Politics of Ethnic Conflict in Bhutan: a Nepalese Perspective for The
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Politics of Ethnic Conflict in Bhutan: A Nepalese Perspective Dissertation Submitted to the Central University of Punjab For the Award of the Degree of Master of Philosophy In South and Central Asian Studies (including Historical Studies) BY Balinder Singh Supervisor Dr Bawa Singh (Assistant Professor) Department of South and Central Asian Studies (Including Historical Studies) School of Global Relations Central University of Punjab, Bathinda December 2017 Declaration I declare that the dissertation entitled “Politics of Ethnic Conflict in Bhutan: A Nepalese Perspective,” has been prepared by me under the guidance of Dr Bawa Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of South and Central Asian Studies, School of Global Relations, Central University of Punjab. No part of this dissertation has formed for any award of any degree or fellowship. Balinder Singh Department of South and Central Asian Studies, School of Global Relations, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda-151001. Date: i CERTIFICATE I certify that Balinder Singh has prepared his dissertation entitled “Politics of Ethnic Conflict in Bhutan: A Nepalese Perspective,” for the award of M.Phil. Degree at Central University of Punjab under my guidance. He has carried out this work at Department of South and Central Asian Studies, School of Global Relations, Central University of Punjab. Dr Bawa Singh Assistant Professor Department of South and Central Asian Studies, School of Global Relations, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda- 151001. ii ABSTRACT Politics of Ethnic Conflict in Bhutan: A Nepalese Perspective Name of the Student: Balinder Singh Registration Number: 15mphsca08 Degree for which submitted: M.Phil. Name of Supervisor: Dr Bawa Singh Centre: South and Central Asian Studies (Including Historical Studies) School of Study: Global Relations Keywords: Ethnic Conflict, Lhotshampa, Ngalong, Bhutan Nepal Relations, Resolution Ethnic Conflict. Driglam-Nam-Za, Gross National Happiness Bhutan is one of the most contemporary additions to the world’s democracies. For over a century the nation had been run by kings of the Wangchuck dynasty. But, in 2001, a fundamental change was announced by the fourth king. Bhutanese society is multi-ethnic, being composed of several distinct communities whose differences rest on ethnicity, profession, social structure, beliefs, and values. The people consist of so-called indigenous groups as well as immigrants from neighbouring countries, namely Nepal, India, Myanmar (Burma) and Tibet (China). The Bhutanese people (Ngalong) have been imposing their own culture as the core value of the nation and also dominate the socioeconomic and political elite and decision-making institutions of the country. The King’s family belongs to this ethnic group. Lhotshampa, an ethnic group of Nepalese origin, had been migrated to Bhutan since the 19th century. These people have been practising the Hinduism. This ethnic group has been facing discrimination from Bhutan's ruling class for decades. The ethnic crisis has been constitutionalized given the adoption of discriminatory policies such as one nation one people policy, one language policy, Citizenship Act (1985), assimilation of the culture, depriving of socio-economic opportunities for Lhotshampa ethnic group. The policy promoted the ruling class's language and religion Lamaistic Buddhism favouring the Ngalong Drukpa ethnic group over the ethnic group in question. As a result, the tension has risen between the native and ethnic groups led to a Bhutanese ethnic crisis. It left indelible imprints on the Bhutan-Nepal relations. Later on, these two countries engaged in diplomatic engagements to sort out the ethnic crisis. Now the current status of the Lhotshampa refugee has been sorted out. However, a small number of refugees are still a bone of contention between both the countries. Name & Signature of Student Name & Signature of Supervisor iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The journey of research, which has culminated into the present dissertation, is the outcome of collaborative support from my guide, teachers, and colleagues. First of all, I would be very thankful for Nature, which enables me to complete this challengeable work. At the same time, I would like to thank my adorable grandparents and parents, my father Gurcharan Singh and my mother Mander Kaur, who always have given me encouragement for completing this task. I am very indebted to my supervisor Dr Bawa Singh, who has made invaluable guidance in planning and finalizing the research work. The dissertation would not be possible without his relentless support, encouragement, constructive criticism and worthy advice at the right time and in the right direction. I am also heartily thankful to Dr Nishtha Kaushiki, Dr Sudheer Singh, Dr Vikas Rathhe, and Dr Ashwani Kumar for their kind assistance and suggestions for completing this study. Moreover, I greatly extend my thanks to Dean, School of Global Relations, Prof (Dr). Ramakrishna Wusirika, for his motivational guidance. I am very thankful to my fellow research-scholars Rohit Kumar, Rupinder Kouni, Hushiar Singh, Vikram Singh, Harkirat, Gitesh, Manish, Akhil, Jawar Singh and Sandeep Kaur for making the journey of M.Phill a memorable one. I am also thankful to Ph. D. scholar friends Satinder Singh, Sunny Kumar, Sandeep Bhatti and Bhupinder Singh for their words of encouragement. I am also thankful to my friends from outside the academic circle of the university Manpreet, Amrik, Lakha and Yadi Dandiwal who supported a lot during my research journey. A special vote of thanks goes to my beloved Baljinder Kour who inspires me to work hard and achieve all the glories of the world for both of us. Last but not the least, I would also like to thank the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda administration, workers and library staff for providing essential facilities for completing my research work. Name & Signature of Student iv Contents Declaration .............................................................................................................. i CERTIFICATE ......................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... iv List of Figures ........................................................................................................ vii List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................. viii GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................ x 1. Introduction and Review of Literature .............................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Bhutan’s Monarchy Rule (1907-2007) ....................................................... 3 1.3 Political Transformation: Dream of Democracy ......................................... 4 1.4 Bhutan’s Ethnic Problem ........................................................................... 5 1.5 Constitutionalizing the Ethnic Conflict........................................................ 7 1.6 Nepalese Perspective................................................................................ 8 1.7 Review of Literature................................................................................... 9 1.8 Knowledge Gap ....................................................................................... 16 1.9 Relevance of the Study ........................................................................... 16 1.10 Objective ................................................................................................. 17 1.11 Methodology ............................................................................................ 17 2. A Socio Profile of Bhutan: An Overview ......................................................... 18 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 18 2.2 Bhutan: Ethno-Demographic Characteristics ........................................... 19 2.3 Bhutanese Social Structure ..................................................................... 20 2.4 Ethnic Groups in Bhutan .......................................................................... 22 2.4.1 Brugpa and Dukpas .......................................................................... 24 2.5 Bhutanese Political Structure .................................................................. 26 2.6 Bhutanese Economic Structure ............................................................... 28 2.7 Bhutanese Cultural Practices .................................................................. 30 2.7.1 Bhutanese Religious Practices ......................................................... 32 2.7.2 Language .......................................................................................... 34 2.8 History of Nepalese Settlement ............................................................... 35 2.9 Lhotshampas Migration and Assimilation in Bhutan ................................ 37 2.9.1 Ngalong ............................................................................................ 39 2.9.2 Sharchops ........................................................................................