India, Nov. 18 -- Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi's latest visit to Bhutan - his fourth in 11 years - unfolded against the backdrop of the extraordinary Global Peace Prayer Festival, the largest gathering of its kind in the kingdom. The presence of the Sacred Piprahwa Relics from India lent the occasion a deep spiritual resonance. The visit was equally substantive: Three new memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were concluded, a fifth hydropower project inaugurated, and a Rs.4,000-crore line of credit announced to advance Bhutan's energy ambitions. The proposed rail links between the two countries signal an integration that aims to carry the partnership confidently into the future.

But beneath this, lies another unfolding story - that o...