The Bipolar Kingdom of Bhutan

Bhutan, the isolated Buddhist kingdom nestled between India and China, is celebrated as a cultural treasure and one of the “happiest” places on earth. Bhutan’s government famously measures success in terms of “Gross National Happiness” instead of Gross National Product. A closer look at the kingdom’s political climate, however, reveals some disturbing realities about the country hailed by many as “the last Shangri-La,” as Bhutan has generated one of the largest numbers of refugees in the world in proportion to its population.

Bhutan’s population encompasses several ethnic groups, including the Lhotshampa, who began to migrate from Nepal in the late 19th century. The Bhutanese government encouraged immigration, hoping to turn lightly populated southern Bhutan into the country’s main food supplier. The number of Nepalese immigrants mushroomed to over 60,000 people by 1930. With annual growth rate of 2 to 3%, Nepalese expatriots constituted nearly half Bhutan’s population by the 1980s. At this time, ethnic Bhutanese and their government began to regard the Lhotshampa as a threat to the political order, precipitating the current crisis. Thousands of southern Bhutanese have been imprisoned and tortured, and more than with 100,000 have been forced into refugee camps in neighboring countries.

The conflict evolved slowly. In 1958, Bhutan passed its first citizenship act, granting the entire Southern Bhutanese population full citizenship and security. The economic importance of the south grew sharply after 1961, as the government promoted major hydro-electric power projects that fueled the Bhutanese economy. Despite economic growth, the old divides endured -- southerners did not settle in the north, and there was very little interaction between two parts of the country until the 1960s, when new social and educational programs encouraged integration. Some Southern Bhutanese citizens even came to occupy influential positions in the bureaucracy.

Efforts toward integration stalled in the 1980s, when the government became alarmed by the growing illegal immigration of Nepalese and the failure of long-term immigrants to acculturate into the country’s political and cultural mainstream. Most immigrants could not understand the local language and knew very little about Bhutanese culture. Seeing these divisions as a threat to Bhutanese unity, the government began to promote the kingdom’s cultural identity with a “One Nation One People” policy. It made Dzonghka the official language while discontinuing Nepali as a school subject. A national dress code public places was instituted, as was the observance of the Dringlam Namzha, the national code of etiquette. Human rights groups criticized the policies as prejudicial to Bhutan's Nepalese migrant community.

In 1988, the government conducted its first real census. Those who could not prove their residency prior to 1958 were classified as illegal immigrants. Untrained census officials often assigned residents to arbitrary categories, ranging from "Genuine Bhutanese" to "Non-nationals, Migrants and Illegal Settlers." In some cases members of the same family received different designations. The chaotic census and the new cultural regulations alienated even bona fide citizens of Nepali descent. The southern border of Bhutan saw intensifying ethnic conflict. The government classified individuals who participated in public demonstrations against the new policies as “anti-nationals.” Several thousand Southern Bhutanese went to prison for many months in awful conditions, usually without trial or formal charges. When released, many found that their families had fled the kingdom and their houses had been destroyed.

The crises climaxed in 1990, when over 10,000 ethnic Nepalese organized by the Bhutan People’s Party marched in protest, burning down schools, attacking government officials, and kidnapping and murdering fellow ethnic Nepalese who refused to join the protest. The government detained some protest leaders, banned the party and deported individuals with ties to the groups responsible for murders and kidnappings. Meanwhile, many innocent Southern Bhutanese of Nepali origin were coerced to flee by hard-line Nepali dissidents.

At first, southern Bhutanese refugees fled to India. When the Indian government turned them back, they moved into eastern Nepal. In Bhutan, repression against suspected dissidents and innocent Southern Bhutanese continued into the early 90s. As the successive annual censuses revoked an increasing number of citizenships, the flow of refugees turned into a cascade, with up to 600 people fleeing per day in mid-1992. By year’s end, nearly 100,000 refugees were living in camps administered by the UNHCR in Nepal’s two southeastern districts.

Of the estimated 100,000 Southern Bhutanese who lost their homes and livelihoods between 1990 and 1993, not a single one has yet been allowed to return. The Bhutanese government coerced thousands of refugees into signing alleged “voluntary migration” certificates, but has tacitly admitted that some of the refugees are in fact bona fide citizens, illegally expelled from Bhutan. Despite frequent governmental meetings, Bhutan has resisted Nepal’s calls for international arbitration and India has refused to take part in what it sees as a bilateral conflict.

Meanwhile, repression in Bhutan continues. Ethnic Nepalese have been dismissed from government service. The southern Bhutanese who remain in Bhutan continue to endure severe discrimination. Since 1991, the government has required southern Bhutanese to carry “No Objection Certificates” stating their non-involvement (as well as that of their families) in any “anti-national” activities. This certificate is almost impossible to obtain, yet is necessary for access to schools, business licenses, and government services.

In 2000, under pressure from the international community, Bhutan and Nepal agreed to commence a “verification exercise,” to screen refugees in one of the camps. The results of the process were announced in 2003: 75% of the refugees in the screened camp were found to be eligible to return to Bhutan, under various conditions described below:
• Category 1 (2.5% people) were eligible to return to Bhutan as citizens, but not to their original houses and lands
• Category 2 (70.5%) would have to reapply for citizenship under the terms of the 1985 Citizenship Act after a probationary period of two years spent in a closed camp in Bhutan.
• Category 3 (24.2%) were termed as Non-Bhutanese. They would have the right to appeal the results of the verification.
• Category 4 (2.8% people) included relatives of those to be charged with criminal acts. They would be detained in a designated camp.

A scuffle among angry and frustrated refugees resulted in injuries to a few Bhutanese members of the verification team. The team returned to Bhutan and the repatriation process has since been stalled.

In 2006 Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk assumed the throne Bhutan. It is not known how his corantation will impact the crisis. The Bhutanese refugees remain nationless and in limbo in their crowded camps.



Hostility and violence between refugees favoring third country resettlement and those who insist on repatriation has become an increasingly serious problem. Meanwhile, some 35,000 Bhutanese refugees still live outside of the camps, in both Nepal and India, without the protection of UNHCR and without offcial status in the countries where they currently reside. The southern Bhutanese who remain in Bhutan also face an uncertain future, with continuing discrimination and the possibility of exclusion from the emerging democratic process outlined in Bhutan’s new constitution.

For those thousands of innocent ethnic Nepalese from southern Bhutan, no end to their tragedy is in sight.