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"Obsessed with happiness"
"In an effort to increase happiness among its people, Bhutan studies, quantifies, and defines what it means to be happy."
Great article at :
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/09/2011918125112354620.htmlfrom wikipedia....
It is estimated that between two thirds and three quarters of the Bhutanese population follow Vajrayana Buddhism, which is also the state religion. About one quarter to one third are followers of Hinduism. Other religions account for less than 1% of the population.[53] The current legal framework, in principle guarantees freedom of religion; proselytism, however, is forbidden by a royal government decision[53] and by judicial interpretation of the Constitution.[54]
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Comments
However, sad to say Bhutan has an ugly period in its history.
Bhutanese citizens of Nepalese descent were persecuted and driven out of the
country.
It appears that Bhutan is obssessed about happiness but
only for ethnic Bhutanese.
I think the Gross National Happiness model is an interesting experiment. But there seem to be gaps in its measurement, in spite of a complex measurement structure devised by the government. We had a thread devoted to Bhutan's GNH policy a while ago, that spelled all this out.
www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bhutan/gnh/html
www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/world/asia/07bhutan.html
This details the measurements and indicator system Bhutan devised in order to comply with international development and lending agencies' requirement that Bhutan be able to quantify "happiness".
www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2011-02-11-wife_beating_buddhism_10_ST_N.htm