Dasho Arun Kapur
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Dasho Arun Kapur is an Indian-born educationist who founded the Druk Gyalpo’s Institute in Paro and developed the Bhutan Baccalaureate. A board member of Gelephu Mindfulness City, he was conferred the title of Dasho and the Red Scarf by the King of Bhutan in December 2024 — an honour rarely given to non-Bhutanese.
Dasho Arun Kapur is an Indian-born educationist whose four-decade career spans leading schools in India and the design of new educational institutions in Bhutan. He is the founder of the Druk Gyalpo's Institute (DGI) in Paro and the driving force behind the Bhutan Baccalaureate, and serves as a board member of Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC).[1]
In December 2024 King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck conferred on him the honorific title of Dasho, together with the Bura Marp (Red Scarf) and a Patang (ceremonial sword) — a distinction rarely granted to a foreign national.[2]
Education and early career
Kapur holds a Master's degree in history from St Stephen's College, Delhi.[1] He spent the bulk of his early career in Indian school education, heading New Delhi's Vasant Valley School for close to three decades — until 2020 — and building it into one of India's leading schools. He also served as principal of The British School, New Delhi, and as executive director of Learn Today.[3] Beyond mainstream schooling, he founded and chairs Ritinjali, a trust working with underprivileged communities, and founded Pallavan, an education-development programme emphasising diverse learning styles.[1]
Work in Bhutan
Kapur became closely associated with educational reform in Bhutan through his role in establishing The Royal Academy and in developing the Bhutan Baccalaureate, a values-based curriculum designed as an alternative to conventional examination-driven schooling.[4] He went on to found the Druk Gyalpo's Institute in Paro, a leadership- and talent-development institution, and has worked on training systems intended to prepare Bhutanese professionals for leadership roles. His contribution to education in Bhutan has been central to the country's efforts to align schooling with the philosophy of Gross National Happiness.[5]
Gelephu Mindfulness City
Kapur sits on the board of Gelephu Mindfulness City, where he is associated with education and talent development — building advanced training systems to upskill Bhutanese talent for leadership roles in the city's public and private institutions.[1]
Honours
Kapur received the Druk Thuksey medal in 2019 in recognition of his work in setting up The Royal Academy and developing the Bhutan Baccalaureate.[2] On 17 December 2024, at the 117th National Day celebrations in Thimphu's Changlimithang stadium, he was conferred the title of Dasho and the Red Scarf (Bura Marp) — reportedly only the fourth non-Bhutanese ever to receive the honour, and the first foreign national to do so after a hiatus of some 44 years. He has also received the Royal Order of Bhutan.[4]
References
- "Dasho Arun Kapur – Board Member". Gelephu Mindfulness City Authority (primary source).
- "Bhutan confers royal honour on Indian educationist Arun Kapur". ThePrint, December 2024.
- "Bhutan confers royal honour on Indian educationist Arun Kapur". The Economic Times (ET Education).
- "Bhutan Confers Royal Honour On Indian Educationist Arun Kapur". ETV Bharat, 19 December 2024.
- "Dedicated Educator Honoured with Prestigious Red Scarf Award". The Bhutan Live.
See also
Dasho Benji (Paljor J. Dorji)
Dasho Paljor Jigme Dorji, widely known as Dasho Benji, is a Bhutanese conservationist, judge and diplomat born in 1943. He founded the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature in 1987, served as the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Bhutan, and is often described as the founding figure of organised environmentalism in the country.
people·4 min readDasho Paljor J. Dorji
Dasho Paljor Jigme Dorji (commonly known as Dasho Benji) is a Bhutanese environmentalist, jurist, and diplomat who founded the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature (RSPN) in 1987 and spearheaded the creation of the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation. Often called the "godfather of conservation" in Bhutan, he also served as the country's first Chief Justice of the High Court and as Ambassador to the United Nations.
people·4 min readKeiji Nishioka
Keiji Nishioka (1933–1992) was a Japanese botanist and agricultural expert who lived and worked in Bhutan for 28 years, from 1964 until his death in 1992. Known as "Dasho" Nishioka and "Japan Saab" (Mr Japan), he was the first foreigner to receive the Dasho title from the King of Bhutan. He is widely regarded as the "father of modern agriculture" in Bhutan for his transformative contributions to farming, rural development, and bridge construction.
people·7 min readNamgay Tshering
Lyonpo Namgay Tshering is a Bhutanese politician who served as Finance Minister from November 2018 to January 2024 in the Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa government of Lotay Tshering. A public-health professional before entering politics, he represented the Dokar-Sharpa constituency in Punakha, oversaw the COVID-19 fiscal response anchored by the Druk Gyalpo's Relief Kidu, and supervised early preparations for Bhutan's graduation from least developed country status.
people·4 min readTek Nath Rizal
Tek Nath Rizal is a Bhutanese former civil servant and Royal Advisory Councillor whose 1989 arrest, 1993 conviction under the National Security Act, and decade-long detention at Chemgang Central Jail made him the most internationally documented political prisoner in Bhutan's history. Adopted as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and the subject of two opinions of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, he was released under royal amnesty in 1999 and has since lived in Nepal, where he has published memoirs of his detention and remained a contested figure in the Bhutanese refugee movement.
people·10 min readAshi Phuntsho Choden (Royal Grandmother)
Ashi Phuntsho Choden Wangchuck (1911-2003) was the senior queen of the second Druk Gyalpo Jigme Wangchuck and mother of the third king Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, holding the title of Royal Grandmother under the fourth king and remembered for commissioning the National Memorial Chorten in 1974.
people·5 min read
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