The Most Dependable Communications System During Calamities

For years now I have been encouraging the RGoB to consider training a select group of DeSuups – to act as an Emergency Response Group (ERG) - in the use and operation of Ham Radio or Amateur Radio – a form of wireless communications that will still be standing even as everything else around it falls and crumbles like 9 pins. But no one has as yet stopped to consider the idea. Well, what can I say – I suppose, true to character, it is because it is no money in their own pockets.

Highly portable Ham Radio Transceiver with Microphone

But at a time when natural calamities are becoming more and more common place – it is important to be prepared for the most unexpected eventualities. In times of emergencies we all know that being able to communicate is most critical.

What if our mobile network goes down? What if we are rendered incommunicado with the outside world? What if we cannot communicate within our own boundaries? Such situations can arise – the world as we know it now has become a dangerous and unpredictable place to live in.

In times of natural disasters and emergencies and when every form of telecommunication fails, Ham Radio is the only means of communication that will still work and come to the rescue of relief workers. It can operate from the middle of the ocean or from atop Mount Everest. It can be set up and become operational in minutes. At any given time, around three million Hams (also known as amateurs) are active and listening in on to the radio signals around the globe. Ham Radio is perhaps the only multi-modal communication system that can transmit and receive Voice, Text, Morse Code, Graphics and Image data over the open airwaves. And, best of all, there is no charges to be paid to any service providers. It is all FREE!

Many people over the years have used the Ham Radio for a variety of purposes and emergencies but one of the most famous among them is the case of Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, the last King of Sikkim. When everything else around him was gagged up, Ham Radio was the only means through which he managed to send out his message of crisis. A little after 6 PM on 9th April, 1975 – he used his Ham Radio equipment to send out his distress call – to inform the world of the annexation of his Kingdom.

Some of the world luminaries who are registered Ham Radio operators with individual and unique CallSigns assigned to them.

Ham Radio can effectively serve as our short-term emergency back-up communications system – it can transmit to every corner of the earth. And, best of all, it is easy to master, simple to operate, equipment are cheap to acquire, and best of all, compact and highly portable.

Unfurling the Loongtah of Mindfulness

In 1973, an Indian Christian evangelist - I don’t know what else to call him – a shop owner based in the border town of Jaigaon, attempted to convert me into the Christian faith. The poor blighter had no idea that he had taken on the original dyed-in-the-wool atheist!!! 😛

At the end of close to an hour of futile attempt, he was ready to give up – but not before delivering the following totally un-Christian exit line:

“Either you are a very rich young man and you have no need for God in your life or, you are so bloody poor that you have lost faith in Him.”

What a bigoted view – so darn typical of an uneducated religious fanatic!

More than half a century later, an evolved and learned friend from USA made an observation about me – on the morning of 7th February, 2026 - quoted verbatim as follows:

“I think you are the most religious-minded person in Bhutan — and you hate religion!”

Kuche wai, please, I do not hate religion --- I actually love it for all the good things it teaches us. Here I make no distinction …. I am speaking of every single religion practiced by every human society around the world. My sin – I have been reminded umpteen times that I am a sinful fellow - is that I choose to interpret and practice religion in vastly different ways from those of the do-gooders.

And, because I believe that the “Path” I walk is the right path, I am adamant that I have no need to take refuge in any Gods or Godesses … because only those who accept that they have taken the wrong path, has the need to seek refuge. It is for the same reason that I believe that I have no need to perform any acts of atonement ---- such as burning a thousand butter lamps, reading numerous volumes of scriptures or visiting a hundred holy sites in far-flung locations. My act of veneration to honor the enlightened beings who propagated many versions of the same brand of religion, is not by prostrating before them – but by walking the virtuous path advocated by them.

Sadly, it is my experience that not all those who practice religion are evolved beings – a large number of them are of the conviction that they can do no wrong in the practice of their religion. They forget that some of what was relevant centuries back are no longer so in the present times. They forget that a meaningful religion or culture is one that evolves with time – that which remains relevant in the times in which we live.

Religion is a powerful thing – but some have tended to harness its power for all the wrong reasons. To compound the problem even further, our religious protagonists – including our community leaders and government administrators – have proven to be equally ill-informed and irresponsible. They have failed to perform their duties and responsibilities – they have failed to provide much needed leadership and guidance. The consequence has been that our living spaces and the natural world has come under increasing abuse. To a large extent, the unmindful practice of religion has been responsible for some of the environmental degradation that we are seeing all around us.

And we in Bhutan pride ourselves as a nation at the forefront of environmental conservation - a carbon negative nation - a GNH country proudly proclaiming to be steeped in a culture of mindful behavior and healthy living.

It is in this context that my accidental visit to the VAST Bhutan, Thimphu few days back was heartwarming. I am hugely encouraged by their ongoing “Lungta Art Festival 2026” ….. and the powerful message that they are attempting to convey to the Bhutanese people. It is my hope that it will provide an awakening that we so sorely need - to the perils associated with unmindful and inappropriate materials used in the production and unfurling of the much touted Loongtah - prayer flags printed and hoisted in the holiest of holy places and pristine locations.

VAST Bhutan's aspirations and message to the Bhutanese people.

The “Lungta Art Festival 2026” exposes with haunting live images how these acts of religious fervor have been the source of much environmental degradation and, in some cases, went on to cause premature deaths to the animals in the remote and far-flung wilderness such as Laya and Lunana ---- as a result of getting entangled in the grip of these indestructible weaves of synthetic fiber, laced with chemical paints.

The world community looks at Bhutan with unabashed admiration at our unrelenting stewardship of the environment. Let us keep it that way – let us be responsible in the practice of our religion.

Let us accept that there can be no merit in the practice of a religion that results in the destruction of our natural world and the environment! Let us understand that safeguarding our environment is a religious act at its most sublime!