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Lhotshampa

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The Lhotshampa or Lhotsampa (Nepali: ल्होत्साम्पा; Tibetan: ལྷོ་མཚམས་པ་, Wylie: lho-mtshams-pa) people are a heterogeneous Bhutanese people of Nepali descent.[5] The Lhotshampa were estimated to comprise around 35% of the Bhutan's population by the U.S. Department of State as of 2008.[6] The Lhotshampa are predominantly Hindu and Buddhist too, who speak the Nepali language.[7]

Lhotshampa
ल्होत्साम्पा
ལྷོ་མཚམས་པ་
Lhotshampa refugees in Beldangi camp in Nepal. The man is holding a Bhutanese passport.
Total population
242,000[1][2][3][4]
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Religion
(Minority)
Related ethnic groups
Indo-Aryans:
Bahun, Chhetri, Khas people, Newar people
Tibeto-Burman:
Newar people, Kirati people

People of Nepali origin started to settle in uninhabited areas of southern Bhutan in the 19th century.[8] The term "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.[9] By the 1990s, over 100,000 Lhotshampa had been forcibly displaced and removed from Bhutan.[10]

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.[11][failed verification]

History

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Early immigration

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The first small groups of Nepali emigrated primarily from eastern Nepal under British auspices in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[12] The beginning of Nepali immigration largely coincided with Bhutan's political development: in 1885, Druk Gyalpo Ugyen Wangchuck consolidated power after a period of civil unrest and cultivated closer ties with the British in India.

In 1910, the government of Bhutan signed a treaty with the British in India, granting them control over Bhutan's foreign relations.[13] The actual immigrants registered and settled through the agent from Kalimpong, Raja Ugen Dorji and (son) Raja Sonam Togbay Dorji started in the reigns of the second and third kings. Immigrants from Nepal and India continued to enter Bhutan with an increase from the 1960s when Bhutan's first modern five-year plan began, many arriving as construction workers.

1960s-present

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The government traditionally attempted to limit immigration and restrict residence and employment of Nepali to the southern region.[12] Liberalization measures in the 1970s and 1980s encouraged intermarriage and provided increasing opportunities for public service.[12] The government allowed more internal migration by Nepali seeking better education and business opportunities.[12]

In the 1980s and 1990s, the most divisive issue in Bhutan in the 1980s and early 1990s was the accommodation of the Nepali Hindu minority.[12] In 1988, the government census recategorized people with Nepali heritage as illegal immigrants. Local Lhotshampa leaders responded with antigovernmental protests demanding citizenship and damaged government institutions.[14]

In 1989, the Bhutanese government enacted reforms that directly impacted the Lhotshampa. First, it elevated the status of the national dress code of the Driglam namzha from recommended to mandatory. All citizens including the Lhotshampa were required to observe the dress code in public during business hours. This decree was resented by the Lhotshampa who complained about being forced to wear the clothing of the Ngalong majority.[15][16] Second, the government removed Nepali as a language of instruction in schools in favor of Dzongkha, the national language.[13] This alienated the Lhotshampa, many of whom knew no Dzongkha at all.

Expulsion

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Main articles: Ethnic cleansing in Bhutan and Bhutanese refugees

Since the late 1980s, over 100,000 Lhotshampa have been forced out of Bhutan, accused by the government of being illegal aliens. Between 1988 and 1993, thousands of others left alleging ethnic and political repression.

In a 1992 interview with the Calcutta Statesman, Bhutanese foreign minister Dawa Tsering stated that an increase in the country's Nepali population would lead the country to become "another Sikkim and Darjeeling".[17]

In 1990, violent ethnic unrest and anti-government protests in southern Bhutan pressed for greater democracy and respect for minority rights.[13] That year, the Bhutan Peoples' Party, whose members are mostly Lhotshampa, began a campaign of violence against the Bhutanese government.[13] In the wake of this unrest, thousands fled Bhutan. Bill Frelick of Human Rights Watch reported that state security forces forcibly removed ethnic Lhotshampa from their homes and coerced them into renouncing their citizenship. A refugee accounted that:

"The army took all the people from their houses... As we left Bhutan, we were forced to sign the document. They snapped our photos. The man told me to smile, to show my teeth. He wanted to show that I was leaving my country willingly, happily, that I was not forced to leave"[18]

Many of them have either entered Nepal's seven refugee camps (on 20 January 2010, 85,544 refugees resided in the camps) or are working in India. According to U.S. State Department estimates in 2008, about 35% of the population of Bhutan is Lhotshampa.[6]

Culture

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Traditionally, the Lhotshampa have been involved mostly in sedentary agriculture, although some have cleared forest cover and conducted tsheri and slash and burn agriculture.[12] The Lhotshampa are generally classified as Hindus. However, this is an oversimplification as many groups that include Tamang and the Gurung are largely Buddhist;[19] the Kiranti groups that include the Rai and Limbu are largely animist followers of Mundhum (these latter groups are mainly found in eastern Bhutan). Whether they are Hindu or Tibetan Buddhist, most of them abstain from beef, notably those belonging to the orthodox classes who are vegetarians. Their main festivals include Dashain and Tihar.

