Policies of the Government

Bhutan’s propaganda of Gross National Happiness as a measure of its population’s overall well-being is a naked lie to the international community when one-sixth of its citizens are forced into exile and those of their kiths in Bhutan are systematically oppressed and uprooted from their birth place. 

For centuries, all the Bhutanese ethnic groups have lived in perfect communal and religious harmony. There had never been any instances of ethnic conflict, communal or religious clash at the level of the public; and compassion, tolerance, fraternal spirit, co-operation and compromise had been the basic value of the Bhutanese society. But the citizens of Bhutan are suffering for generations from feudal absolutism that has always reigned. The social structure of Bhutan is clearly demarcated.  East is the home of Sharchhokps, Northwest is dominated by the Ngalongs and the south by the Lhotshampas (Nepali speaking people). The minority groups, which do not have any representation in the National Assembly or elsewhere, are totally ignored.  

Bhutan also pretends that it promotes good governance. But, there are no civil, political, economic, religious and cultural rights enjoyed by the people. Formation of parties, associations and organizations are banned. Only those belonging to the Royal families, a few fortunate from the higher community enjoy fullest privileges. The Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB) restricts freedom of speech and the press, restricted freedom of assembly and association. Any attempt by the suppressed groups to assert themselves and move against the absolutism, rampant discrimination and injustice encounters severe resistance.  

Till 1950s the people speaking Dzongkha in the north and people speaking Tshangla   in the east and the people speaking Nepali in the south were cut off from each other. The idea behind this, then, was to completely restrict the Nepalis within south alone so that they do not interact with other communities and foster brotherhood. There is no evidence of even King's official visit to the south till 1956. Sometimes the representatives of the government used to visit the south that would demand too many things and harass the Mukhtiars (head of the Mondals) and Mondals (head of the Gewogs (Blocks).  

Haunted by the freedom movement that swept the globe in 1980s, resulting in the end of totalitarian systems in Eastern Europe and erstwhile Soviet Union, the development that took place in Sikkim during 1973-75, the Gorkha movement in Darjeeling and the Jana–Andolan in Nepal in 1989-90, the Bhutanese regime systematically designed its policies to stifle the possibility of the democratic movement in future.   The first targets were the foreign nationals working mostly in the education department and elsewhere who were overnight demoted and deported in 1987.  

The other threat perceived was from the southern community, as they comprise of the educated people with greater exposure to India owing to geographical proximity and open Indo-Bhutan border. Hence, the utterly biased, racially discriminatory 1985 Citizenship Act was introduced in 1987-88, which is no less than a prescription for statelessness. This was followed by promulgation of 'Driglam Namza', among other tools of harassment, in 1988-89.  

The Law of Bhutan has 17 main articles arranged alphabetically. The Rule of Law is as simple as “verdict first investigation afterwards”. The implementation of "One Nation, One People" policy with the elusive dress code of enforcing Driglam Namzhag (Feudal Court Etiquettes) created political uncertainty of the common society.  Those trying to voice against such unjust and draconian policies were labelled with the tag of criminals or branded as anti-nationals.  

Driglam Namza 

The Driglam Namza is traditionally the religious etiquette and stipulations of the monastic order.  This has made mandatory to all the citizens.  Therefore, citizens, irrespective of their age-old traditions, culture and religion are compelled to follow dress-code of the Drukpa-Kagyugpa, religious culture and adopted as national costume by the ruling dynasty with slight modifications; 'Gho' for men and 'Kira' for women and learn to speak Dzongkha and follow the social etiquette of Drukpa Kagyugpa sect of Mahayana Buddhism. In the same year learning of Nepali language was withdrawn from the school syllabus and Dzongkha was made further compulsory and knowledge in Dzongkha became the criteria for appointments of civil servant, granting of loans and other facilities.  

The Nepali speaking communities usually selected their spouses outside Bhutan because of the rough terrain and inadequate infra-structural development within the country, thereby hindering travel of these people. To curtail this trend, the Marriage Act was introduced in 1980. As per this Act, a Bhutanese who marries a foreigner would be denied promotions if he/she is a government servant and would be denied economic and educational assistance. To further complicate the situation and to compel the southern Bhutanese of Nepali origin to leave the country "One nation One People" and "Green Belt Policy" was also introduced along the southern frontiers. Besides the intents of cultural assimilation, this was to weed out the ethnic Nepali. More protective but discriminatory measures were enacted in a rush. When these policies were implemented, thousands of southern Bhutanese suddenly became illegal immigrants.  

Green Belt policy 

During the period RGOB enacted the 1985 Citizenship Act targeting the southern Lhotshampas population, with the objective of denationalising as many of them as possible. The RGOB even planned a ‘Green Belt’  forestation scheme policy in the heavily populated and agriculturally rich belt of south Bhutan, aiming to displace the southern population. 

Under afforestation policy, the RGOB decided to create a green belt on all lands falling within a radius of 1 to 5 kilometres along the Indo-Bhutan border. This policy would have destroyed the kingdom’s only fertile lands and created food shortages. It would have also deprived the southern farmers of their ancestral lands. Opposition to this policy was spontaneous. The real motive of RGOB was to destroy the economic, social, culture and political unity of the southern people.  

In 80s the RGOB introduced a new term 'Lhotshampas' for the ethnic Nepali people of the south.  These communities which in literal term denotes all the people living in south Bhutan and does not protect the language, ethnicity and customs, who have for generations been defending the frontiers and contributing to the socio-economic development of the country. It is a sinister ploy to underplay the ethnic consciousness of the people and gradually exterminate their ethnic identity. Government efforts to institute policies designed to preserve the cultural dominance of the Ngalong ethnic group; to change citizenship requirements, and to control "illegal immigration" resulted in political protests, ethnic conflict, and repression of ethnic Nepali in the southern districts during the late 1980s and early 1990s.  Since 1998 the Government began resettling Buddhist northeners from other regions of the country on land in southern districts forcefully vacated by the ethnic Hindu Nepalese living in refugee camps in Nepal.

Cultural diversity enriches a nation. One nation One People was blatantly enforced upon multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious communities. With its implementation, cultural pluralism in Bhutan was banned and the language, dress and culture of the western Bhutanese ruling elites was made mandatory and imposed on all the citizens.