The resettlement of over 84,000 Bhutanese refugees in the United States has led to the establishment of Hindu religious institutions serving the diaspora, most notably the Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization (GBHO) and its Om Center Divya Dham in Galion, Ohio.
The resettlement of over 84,000 Bhutanese refugees in the United States since 2007 has led to the establishment of Hindu religious institutions serving the Lhotshampa diaspora community. The majority of Bhutanese refugees are Hindu, and maintaining religious practice in the diaspora has become a significant aspect of community identity and cultural preservation. The most prominent institution is the Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization (GBHO) and its headquarters, the Om Center Divya Dham in Galion, Ohio, which hosted approximately 50,000 attendees at a major religious gathering in July 2025.[1]
Background
The Lhotshampa of southern Bhutan practiced Hinduism as their primary religion, maintaining temples, observing festivals, and following traditions rooted in the Vedic Sanatan Dharma tradition. When tens of thousands were expelled from Bhutan in the early 1990s, religious practice continued in the refugee camps in Nepal, where community mandirs (temples) served as gathering places.
Upon resettlement in the United States, Bhutanese Hindus initially participated in worship at existing South Asian Hindu temples in their new cities. However, cultural and linguistic differences — the Bhutanese Hindu community speaks Nepali rather than Hindi, Tamil, or other South Asian languages common in established Indian American temples — and the desire to maintain specifically Bhutanese traditions led to the development of community-specific religious spaces.
Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization (GBHO)
The Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization was established as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with the mission of creating "a unified platform for the Hindu American Bhutanese/Nepali diaspora, fostering collaboration in the preservation and propagation of Vedic Sanatan Dharma." It was founded by Kamal Dhimal along with 108 founding members and has grown to become the largest religious organization of the Bhutanese diaspora.[2]
Om Center Divya Dham
On July 14, 2022, GBHO purchased 150 acres of land at 4270 State Route 309, Galion, Ohio, for approximately $2 million. The property — comprising rolling farmland, forest, two lakes, natural springs, and a river — was designated as the future world headquarters of GBHO and named the Om Center Divya Dham. The choice of rural Ohio reflects the significant Bhutanese-American population in the state, particularly in the Columbus metropolitan area, which is home to an estimated 30,000 Bhutanese-Nepali residents.
The 2025 Vishwa Shanti Gyan Mahayagya
From July 16 to July 23, 2025, GBHO held the Vishwa Shanti Gyan Mahayagya (Great Spiritual Offering for World Peace and Wisdom) at the Om Center Divya Dham. The seven-day ceremony drew an estimated 50,000 attendees from across the United States and abroad, making it one of the most significant Bhutanese-American religious gatherings in history.[1]
The event featured:
- 175 officiating priests, including 35 female priests from the community and abroad
- Daily recitation of Vishnu Sahasranama by hundreds of children
- Vedic chant recitations and readings from sacred scriptures including the Vedas, Rudri, Chandi, Bhagwat, and Gita
- The lighting of 1.5 crore (15 million) oil lamps to honor souls lost during the Bhutanese conflict
- Installation of an 11-foot copper Kalash symbolizing divine abundance
- A life-sized replica of a refugee camp hut, commemorating the refugee experience
- Free health assessments for over 300 attendees and a blood donation drive collecting 49 pints
Memorial Dimension
The Mahayagya included a significant memorial component. The gathering honored 67 Bhutanese individuals who were reported killed or disappeared during the mass expulsions of the early 1990s. This combination of religious ceremony with commemoration of political violence reflected the intertwined nature of religious identity and refugee experience in the Bhutanese Hindu diaspora. The Global Campaign for the Release of Political Prisoners in Bhutan (GCRPPB) also participated in the event, raising awareness about Bhutanese political prisoners.[3]
Local Mandirs and Community Worship
Beyond the GBHO's national-scale project, Bhutanese Hindu communities across the United States maintain smaller worship spaces and community mandirs in cities with significant Bhutanese populations. These include informal worship rooms in community centers, rented spaces used for regular puja (worship services) and festival observances, and in some cases purpose-built or converted prayer halls. Cities with notable Bhutanese Hindu religious activity include Columbus, Ohio; Akron, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; and various cities in Texas and the Midwest.
