www.mahidol.ac.th

The Thai monarchy has a unique quality, and that is its adaptability to change, which has enabled it to flourish to this day. It has always shown exceptional compassion, relevance and vitality, particularly in the contemporary world.

The first Thai kings ruled over Sukhothai, the first integrated Thai kingdom founded almost 800 years ago. It was during the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great [1275-1317] that the ideal of a paternalistic ruler originated. Markedly different from the concept of divine right practised by the Khmers of that time, the ideal implies that the ruler be alert to the needs of his people and aware of the fact that this duty was to guide them.

This paternalistic ideal was at times lost during the long Ayutthaya period, when Khmer influence regarding kingship reappeared and the monarch became a lofty, inaccessible figure, rarely seen by most citizens. Nevertheless, the four-century era witnessed the reigns of some remarkable rulers, whose achievements were far-reaching.

With the founding of the Royal House of Chakri (Chakri Dynasty), in 1782, and the establishment of Bangkok as the capital, kingship was based primarily on adherence to the Buddhist concept of virtue. The Bangkok period produced a succession of unusually able rulers, capable of meeting a variety of challenges both to the country and to the monarchy itself.

Though it had lasted longer than most others in the world, largely due to wise rule by Chakri kings, the country's absolute monarchy finally came to an end on June 24, 1932, when a small group of civil servants and military officers staged a bloodless coup and demanded a constitution. King Prajadhipok (Rama VII), who in any case was already thinking along such lines himself and had already drafted a constitution which had been debated in the Supreme Council of State, agreed an d thus became the first constitutional monarch. Three years later, unhappy with some of the results, he decided to abdicate; his nephew Prince Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII), then a 10-year-old student in Switzerland, was chosen to f ollow him as eighth in the Chakri line.

Early Years

The man who has reigned longer than any previous Thai monarch and has earned such remarkable devotion from his subjects seemed far from the throne at the time of his birth in 1927 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. King Prajadhipok still ruled at the time, and any children he might have would be first in succession. There was also his father, Prince Mahidol of Songkla, then studying medicine at Harvard University, as well as his older brother Prince Ananda Mahidol. The future King Bhumibol Adulyadej appea red likely to spend a more or less ordinary life, no doubt influenced by his father's strong determination to use his education and social position to improve public welfare, but doing so in relative obscurity.

Fate, however, determined otherwise. Prince Mahidol died in 1929, and the abdication of King Prajadhipok followed in 1935. For the first 11 years of his rule, the young King Ananda Mahidol remained mostly in Switzerland with his mother, sister, and y ounger brother, pursuing his studies while effectively cut off from his homeland by the World War. In 1946 he died in the Grand Palace while on a visit, and Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej, then 19 years old, suddenly found himself the ninth Chakri King. He subsequently returned to Luzern to complete his education, changing from science to political science and law in recognition of his new role.

Two years later, while on a visit to Fontainebleau, he met the beautiful young Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara, daughter of the Thai ambassador to France, HRH Prince Nakkhatrmongkol Kitiyakara, Krommamun Chandapuri Suranath, and in 1948 their engagem ent was announced by the Government.

They were married in Bangkok on April 28, 1950, and seven days later His Majesty was crowned in ancient ceremonies held at the splendid Grand Palace from which his ancestors had ruled the kingdom. He himself, characteristically, has chosen to take as his official Bangkok residence the more modest Chitralada Villa, while steadfastly adhering to the momentous Oath of Succession to the Throne pledged during the coronation:

"We will reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the Siamese people."

As a man, King Bhumibol Adulyadej has displayed a remarkable range of talents. He is a gifted musician and composer, particularly in the field of jazz; one of his songs was featured in a Broadway musical in the early 1950's and his skills have been a cknowledged by such masters as Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton. He was an enthusiastic sailor in the early years of his rule and won the Southeast Asia Peninsula Games gold medal in 1967. In addition, he can point to impressive achievements in the fiel ds of painting, photography, and engineering. Thanks to his international education and upbringing, he is fluent in three European languages and at ease in a variety of cultures. Undoubtedly, though, posterity will remember him most for his accomplishm ents as leader of Thai nation during a critical period in its history.

The Forging of a Modern Monarchy

Despite the panoply of time-honoured ritual that attended his coronation and the reverence felt by all Thais for the monarchy as an institution-scarcely dimmed even after the 1932 Revolution-King Bhumibol Adulyadej was actually confronted by an unprecedented challenge at the time he began his rule: how to fashion a concept of kingship that met the needs of a repidly changing society, at once traditional and creatively modern. It was a challenge as urgent as any faced by Chakri kings of the past, and the manner in which he has met it has truly defined his greatness as a ruler.

Perhaps the most important step taken by His Majesty in the process was his decision to bring the monarchy into direct contact with the provincial population. Despite the efforts of previous rulers, this had not been really feasible in the past, largely due to difficulties of travel outside the central region. It was not until 1927, after opening of the northern railway line, that the people of Chiang Mai saw their monarch for the first time, and only a few towns along the southern coast had been honoured with a royal visit. Following the abdication of King Prajadhipok, there was a period of nearly 20 years when the King was a remote personage to the vast majority of Thais, a face in a photograph or a name on an official proclamation. Many of them went about their daily lives in almost total isolation, little affected by events in far-off Bangkok and as a result, often feeling ignored by those in power.

Generally regarded as a milestone in altering this situation is the trip made by King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1955, when he became the first ruler to visit the northeastern provinces, traditionally the poorest and most neglected in the country, with poor roads and hamlets that became all but inaccessible in the rainy season. Together with Queen Sirikit, he spent 22 arduous days touring the region, observing at first hand the problems of the people and talking with the enthusiastic crowds who walked for miles from obscure villages just to catch a glimpse of their king. The warmth of their greeting was unmistakable; so, too, was the extent of their needs as revealed in the conversations His Majesty had with those he met.

