Bhutan National Anthem

Key Facts

• 1. The third king, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, called for a national anthem in 1953. The music is by Aku Tongmi, Bhutan's first bandmaster; sources date his melody either to 1953 or to Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's visit to Bhutan in 1958.
• 2. The words are in Dzongkha, Bhutan's national language, which uses a Tibetan-derived script. The first version of the lyrics was later shortened and revised by Shingkhar Lam, a secretary to the king, and an assistant, Sangay Dorji.
• 3. The anthem refers to the 'dual system' (chhoe-sid-nyi) of religious and secular authority, which the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal introduced in Bhutan in the 17th century; the term still appears in Article 2 of the 2008 Constitution.
• 4. The melody comes from 'The Unchanging Lotus Throne', a zhungdra, one of Bhutan's traditional song genres, and was later revised twice by the Indian Army bandmasters Bajan Singh and H. Joseph.