 5 August 2001.

  22. 22.

    R Dorji wrote two articles entitled “How Buddhist parents can raise children” which made the same points ( Kuensel 11 and 18 /07/1987: 7).

  23. 23.

    See Bothe, W (2012). Bothe discusses driglam namzha in Chap. 10.

  24. 24.

    The Thimphu District court was located in the centre of Thimphu. More recently, there has been a move to build new purpose-built courts located outside the dzongs. One of the first was in Phuentsholing opened in 2003.

  25. 25.

    See Kuenselonline “Assembly reprimands judicial lapses”. July 16, 2002.

References

  • Anderson B (1983) Imagined communities: reflections on the origins and spread of nationalism. Cornell University Press, Ithaca

    Google Scholar 

  • Ardussi J (2004) Formation of the State of Bhutan (‘Brug gzhung’) in the 17th century and its Tibetan antecedents. J Bhutan Stud 11(2004):10–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Ardussi J (2006) Stone inscriptions: an early written medium in Bhutan and its public uses. Media and public culture: Proceedings of the second international seminar on Bhutan studies. The Centre for Bhutan Studies, Thimphu, pp 4–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Aris M (1976) ‘The admonition of the thunderbolt cannon-ball’ and its place in the Bhutanese new year festival. Bull Sch Orient Afr Stud 39(3):601–635

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aris M (1979) Bhutan: the early history of a Himalayan Kingdom. Aris and Phillips, Warminister

    Google Scholar 

  • Aris M (1986) Sources for the history of Bhutan. Arbeitskreis fur Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universtat Wien, Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  • Aris M (1994a) Conflict and conciliation in traditional Bhutan. In: Hutt M (ed) Bhutan: perspectives on conflict and dissent. Kiscadale Asia Research Series no 4, Gartmore, pp 21–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Aris M (1994b) Introduction. In: Aris M & Hutt M (eds) Bhutan: aspects of culture and development. Kiscadale Asia Research Series no 5, Gartmore, pp 7–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Aris M (1994c) The raven crown: the origins of buddhist monarchy in Bhutan. Serindia Publications, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Bothe W (2012) Forming local citizens: the traditionalization of participation, empowerment, domination or subjugation? University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen

    Google Scholar 

  • Cech K (1988) A Bon-po bCa’ yig; the rules of sMan-ri monastery. In: Uebach H, Panglung JL (eds) Tibetan studies. Kommission fur Zentralasiatische Studien, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Munich

    Google Scholar 

  • Cover R (1983) Foreword, nomos and narrative. Harv Law Rev 97:4–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das C (1902) Tibetan-english dictionary. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorji K (1994) Bhutan’s current crisis: a view from Thimphu. In: Hutt M (ed) Bhutan: perspectives on conflict and dissent. Kiscadale Asia research series No. 3. Gartmore, pp 77–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorji R (2000) Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal—father of the Bhutanese nation. May–June, Tashi Delek, 10–17. Rakesh Press, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  • Durkheim E (1975) Emile Durkheim on morality and society. In: Bellah R (ed). Chicago University Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Dzongkha Development Commission (DDC) (1999) dPal ‘brug par rin po che Zhabs drung Nga dbang rNamg rgyal gyi rnam thar’. Omega Traders (India), New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellingson TJ (1990) Tibetan monastic constitutions: the bCa’ Yig. In: Epstein L, Shelburne RF (eds) Reflections on tibetan culture: essays in memory of Turrell V Wylie. Edwin Mellen Press, Lampeter, pp 205–230 (Studies in Asian Thought and Religion, 12)

    Google Scholar 

  • Finnis J (1980) Natural law and natural rights. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick P (1992) The mythology of modern law. Routledge, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein M (2001) Tibetan—English Dictionary. University of California Press, Berkley

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart HLA (1961) The concept of law. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Herzfeld M (1997) Cultural intimacy: social poetics in the nation state. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobsbawm E (1983) Introduction: inventing traditions. In: Howsbawm, Rangers (eds) The invention of tradition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutt M (1994) Bhutan: perspectives on conflict and dissent. Kiscadale Asia research series No. 3. Gartmore

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutt M (2003) Unbecoming citizens: culture, nationhood and the flight of refugees from Bhutan. Oxford University Press, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  • Jansen B (2014) The monastic guidelines bca’ yig by Sidekong Tulku: monasteries, sex and reform in Sikkim. J R Asiat Soc 24(4):597–622

