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The Lhotshampa or Lhotsampa people are a heterogeneous Bhutanese people of Nepalese descent. "Lhotshampa", which means "southern borderlanders" in Dzongkha, began to be used by the Bhutanese state in the second half of the twentieth century to refer to the population of Nepali origin in the south of the country. After being displaced as a result of the state-run ethnic cleansing and living in refugee camps in eastern parts of Nepal, starting in 2007 most of the Bhutanese Refugees were resettled to various countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. As of 2021 the number of Lhotshampa in Nepal is significantly lower than that in the United States and other countries where they have resettled. People of Nepalese origin started to settle in uninhabited areas of southern Bhutan in the 19th century.
Bhutan's early history is steeped in mythology and remains obscure. Some of the structures provide evidence that the region has been settled as early as 2000 BC. According to a legend it was ruled by a Cooch-Behar king, Sangaldip, around the 7th century BC, but not much is known prior to the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism in the 9th century, when turmoil in Tibet forced many monks to flee to Bhutan. In the 12th century, the Drukpa Kagyupa school was established and remains the dominant form of Buddhism in Bhutan today. The country's political history is intimately tied to its religious history and relations among the various monastic schools and monasteries.
Bhutan has diplomatic relations with 54 of 193 member states of the United Nations and the European Union. Bhutan's limited number of such relations, including the absence of formal relations with any of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, is part of a deliberate isolationist policy of limiting foreign influence in the state. This stance has been safeguarded by close relations with India, of which Bhutan has previously been considered a protected state.
Travellers and Magicians is a 2003 Bhutanese Dzongkha-language film written and directed by Khyentse Norbu, writer and director of the arthouse film The Cup. The movie is the first feature film shot entirely in the Kingdom of Bhutan. The majority of the cast are not professional actors; Tshewang Dendup, a well-known Bhutanese radio actor and producer, is the exception.
Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked South Asian country situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous country, Bhutan is known locally as "Druk Yul" or "Land of the Thunder Dragon", a name reflecting the cultural heritage of the country. The exonym Bhutan likely derives from the Prakrit hybrid word Bhŏṭṭaṃta, a name referring to its geographical proximity to Tibet (Bhŏṭṭa). Nepal and Bangladesh are located near Bhutan but do not share a border with it. The country has a population of over 727,145 and a territory of 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi) and ranks 133rd in land area and 160th in population. Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy with a king as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government. Vajrayana Buddhism is the state religion and the Je Khenpo is the head of the state religion.
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, also known as Khyentse Norbu, is a Tibetan/Bhutanese lama, filmmaker, and writer. His five major films are The Cup (1999), Travellers and Magicians (2003), Vara: A Blessing (2013), Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait (2017), and Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache (2019). He is the author of What Makes You Not a Buddhist (2007) and many other non-fiction works about Tibetan Buddhism.
Bhutanese refugees are Lhotshampas ("southerners"), a group of Nepali language-speaking Bhutanese people. These refugees registered in refugee camps in eastern Nepal during the 1990s as Bhutanese citizens who fled or were deported from Bhutan during the protest against the Bhutanese government by some of the Lhotshampas demanding human rights and democracy in Bhutan. As Nepal and Bhutan have yet to implement an agreement on repatriation, most Bhutanese refugees have since resettled to North America, Oceania and Europe under the auspices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Many Lhotshampa also migrated to areas of West Bengal and Assam in India independently of the UNHCR.
