ABSTRACT
Bhutan’s concept of human development does not necessarily correspond to the concept of human development endorsed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). While the UNDP definition of human development emphasises on enlarging people’s freedoms and opportunities and improving their well-being, Bhutan’s human development strategy upholds the state’s unique philosophy of national happiness, popularly conceptualised as Gross National Happiness (GNH). The concept of GNH and its application as the guiding principle for Bhutan’s development was initiated during Bhutan’s Seventh Five Year Plan (1992–1997), and ever since the process of implementing GNH principles in the country continued. The Bhutanese concept of happiness is multidimensional, and it is much more than subjective well-being. Bhutan’s GNH model is now widely accepted as an alternative approach to development. The chapter seeks to understand and analyse Bhutan’s way of ‘measuring happiness’ by using the GNH Index created by the Centre for Bhutan Studies, Thimphu.