Religious observances commonly maintained in the diaspora include Dashain (Vijaya Dashami), Tihar (Deepawali), Teej, Janai Purnima, and other festivals from the Hindu calendar. These events serve a dual function as both religious observances and community gathering occasions.
Role in Diaspora Identity
Hindu religious institutions play a multifaceted role in the Bhutanese-American community. They serve as spaces for worship, cultural transmission to younger generations, community organizing, and collective memory. For a population whose religious identity was part of the basis for their marginalization and expulsion from Bhutan — where the state promoted a Buddhist national identity through policies like Driglam Namzha — the free practice and public celebration of Hinduism in America carries particular significance.
The GBHO's emphasis on preserving "Vedic Sanatan Dharma" positions the organization within a tradition that predates the refugee crisis, connecting the diaspora community to a religious heritage that transcends their specific political displacement. At the same time, events like the Mahayagya's memorial for victims of the expulsions demonstrate that religious practice and political memory remain closely linked in the community.
See Also
- Lhotshampa
- Bhutanese Americans
- Bhutanese Language Schools in the Diaspora
- Statelessness and the Bhutanese Refugee Crisis
References
- Faith, Unity, and Legacy: The Mahayagya That Brought a Diaspora Together — Bhutanese Literature
- Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization (GBHO) — Official Website
- GCRPPB Raised Awareness on Bhutanese Political Prisoners During Vishwa Shanti Gyan Mahayagya — Bhutan News Network
- Galion, Ohio Hosts Historic Bhutanese Hindu Gathering — New Americans Magazine
- Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization — GuideStar Profile
See also
Association of Bhutanese in America
The Association of Bhutanese in America (ABA) is a national umbrella organisation for the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese-American community, the great majority of whom are Lhotshampa refugees resettled in the United States from 2008 onwards. It coordinates among dozens of city-level community-based organisations, runs an annual national convention, and has become a visible civic voice during the 2025 ICE deportations of Lhotshampa green-card holders.
diaspora·10 min readGlobal Bhutanese Hindu Organization
The Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization (GBHO) is a national non-profit umbrella body of Bhutanese Hindus in the United States and the wider Bhutanese-Hindu diaspora. It is headquartered at the Om Center Divya Dham, a 150-acre property in Galion, Ohio, acquired in 2022 through a community-loan fund raised by 108 founding members who each advanced US$20,000 at 1% APR over five years.
diaspora·27 min readBhutanese Community in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh hosts one of the largest Bhutanese refugee communities in the northeastern United States, with an estimated population of 8,000 to 10,000 concentrated in Beechview, Carrick, Brookline and the South Hills. The community is organised around the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh (BCAP), co-founded in 2010 by Khara Timsina, and has become a visible presence in the city's immigrant-revitalised neighbourhoods.
diaspora·9 min readCensus of Bhutan 1988
The Census of Bhutan 1988 was a national population survey conducted in southern Bhutan that became one of the most controversial administrative exercises in the country's history. The census introduced a classification system using categories F1 through F7 to categorise residents according to their perceived nationality and citizenship status. Its implementation led to the mass reclassification of Lhotshampa (ethnic Nepali-speaking Bhutanese) as non-nationals, directly precipitating the Bhutanese refugee crisis of the 1990s.
diaspora·6 min readCountries That Accepted Bhutanese Refugees
Eight countries participated in the third-country resettlement program for Bhutanese refugees from Nepal between 2007 and 2023. The United States accepted the vast majority — over 90,000 individuals — while Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom collectively resettled an additional 23,000.
diaspora·7 min readBhutanese Community in South Carolina
A small Lhotshampa Nepali-speaking population resettled in the Upstate and Midlands of South Carolina from 2008 onward through Lutheran Services Carolinas in Columbia and World Relief in Spartanburg, in a state with a much smaller refugee footprint than neighbouring North Carolina and Georgia.
diaspora·9 min read
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