Immigration to Bhutan has an extensive history and has become one of the country's most contentious social, political, and legal issues. Since the twentieth century, Bhutanese immigration and citizenship laws have been promulgated as acts of the royal government, often by decree of the Druk Gyalpo on advice of the rest of government. Immigration policy and procedure are implemented by the Lhengye Zhungtshog Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Department of Immigration. Bhutan's first modern laws regarding immigration and citizenship were the Bhutanese Citizenship Act 1958 and subsequent amendments in 1977. The 1958 Act was superseded by the Bhutanese Citizenship Act 1985, which was then supplemented by a further Immigration Act in 2007. The Constitution of 2008 included some changes in Bhutan's immigration laws, policy, and procedure, however prior law not inconsistent with the 2008 Constitution remained intact. Bhutan's modern citizenship laws and policies reinforce the institution of the Bhutanese monarchy, require familiarity and adherence to Ngalop social norms, and reflect the social impact of the most recent immigrant groups.
Numerous ethnic groups inhabit Bhutan, but the Ngalop people who speak the Dzongkha language constitute a majority of the Bhutanese population. The Bhutanese are of four main ethnic groups, which themselves are not necessarily exclusive – the politically and culturally dominant Ngalop of western and northern Bhutan, the Sharchop of eastern Bhutan, the Lhotshampa concentrated in southern Bhutan, and Bhutanese tribal and aboriginal peoples living in villages scattered throughout Bhutan.
Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Bhutan, covering about 22.6% of the population, according to the Pew Research Center 2010. It is followed mainly by the ethnic Lhotshampa. The Shaivite, Vaishnavite, Shakta, Ganapathi, Puranic, and Vedic schools are represented among Hindus. Hindu temples exist in southern Bhutan, and Hindus practice their religion in small- to medium-sized groups. About 75% of the population of Bhutan are Buddhist.
Bhutanese nationality law is the law governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of Bhutanese citizenship. The Bhutanese Citizenship Act of 1985 was introduced by the Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck, on June 10, 1985, modifying the definition of a Bhutanese citizen. The Act was implemented as part of a new national policy of Driglam Namzha, national customs and etiquette. Because of its emphasis on Bhutanese culture, the Act is also referred to as the "One Nation, One People Act." The 1985 Act was amended by the Immigration Act of 2007 and then superseded in 2008 by the Constitution of Bhutan insofar as previous laws are inconsistent; where not inconsistent, the provisions of the 2007 Act, the 1985 Act, and previous Acts relating to immigration continue in effect.
Nepalese New Zealanders or Nepali New Zealanders are citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand whose ethnic origins are fully or partially in Nepal.
Nepal is home to 40,490 refugees officially recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Indian, Tibetan and Bhutanese refugees account for a large majority of Nepal’s refugee population.
Slavery in Bhutan was a common legal, economic, and social institution until its abolition in 1958. In historical records, unfree labourers in Bhutan were referred to as slaves, coolies, and serfs. These labourers originated mostly in and around Bhutan, Assam, and Sikkim, and were the backbone of Bhutan's pre-money feudal economy.
Nepalese in the Netherlands consists of immigrants, expatriates and international students from Nepal to the Netherlands as well as Dutch people of Nepalese origin. As of 2010, statistics of the Dutch Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek shows that there are about 1,505 people of Nepalese origin living in the country.
Bhutanese Americans are Americans of Bhutanese descent. According to the 2010 census there are 19,439 Americans of Bhutanese descent. However, many Nepali-Bhutanese came to the U.S. via Nepal as political refugees from that country and are registered as Nepali Americans; often leading to the actual numbers of Bhutanese Americans being underreported. More than 92,323 Bhutanese Nepalis have been resettled in the United States, with the largest single community being approximately 27,000 in Columbus, Ohio.
Bhutanese Nepali literature refers to the literary works in the Nepali language by Bhutanese people. This started from 1962 with the publishing of Kuensel.
Ethnic cleansing in Bhutan refers to acts of violence to remove the Lhotshampa, or ethnic Nepalis, from Bhutan. Inter-ethnic tensions in Bhutan have resulted in the flight of many Lhotshampa to Nepal, many of whom have been expelled by the Bhutanese military. By 1996, over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees were living in refugee camps in Nepal. Many have since resettled in Western nations.
