The Land of Thunder Dragon

v Introduction

Bhutan is a landlocked mountainous kingdom between two giants China and India, the land of thunder dragon, with area of 38,117 sq. Km and population of approx. 8 lakhs. Thimphu is the Capital city of Bhutan; major religion is Buddhism & national game Archery. 72% of land is covered by forest, constitution has law of keeping at least 60% of land as forest in future. It is the only carbon neutral country (In fact carbon negative) in the world. Basic education and health facilities are all free in Bhutan. The country which measures its development by happiness index, worlds happiest nation. The first road was only paved in 1961. There is no traffic light in whole country. Tshering Tobgay is the prime minister and Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (The King since 2006: Former king was Jigme Sigme wankchuk). In 1994, one of the glacier lake bursts causing devastating flood (Biggest calamities). Agriculture is major occupation. Hydroelectricity is important source of economy, exporting electricity to neighboring country like India. Bhutan’s white gold “Water”. Big hydropower projects are ongoing. Tobacco and plastic is completely banned here. Television and internet were banned till 2001 in Bhutan. Polygamy is not illegal, but same sex marriage is illegal. Bhutan ranks 25^th on corruption perception index. They call it the last Shangri-La, tourism is not very much encouraged limiting <3000 tourist per year and charge high $300 per day. Its compulsory to wear their cultural clothes and speak national language (Cultural preservation).

v Bhutan Conflict

o   Initially, in 1620, few Newari craftsmen from Kathmandu were called by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (Bearded Lama/ unifier of Bhutan) to make a silver stupa to contain the ashes of his father. Since then, people of Nepalese origin started to settle in uninhabited areas of southern Bhutan. The south soon became the country's main supplier of food. Bhutanese of Nepalese origin “Lhotshampas” were flourishing along with the economy of Bhutan. Settlement in Bhutan of many people from Nepal happened in the early 20th century.

o   The numbers of new immigrants were swelling. Amnesty was given through the Citizenship Act of 1958 for all those who could prove their presence in Bhutan for at least 10 years prior to 1958. On the other hand, the government also banned further immigration in 1958 but due to poor governance and large scale immigration continued as construction workers for making road (Thimphu-Phuntsholing highway) or in other way.

o   Perceiving this growing dichotomy as a threat to national unity as well as greater Nepal movement fear, the government promulgated directives in the 1980s that sought to preserve Bhutan's cultural identity "One Nation, One People" policy by making compulsory to wear Driglam Namzha and speak Dzongkha as the national language. Nepali was discontinued as a subject in the schools. The government, for its part, perceived that free Nepali-language education had encouraged illegal immigration into southern Bhutan.

o   The Citizenship Act of 1985 clarified and attempted to enforce the Citizenship Act of 1958 in order to control the flood of illegal immigration. In 1980, the government conducted its first real census exercise. The basis for census citizenship classifications was the 1958 "cut off" year, the year that the Nepali population had first received Bhutanese citizenship. Those individuals who could not provide proof of residency prior to 1958 were adjudged to be illegal immigrants.

o   Its major concern was to avoid a repeat of events that had occurred in 1975 when the monarchy in Sikkim was ousted by a Nepalese majority in a plebiscite and Sikkim was absorbed into India. Government also was afraid that the large influx of Nepalese might lead to their demand for a separate state in the next ten to twenty years, in much the same way as happened in the once-independent monarchy of Sikkim in the 1970s.

o   Early 1990s: People (Bhutan Peoples Party) began protest/armed, government declared them as terrorist and imprisoned them, tortured and forced to fill voluntary migration form. Bhutan government targeted this community, & it came under military rule. Besides government, non-Lhotshampa ethnic group also started fighting against them. There are report of arrest, rape and torture. Schools, hospitals, business and post offices in the south were forced to close and many lost their jobs. After this, much of the community began to leaving en-masses in 1990 and 1991. They ran away from Bhutan to India where they were not welcomed, and they finally came to Nepal. Nepalese government and UNHCR jointly helped to establish 7 refugee camps in Jhapa.

o   The debate about the future of the community during this time was heated and occasionally violent, with some favoring repatriation in Bhutan, and others favoring integration in Nepal, and still others favoring third-country resettlement. Third-country resettlement only emerged as a serious option in 2007. This is a choice available to members of the refugee community who are registered at the camps. Resettlement is not forced. In the beginning, this choice was very controversial, in part because those who supported a return to Bhutan believed third-country resettlement undermines the political movement to return to Bhutan. Those who are among the first to choose resettlement in 2007 often did not speak publicly about their choice before they left out of fear of retribution. As more have left, the choice is becoming more accepted. Still, it’s important to recognize that families continue to agonize over whether it is the right choice for them. 
The United States has agreed to resettle the most refugees, and Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands are also accepting significant numbers of refugees.