Typically, before such a visit the consults maps, aerial photographs and remote sensing to acquaint himself as thoroughly as possible with the topographical and social features of the general area. Once there he talks with resident monks and farmers, as well as government officials, soliciting first-hand information on community needs and aspirations. By comparison with the ceremonial atmosphere that surrounds royal appearances in Ban gkok, these are remarkably informal sessions, with much of the initial are felt by villagers soon diminishing in actual contact with a ruler who clearly both listens and cares about their problems.

Often assisted by other members of the Royal Family, the King takes careful notes and later initiates steps to provide assistance, always working through the appropriate government agencies but sometimes using his own funds in the early stages to help a project get off the ground. He later established the Chai Pattana Foundation to help provide initial or emergency financial support for subsequent development projects. He never simply issues a directive: the impe tus comes from the local population, who must agree with the proposal and cooperate to see that it is successfully implemented.

Over 1,000 small-scale "royally-suggested" projects have been started in this way, covering the whole spectrum of rural problems in Thailand, from the introduction of new crops to water conservation, from swamp drainage to the preservation of national forests. In all, the aim has been sustainable development, serving not only immediate needs but also those of future generations by conserving the present environment and seeking to restore areas that have already suffered from misuse. Some of these projects, notably those involving crop substitution, have proved so successful that the United Nations hopes to emulate them in other countries facing similar problems.

One of the earliest and most innovative was His Majesty's Hilltribe Development Project in the North, now known as the Royal Project and encompassing lowland areas as well. The migratory tribal people who live in the mountainous region that forms Thailand's borders with Laos and Myanmar had been an increasing problem to the government, partly due to their slash-and-burn technique of clearing land, thus leading to widespread destruction of the native forest, and partly to their traditional cultivation of opium poppy, base material for heroin production. The Royal Project sought to address these problems and also to improve the lives of the tribal groups, who actually derived a bare subsistence income from their role in the international dr ug trade.

The programme has introduced a wide variety of crops-among them such temperate-zone plants as coffee, peaches, apricots, strawberries, lychees, apples, and chrysanthemums - which bring larger profits than opium and provided assistance in both methods of growing and marketing; in addition, it has brought educational and medical facilities to permanent settlements. The results can be seen clearly not only in tribal communities who have joined the project but also in the supermarkets of Bangkok and in the numerous new export products.

International recognition of the Royal Project's effectiveness has come in many forms, including financial grants and expert assistance by several foreign governments. In 1988, it was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, in the area of international understanding.

In the Northeast, where drought is a perennial problem, reserviors and other water-storage facilities were built and alternative crops tested to increase the income of farmers. Swamp drainage has been a concern of royal initiated projects in southern Thailand, together with land reclamation and preservation of mangrove forests. In a number of experimental centres set up at His Majesty's initiative near the Gulf of Thailand, various agencies are demonstrating ways that surrounding villagers can improve crop yields in the sandy soil; important new sources of income like the breeding of fresh-water prawns in ponds have also been introduced with notable results.

In recent decades an alarming proportion of Thailand's native forest cover has been lost, through both indiscriminate logging operations and the need for more agricultural land by an expanding population. Among the harmful results are increased erosion and a decrease of watershed resources, as well as destruction of the natural habitat of many wildlife species. Several of His Majesty's projects are seeking to relieve this situation through reafforestation, impro vement of existing farmlands, the planting of commercial fruit orchards, and programmes aimed at educating the public on the importance of preserving those forests that remain. Their Majesties have also spearheaded efforts to raise certain endangered species of wildlife in captivity and then release them in protected areas in the hope of saving them from extinction.

A much-publicized undertaking to help Thai farmers, one made possible through His Majesty's support in its early stages, has been the Royal Rain-Making Project. Through years of experimentation, 14 different chemical formulae have been devised for varying conditions of weather, location, and topography; specially-equipped planes use these to seed clouds in areas suffering from lack of rain, with results so successful that several neighbouring countries have called on Thai experts to he lp them with similar problems.

Such projects have not only brought enormous benefits to Thailand's rural population but have also given the monarchy a new image, linking it more intimately with the lives of ordinary Thais than ever before. The King is not merely a symbolic figure, reigning from a distant capital; he is a trusted ally working closely with them in the ancient struggle for a better life. The pictures of him and other members of the Royal Family that are displayed in homes and business establishments all over the country are thus signs of deep affection as well as reverence for an institution.

King Bhumibol Aduyadej's agricultural interests are evident even at his residence in Bangkok. On the grounds of Chitralada Villa--within plain view of passers-by--are fields of experimental rice, a herd of dairy cattle, and a plant to manufacture powdered milk. As long ago as 1952, His Majesty had large fish ponds dug in the compound, which he stocked with a fast-breeding variety known as tilapia nilotica obtained from Japan. When these proved adaptable to Thai conditions, spec imens were presented to villagers throughout the kingdom, thus providing a significant new addition to the provincial diet. In 1965, Japanese Crown Prince Akihito gave His Majesty 50 fish of a different type and these, too, were bred in Chitralada ponds. Given the Thai name pla nil by the King, they were distributed through the Department of Fisheries and have proved extremely popular with farmers. Today, some 16 countrywide fishery stations rear over 10 million pla nil annually.

Also in Bangkok, King Bhumibol Adulyadej has provided the impetus for clearing and improving the Makkasan Swamp, a large body of water formerly clogged with water hyacinth in the centre of the capital. At the King's suggestion the swamp is being dredged, provided with exit channels, and transformed into a useful part of the city's flood control system.