Rongthong Kunley Dorji, an inveterate Bhutanese democracy and human rights activist, passed away unnoticed in his 20th year of exile on October 19 — around the time news about the Bhutanese royal couple's honeymoon plans dominated news space.
Restricted to Delhi for 13 years by a court directive and having to report to the police regularly, Mr. Dorji was allowed unrestricted movement only a year ago.
Medical complications
He passed away in Gangtok following several medical complications, some brought about due to hardships suffered during year-long spells in Indian and Bhutanese jails.
A well-to-do businessman, Mr. Dorji found himself in jail in Bhutan for taking part in the 1990 demonstrations demanding genuine democracy. He fled the country soon after and set up a political party to the disconcertion of other organisations fighting for the same demand from exile in Nepal and India.
At the time of his death, he was heading the Bhutanese Movement Steering Committee, an alliance among his Democratic National Congress, the Bhutan Peoples' Party and the Bhutanese National Democratic Party.
Mr. Dorji's legal troubles in India began after the Bhutanese Government sought his extradition on grounds of tax evasion and anti-national activities. The Amnesty International and other human rights organisations contended that the extradition demand appeared politically-motivated.
But there were some from his Sharchops community, who blamed Mr. Dorji's activism for suffering discrimination and harassment from the government.
With life ebbing away, Mr. Dorji replied to this criticism in an e-mail in which he sought forgiveness from all those whom he had wronged: “Thus, with my body, speech and mind, and as far as my mortal human capacities allow me to, I hereby forgive all those who have wronged me, all those who have conspired together with those who have wronged me, all those who were forced to collaborate with those who have wronged me, and all those who have, by way of ignorance or otherwise, desired ill-will towards me.''
At the same time, Mr. Dorji felt he had achieved his personal samsaric (worldly) ambition of the last two decades – “ushering Bhutan from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional democracy under constitutional monarchy for the benefit of all the people of Bhutan, had been achieved.''
