Lhotshampa
ल्होत्साम्पा ལྷོ་མཚམས་པ་ | |
---|---|
The Lhotshampa or Lhotsampa (
History
The first small groups of Nepalese emigrated primarily from eastern Nepal under British auspices in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The government traditionally attempted to limit immigration and restrict residence and employment of Nepalese to the southern region.
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.[11]
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.[12][13] Second, the government removed Nepali as a language of instruction in schools in favor of Dzongkha, the national language.[10] This alienated the Lhotshampa, many of whom knew no Dzongkha at all.
Expulsion
Since the late 1980s, over 100,000 Lhotshampa have been forced out of
Culture
Traditionally, the Lhotshampa have been involved mostly in sedentary agriculture, although some have cleared forest cover and conducted tsheri and
.Language
Lhotshampas speak Nepali as their first language.
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
Nepali words in Bhutan and Nepal
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
- Tek Nath Rizal, Bhutanese politician
- Indra Adhikari, journalist
- Mangala Sharma, human and women's rights activist
- Hiranyamayee Lama, politician
- Loknath Sharma, politician
- Jai Bir Rai, politician
- Dilliram Sharma Acharya, Bhutanese poet in Nepali language
- Biren Basnet, footballer
- Khare Basnet, footballer
- Hemlal Bhattrai, footballer
- Mon Bhattrai, footballer
- Dhan Bahadur Biswa, footballer
- Dinesh Chhetri, footballer
- Hari Gurung, footballer
- Karun Gurung, footballer
- Man Bahadur Gurung, footballer
- Puspalal Sharma, footballer
- Diwash Subba, footballer
- Anju Gurung, women's cricketer
See also
- Ethnic cleansing in Bhutan
- Tek Nath Rizal
- Goldhap Refugee Camp
- Beldangi refugee camps
- Immigration in Bhutan
- Demographics of Bhutan
- Ethnic groups in Bhutan
Notes
References
- UNHCR. 2004. Archived from the originalon 16 October 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-7546-7238-8.
- ^ Frelick, Bill (1 February 2008). "Bhutan's Ethnic Cleansing". New Statesman, Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ Mishra, Vidhyapati (28 June 2013). "Bhutan Is No Shangri-La". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
- ^ 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.
- . Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-85668-199-8.
- ^ "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.
- ^ ISBN 0-8444-0777-1. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Timeline: Bhutan". BBC News online. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "Background Note: Bhutan". U.S. Department of State Archive. October 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Country profile – Bhutan: a land frozen in time". BBC News online. 9 February 1998. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "Bhutan country profile". BBC News online. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "Bhutan (10/08)". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ISBN 0-7425-4972-0.