Language

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Main article: Nepali language
 
Political Map of Bhutan showing most districts (missing Gasa District). The people of Lhotshampa are located in the Southern part of Bhutan, in Samchi, Chirang and Geylegphug.

Lhotshampas speak Nepali as their first language. Samchi, Chirang and Geylegphug are southern dzongkhags that have a large Lhotshampa community where most people speak Nepali. In southern Bhutan, Nepali used to be taught in the school and was spoken and written in these areas. However, this changed during the 1980s when there was racial conflict between Nepali in Bhutan and Bhutanese. Since then, Nepali is only taught in the home and has become a spoken language in Bhutan. Thus, some Nepali speakers from southern Bhutan cannot read or write in Nepali. Currently, Nepali is the first language for most southern Bhutanese and most people use it in their home. Also, Nepali is most commonly used in school outside of the classes.

Nepali in Bhutan is different in the rural areas and Thimphu. Also, some Nepali words are used differently in Bhutan than Nepali in Nepal.

Vocabulary differences

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Nepali words in Bhutan and Nepal

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English Nepali in Bhutan (Lhotshamkha) Nepali in Nepal
Brother Daju Dai/Daju
Dirty Maila Phor/Maila
Door Dailo Dhoka/Dailo
Pea Matar Kerau/Matar
Shop Dokan pasal/Dokan
Throw Phag Phal/phyak
Vegetable Sabji Tarkari/sabji
Vehicle Gadi Motor/Gadi
Wait Parkhi parkhi/Parkha
Window Khirkey jhyal

Notable Lhotsampas

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See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Population of Lhotshampas in Bhutan". UNHCR. 2004. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  2. ^ Adelman, Howard (2008). Protracted Displacement in Asia: No Place to Call Home. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-7238-8.
  3. ^ Frelick, Bill (1 February 2008). "Bhutan's Ethnic Cleansing". New Statesman, Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  4. ^ Mishra, Vidhyapati (28 June 2013). "Bhutan Is No Shangri-La". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  5. ^   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Worden, Robert L. (1991). Savada, Andrea Matles (ed.). Bhutan: A Country Study. Federal Research Division. Bhutan - Ethnic Groups.
  6. ^ a b "Bhutan (10/08)". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  7. ^ ""We Don't Want to Be Refugees Again": HRW Briefing Paper for the Fourteenth Ministerial Joint Committee of Bhutan and Nepal: II. Background". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 12 June 2024. Bhutan is home to three major ethnic groups: the ruling Ngalongs live in the west, speak Dzongkha, and practice Buddhism; the eastern Sarchops speak Tsangla and practice Buddhism; and the southern Lhotshampas speak Nepali, and are primarily Hindu.
  8. ^ "Background and History: Settlement of the Southern Bhutanese". Bhutanese Refugees: The Story of a Forgotten People. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  9. ^ Nelson, Andrew; Stam, Kathryn (11 August 2021). "Bhutanese or Nepali? The Politics of Ethnonym Ambiguity". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 44 (4): 772–789. doi:10.1080/00856401.2021.1951460. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  10. ^ Rimal, Prasansha (3 February 2022). "Bhutan's shame: why the world must continue to remember the expulsion of ethnic Nepalis". The Record. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  11. ^ Aris, Michael (1979). Bhutan: The Early History of a Himalayan Kingdom. Aris & Phillips. p. 344. ISBN 978-0-85668-199-8.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Worden, Robert L.; Savada, Andrea M. (1991). "Chapter 6: Bhutan - Ethnic Groups". Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies (3rd ed.). Federal Research Division, United States Library of Congress. pp. 424. ISBN 0-8444-0777-1. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  13. ^ a b c d "Timeline: Bhutan". BBC News online. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  14. ^ "Background Note: Bhutan". U.S. Department of State Archive. October 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Country profile – Bhutan: a land frozen in time". BBC News online. 9 February 1998. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  16. ^ "Bhutan country profile". BBC News online. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  17. ^ Franz, T. (1 July 1992). "The dragon bites its tail". Himal Southasian. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  18. ^ Frelick, Bill (1 February 2008). "Bhutan's ethnic cleansing | Human Rights Watch". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  19. ^ Repucci, Sarah; Walker, Christopher (2005). Countries at the Crossroads: A Survey of Democratic Governance. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 92. ISBN 0-7425-4972-0.
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