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khadro D (1997) sGrigs Lam rNam Gzhag. Royal Hight Court of Justice, Thimphu

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuensel (14 March 1987) Driglam namzha: backbone of national identity

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuensel (10 July 1999) A unanimous agreement on the important of driglam namzha. The deeper values–editorial

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuensel (2 June 2001) Former High Court Official received best writer award

    Google Scholar 

  • Levine K, Mellema S (2001) Review symposium: the common place of law, “Strategizing the street: how law matters in the lives of women in the street level drug economy”. Law Soc Inq 26:169–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacIntyre A (1984) After virtue: a study in moral theory. Duckworth, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers D, Pommaret F (1994) The fabric of life in Bhutan. In: Myers D, Bean S (eds) From the land of the thunder dragon: textile arts of Bhutan. Serindia Publication, London, pp 71–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Nader L (1993) Law in culture and society. Aldine, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • National Assembly of Bhutan (1980) Resolution 10. Thimphu, Secretariat of the National Assembly

    Google Scholar 

  • National Assembly of Bhutan (1988) Resolution 18. Thimphu, Secretariat of the National Assembly

    Google Scholar 

  • National Library of Bhutan (1999) Sgrigs lam rnam gzhag lag len ‘thab thangs’. Driglam Namzha (Bhutanese Etiquette): a manual. National Library of Bhutan, Thimphu

    Google Scholar 

  • Phuntsho K (2004) Echoes of ancient ethos: reflections on some popular Bhutanese social themes. In: Ura K, Wangdi S (eds) The spider and the piglet. Centre for Bhutanese Studies, Thimphu, pp 564–579

    Google Scholar 

  • Phuntsho K (2013) The history of Bhutan. Random House India, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  • Pommaret F (2000) Recent Bhutanese scholarship in history and anthropology. J Bhutan Stud 2(2):139–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Raz J (1979) The authority of law. Clarendon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Royal High Court of Justice (RHCJ) 2000 Introduction to the Legal System of Bhutan. Thimphu, Royal High Court of Justice

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott J (1998) Seeing like a state. Yale University Press, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott JC, Tehranian J, Mathias J (2002) The production of legal identities proper to States: the case of the permanent family surname. Comp Stud Soc Hist 44(1):4–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw B (1994) Aspects of the ‘southern problem’ and nation-building in Bhutan. In: Hutt M (ed) Bhutan: perspectives on conflict and dissent. Kiscadale Asia research series No. 3. Gartmore, pp 141–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Shils E (1981) Tradition. Chicago University Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • The Fabric of Life in Bhutan, 71–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Thinley JY (1994) Bhutan: a Kingdom Besieged. In: Hutt M (ed) Bhutan: perspectives on conflict and dissent. Kiscadale Publications, Gartmore, pp 43–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Ura K (1994) Decentralisation and development in medieval and modern Bhutan. In: Aris M, Hutt M (eds) Bhutan: aspects of culture and development. Kiscadale Publications, Gartmore, pp 25–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Ura K (1997) Tradition and development. In: Pommaret F, Schicklgruber C (eds) Bhutan: the mountain fortress of the gods. Serindia Publications, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Urban G (1996) Metaphysical community: the interplay of the senses and the intellect. University of Texas Press, Austin

    Google Scholar 

  • Vlastos S (ed) (1998) Tradition: past/present culture and modern Japanese history. In: Vlastos S (ed) Mirrors of modernity. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 1–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitecross RW (2002) The Zhabdrung’s legacy: state transformation, law and social values in contemporary Bhutan. PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitecross RW (2010) “Virtuous Beings”: the concept of tha damtshig and being a moral person in contemporary Bhutanese society. Himalaya 28(1&2):71–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitecross RW (2014) Bhutan and its constitutions. In: French RR, Hill N (eds) Buddhism and law. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Edinburgh Napier University, The Business School, Craiglockhart Campus, Edinburgh, EH14 1DJ, Scotland, UK

    Richard W. Whitecross

Authors
  1. Richard W. Whitecross
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard W. Whitecross .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Johannes Dragsbæk Schmidt

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Whitecross, R.W. (2017). Law, “Tradition” and Legitimacy: Contesting Driglam Namzha. In: Schmidt, J. (eds) Development Challenges in Bhutan. Contemporary South Asian Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47925-5_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation