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1. Historical Background
Bhutan is a landlocked country, some 47,000 square kilometer
large nestling against the majestic Himalayan range with China to its north and
India flanking all the other sides. It is famous for its lama Buddhist religion
and culture. The present King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck ascended the throne
at the age of 16 in 1972.[9]
1.1 Population and Ethnicity
In 1991 the Bhutanese Government estimated its population at 600,000. Refugee
leaders dispute this, placing the figure at between 700,000 and 800,000,[10]
for the Government's figure implies that the refugees in Nepal and India are not
of Bhutanese nationality. When Bhutan joined the United Nations in 1971,
however, the Government gave the population figure as 1.2 million, while the
1990 Statistical Yearbook of Bhutan gave the total population as 1,461,853.[11]
Nevertheless the dispute over the total population figures is peripheral.
The bone of contention remains the Nepali-speaking population
in the south. The official figures are 20 per cent Ngalongs, the ruling ethnic
group, 37 per cent Sarchops and 30 per cent Nepali-speakers. Refugee leaders
prefer 53 per cent Nepali-speakers, 31 per cent Sarchops and 16 per cent
Ngalongs.[12]
The Ngalongs, of Tibetan origin, speak Dzongkha and
adhere to Mahayana Buddhism which is the State religion. The Sarchops, of
Indo-Mongoloid descent, are also Mahayana Buddhists and speak their own
language, Tsangla. The Nepali-speakers live the southern belt and are referred
to by the Government of Bhutan as Lhotshampas,[13]
that is, people who live in the south. While some still speak their own
languages, Nepali would be the common language among all. The Lhotshampas are
mainly Hindus, although with some Buddhists among them.[14]
Historical accounts place immigration of the Lhotshampas to
Bhutan at the turn of this century, and their population was estimated at about
60,000 in 1932.[15]
This would substantiate refugee claims that the population numbered about
200,000 by the mid- or late 1980s. The refugees contend that roughly half the
southern population is now in refugee camps in Nepal.
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