Bhutan’s bold Gelephu project offers India a strategic opportunity—economic partnership, regional stability, and soft power near the sensitive China border.
Most of the northeastern borders of India have been in focus due to the conflicts in Myanmar and the political chaos in Bangladesh. However, amidst the dire predictions that have followed, there is a small 699 km stretch in the northeast region that remains virtually unaffected. It has never seen any conflict with India, has zero political instability, and no simmering nationalisms manifesting as anti-India sentiments. The Bhutan border touches the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, and Sikkim, with border crossings in Jaigaon & Chamurchi, Alipurduar district in West Bengal, and Santabari in Assam, located just across the proposed Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) in Sarpang District, Bhutan. The Indian border lies about 30 km to the east and serves as one of the border market road entry points into Bhutan from India.
The Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), a large urban development project proposed by Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, the fifth Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of Bhutan, aims to create a city that propels Bhutan’s economic growth while integrating holistic living and sustainability. The GMC lies in the emerging economic corridor between South Asia and South East Asia, with a vision to attract investors while embracing conscious and sustainable business inspired by Bhutan’s Buddhist spiritual heritage. The internationally renowned Bjarke Ingels Group has been awarded the contract to design the city, which promises to maintain 70 percent green cover. Gelephu already has a domestic airport, but a new international airport is slated for 2025, alongside a 5 GW hydro power plant and five-star resort sites with golf courses, among other features. The timeline for critical infrastructure development is ambitious, with a deadline set for 2029, as is the aim to attract investment from a range of industries, including education, agri-tech, forestry, green energy, the tech industry, and logistics, among others. Even though the GMC project and its timelines may sound unrealistic to many investors, considering major infrastructure work will only begin this year, what truly sets the tone and indicates Bhutan’s seriousness towards the project is that it has already been declared a Special Administrative Region (SAR) through a Royal Charter.
The King of Bhutan has launched a unique system called the Diamond Strategy, described as one country with two systems of governance. The strategy envisions the GMC diverging in the first twenty years from the rest of the country and gradually converging in the following twenty years. To this end, a city authority has already been established with officials appointed, although clear policies are still in the process of being formulated. Clearly, the GMC is poised to be a test bed from which Bhutan will learn from its successes and failures. In a way, the GMC appears to be a national renewal project that will be replicated across Bhutan in time.
However, the idea of a “national renewal” might come as a surprise to those who have only seen Bhutan through the lens of the “happiest country in the world” that has designed the Gross National Happiness Index. Technically, for a country that is the happiest in the world, a renewal should not be a part of its plans. But as it is often said, the devil is in the details. Bhutan has a problem. It is estimated that there is a huge outflow of its youth to other countries, with over seventy to eighty thousand young people having immigrated to Australia alone. The country is attractive to the Bhutanese youth primarily because it allows work visas for the spouse. So while one partner receives higher education, the other works to support the family. This outflow has resulted in the brightest of Bhutan’s young population moving out, but also an emerging crack in Bhutan’s strong social culture with many young couples leaving their children behind with their family members until they can afford to reunite with them in their host country. Moreover so a country which has a population of only seven hundred and ninety-six thousand risks its economic growth with the continuation of outmigration. To this end, the GMC project hopes to retain its young population through the opportunities that may emerge with the development of Gelephu. It is aiming to attract 1-2 million people from across the world, resulting in a Bhutan that is very different to what we see today.
This is where India finds a role for itself. A joint working group has already been formulated with the state of Assam, which has planned a special economic zone. The task force between the two countries can create an economic gateway between South Asia and the world. Though these linkages have been natural between the two countries, India needs to focus on this border. Similarly to some countries in South Asia, the Bhutanese find it easier to engage with India and Indians. The Chinese, as of now, are looked upon with some amount of suspicion, primarily because of the Tibet experience. Most Bhutanese have studied in India and have cultural and religious affinity via the Buddhist connection. India has also remained its strongest economic partner and ally, with India recently announcing financial support of Rs 10,000 crore over five years, with Bhutan becoming the recipient of the largest share of India’s external aid portfolio for 2024-25. Additionally, in support of GMC, India is also building a first-ever railway link connecting Assam’s Kokrajhar district to Bhutan’s Gelephu. The railway link will boost tourism, people-to-people connections, and strengthen economic growth.
What is of primary importance here is that all of this development will happen on the border. Bhutan is of critical significance to India due to its geographical position, playing the role of a buffer state between India and China. Its proximity to the narrowest “Chicken’s Neck” of 21 km in the Siliguri Corridor that connects India’s northeast region with the rest of the country makes Bhutan’s economic stability and sovereignty crucial for India. Since 2016, Bhutan and China have had over 25 rounds of border talks. While any decisions taken will have a direct impact on India, it is obvious that China would also like to establish diplomatic ties with Bhutan. Developments such as these, clubbed with Bhutan’s “brain drain” amidst economic stagnation, could prove to be a new reality for India’s national security framework, especially in the context of the northeast region. Until now, hydropower has been the pillar of India-Bhutan’s bilateral relations. But India should act swiftly and create a multi-pronged approach to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Support for Bhutan’s GMC project may just be a step in the right direction.
Rami Niranjan Desai is a scholar of the northeast region of India and the neighbourhood. She is a columnist and author and presently Distinguished Fellow at India Foundation, New Delhi.
