Editing Lhotshampa (section)

== History ==

=== Early immigration ===
The first small groups of Nepali emigrated primarily from eastern Nepal under British auspices in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.<ref name="USLCCS">{{cite book |last1=Worden |first1=Robert L. |last2=Savada |first2=Andrea M. |title=Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies |chapter=Chapter 6: Bhutan - Ethnic Groups |edition=3rd |year=1991 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/nepalbhutancount00sava/page/424 424] |publisher=Federal Research Division, [[United States Library of Congress]] |isbn=0-8444-0777-1 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/nepalbhutancount00sava/page/424 |access-date=2 October 2010 }}</ref> 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 [[United Kingdom|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.<ref name="BBCtl">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1171693.stm |title=Timeline: Bhutan |date=5 May 2010 |publisher=BBC News online |access-date=1 October 2010}}</ref> 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 ===
The government traditionally attempted to limit immigration and restrict residence and employment of Nepali to the southern region.<ref name="USLCCS" /> Liberalization measures in the 1970s and 1980s encouraged intermarriage and provided increasing opportunities for public service.<ref name="USLCCS" /> The government allowed more internal migration by Nepali seeking better education and business opportunities.<ref name="USLCCS" /> 

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.<ref name="USLCCS" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35839.htm|title=Background Note: Bhutan|publisher=U.S. Department of State Archive|date=October 2008|access-date=January 15, 2023}}</ref>

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 [[Ngalop people|Ngalong]] majority.<ref name=bbc98>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profile/54627.stm |title=Country profile – Bhutan: a land frozen in time|date=9 February 1998|publisher=BBC News online|access-date=1 October 2010}}</ref><ref name=bbc10>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/1166513.stm|title=Bhutan country profile |date=5 May 2010 |publisher=BBC News online |access-date=1 October 2010}}</ref> Second, the government removed Nepali as a language of instruction in schools in favor of [[Dzongkha]], the national language.<ref name=BBCtl/> This alienated the Lhotshampa, many of whom knew no Dzongkha at all.

=== Expulsion ===
{{main|Ethnic cleansing in Bhutan|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 [[The Statesman (India)|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]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Franz |first=T. |date=1992-07-01 |title=The dragon bites its tail |url=https://www.himalmag.com/cover/the-dragon-bites-its-tail |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=Himal Southasian |language=en}}</ref> 

In 1990, violent ethnic unrest and anti-government protests in southern Bhutan pressed for greater democracy and respect for [[minority rights]].<ref name="BBCtl" /> That year, the [[Bhutan Peoples' Party]], whose members are mostly Lhotshampa, began a campaign of violence against the Bhutanese government.<ref name="BBCtl" /> 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:<blockquote>"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"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frelick |first=Bill |date=2008-02-01 |title=Bhutan's ethnic cleansing {{!}} Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2008/02/01/bhutans-ethnic-cleansing |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/bhutan/110948.htm|title=Bhutan (10/08)|website=U.S. Department of State|access-date=14 March 2016}}</ref>