Bhutan and the United States have no formal diplomatic relations, but relations between the two nations are viewed as "friendly and close", due to shared values between the two countries. The increasingly close relationship between India and the U.S. has also helped to improve U.S.–Bhutanese relations.
Pawo Choyning DorjiDruk Thuksey is a Bhutanese filmmaker and photographer. His feature directorial debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2019) was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. His second film The Monk and the Gun (2023) was shortlisted for the Best International Feature Film for the upcoming 96th Academy Awards.
References
- ↑ Deepesh Das Shrestha (19 November 2015). "Resettlement of Bhutanese refugees surpasses 100,000 mark". UNHCR.
A core group of eight countries came together in 2007 to create this opportunity for Bhutanese refugees to begin new lives: Australia (5,554), Canada (6,500), Denmark (874), New Zealand (1002), the Netherlands (327), Norway (566), the United Kingdom (358) and the United States of America (84,819).
- ↑ Nicole Hoellerer (2017), "Multiple Belongings in Refugee Resettlement: A Study of Bhutanese Refugees in the UK", St Antony's International Review , St Antony's College,
About 350 Bhutanese refugees have been resettled through the UK's Gateway Protection Programme since 2010.
- ↑ "Bhutanese refugees in Nepal". European Resettlement Network. 2013.
Since 2007, 8 resettlement countries – Australia (3,837), Canada (5,296), Denmark (724), the Netherlands (326), New Zealand (710), Norway (546), the United Kingdom (257) and the United States (63,400) – have together resettled over 75,000 Bhutanese refugees from the camps in Nepal.
- ↑ "Press Statement : US Ambassador Randy Berry visits Bhutanese Refugee Settlements". ReliefWeb. 29 April 2019.
The other countries offering resettlement for Bhutanese refugees are Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
- ↑ Deepesh Das Shrestha (March 30, 2011). "For Bhutan's refugees, there's no place like home". Human Rights Watch.
To mark these milestones, the governments that have generously welcomed Bhutanese refugees and offered them citizenship - the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, hopefully joined by India and other regional players - should now press Bhutan at least to allow elderly refugees to spend their remaining days in their homeland.
- ↑ "Britain welcomes 37 Bhutanese refugees". Zee News. August 12, 2010.
- ↑ Liana E. Chase (2014), "Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies (ANHS)", The Bhutanese Refugee Resettlement Experience: A Workshop Report Report (Volume 34 ed.), Macalester College,
On the first day of the workshop, a group of resettled Bhutanese refugees reflected on their own migration trajectories in the UK. Their accounts covered expectations and triumphs as well as struggles and disappointments.
- ↑ "Indian designers hope Britain's royal couple wear 'desi' on India visit". Big News Network. 7 April 2016.
She seemed to have made quite a 'diplomatically' impressive decision when she chose to wear an India-born designer's creation when she had to welcome Indian and Bhutanese expats who live, work and study in Britain to Kensington Palace in London.
- ↑ Priya Joshi (14 April 2016). "Royals seek advice from Chevening Scholars". Chevening Scholarship.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, have been seeking advice from Chevening Scholars ahead of their upcoming trip to India and Bhutan.
- ↑ Priya Joshi (11 April 2016). "Kate Middleton and Prince William receive travel advice ahead of royal tour to India and Bhutan". International Business Times .
The royals invited a group of Bhutanese and Indian students enrolled on the FCO's Chevening Scholarship Programme, the UK's international awards scheme aimed at developing global leaders to meet them at a reception at their Kensington home for a chat ahead of their trip.
- ↑ "Khyentse Norbu". Five Flavours Film Festival. 2019.
- ↑ Nicole Hoellerer (2013). "Refugee Resettlement in the UK: Bhutanese refugees in Greater Manchester" (PDF). Cambridge University.
- ↑ Justine L. Lewis (2020). "Social Capital: Supportive of Bhutanese Refugees' Integration in the United States" (Volume 21 ed.). Journal of International Migration and Integration.