Lhotshampa: Origins and Settlement in Bhutan

The Lhotshampa (Dzongkha: "southern borderlanders") are an ethnic group of predominantly Nepali origin who inhabit the southern foothills and lowlands of Bhutan. Their presence in Bhutan dates primarily to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the Bhutanese government actively encouraged and organized the settlement of Nepali-speaking laborers in the sparsely populated subtropical southern regions to clear land for cultivation and generate tax revenue.^[1]

The Lhotshampa transformed large areas of previously uncultivated jungle in southern Bhutan into productive agricultural land, making significant contributions to the country's economy. By the 1930s, the Lhotshampa population had grown to an estimated 60,000, and by the 1988 census they comprised a substantial minority of Bhutan's total population. Their story is inseparable from the broader narrative of Bhutanese nation-building, the Bhutanese refugee crisis, and the contested politics of citizenship and belonging in modern Bhutan.

Earliest Contacts

The earliest recorded presence of Nepali-origin people in Bhutan dates to approximately 1620, when Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal commissioned Newar artisans from the Kathmandu Valley to craft a silver stupa for his father, Tempa Nima. This episode demonstrates early contact between Bhutan and Nepal, but it did not result in permanent settlement. Historical records contain no further significant references to movement of people from Nepal to Bhutan until the 19th century.^[2]

19th-Century Settlement

Systematic settlement of Nepali-speaking people in southern Bhutan began in the latter half of the 19th century. The subtropical lowlands of southern Bhutan — the duars (river valleys and foothills) — were largely uninhabited, covered in dense forest, and known for malaria and other tropical diseases. The Drukpa population of northern and central Bhutan, accustomed to temperate highland conditions, had little interest in settling these inhospitable regions.

During this period, contractors working on behalf of the Bhutanese government began recruiting Nepali-speaking settlers, primarily from eastern Nepal, to clear the forests and establish agricultural communities in the south. The settlers were attracted by the availability of free land and the opportunity to escape population pressures and limited agricultural land in Nepal's hill districts. Settlement was organized through the Bhutan House in Kalimpong, a trading outpost in British India that served as the Bhutanese government's primary point of contact with the outside world.^[3]

Early 20th-Century Expansion

Settlement accelerated in the early decades of the 20th century. Many Lhotshampa families trace their arrival in Bhutan to the period between 1890 and 1920, and many possess land grant documents and tax receipts from the Bhutanese government dating to this era. In the 1930s, the Bhutan House in Kalimpong settled approximately 5,000 Nepali families in the Tsirang district alone, demonstrating the scale of organized settlement during this period.^[4]

By 1930, British colonial officials estimated that approximately 60,000 people of Nepali origin were living in southern Bhutan, having brought much of the southern lowlands under cultivation. The settlers grew rice, maize, cardamom, and citrus fruits in the fertile subtropical soil, transforming the region from undeveloped forest into productive agricultural land that contributed significantly to the Bhutanese economy.

Legal Status and Integration

The Bhutanese Nationality Law of 1958 granted citizenship to Nepali-origin residents who had lived in Bhutan for at least ten years and owned agricultural land. This law was seen as a recognition of the Lhotshampa community's contributions and their established presence in the country. Under this framework, many Lhotshampa obtained formal Bhutanese citizenship and were integrated into the national political structure.

Lhotshampa representatives were included in the National Assembly (Tshogdu) from its early years, and prominent Lhotshampa citizens held positions in the civil service and local administration. The Nepali language was taught in southern schools, and Lhotshampa cultural practices were generally tolerated alongside the dominant Drukpa Buddhist culture of northern Bhutan.

Growing Tensions

By the 1980s, the rapid population growth of the Lhotshampa community — fueled by both natural increase and continued immigration from Nepal — created anxiety among the Drukpa establishment about the demographic balance of the country. The 1985 Citizenship Act significantly tightened the requirements for Bhutanese nationality, requiring proof of residence in Bhutan prior to 31 December 1958. This retroactive standard was difficult for many Lhotshampa to meet, as documentation from that era was scarce.^[5]

The 1988 census in southern Bhutan, which classified residents into seven categories ranging from "genuine Bhutanese" (F1) to "non-national" (F7), became a flashpoint. Many long-established Lhotshampa families found themselves reclassified as illegal immigrants. The simultaneous imposition of the Driglam Namzha cultural code, which required all citizens to adopt the Drukpa dress code and customs, deepened resentment in the south.^[6]

Displacement

Between 1988 and 1993, amid political unrest, protests, and government crackdowns, an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 Lhotshampa left or were expelled from Bhutan, ending up in refugee camps in southeastern Nepal. This mass displacement — approximately one-sixth of Bhutan's 1988 population — constitutes one of the largest per-capita refugee crises in modern history. The causes and circumstances of this displacement remain deeply contested between the Bhutanese government, which characterizes the departed Lhotshampa as illegal immigrants, and the refugees and international organizations, which describe the events as ethnic cleansing.^[7]

Terminology

The term "Lhotshampa" literally means "people of the south" or "southern borderlanders" in Dzongkha (lho = south, tsham = border, pa = people). The term came into use by the Bhutanese state in the second half of the 20th century as a collective designation for the ethnically diverse Nepali-origin population of southern Bhutan. The community itself is not monolithic — it includes people of various Nepali-speaking ethnic groups, including Brahmin, Chhetri, Gurung, Rai, Limbu, and Tamang, as well as some communities of Indian origin.^[8]

References

1. Wikipedia. "Lhotshampa." en.wikipedia.org.
2. Wikipedia. "Lhotshampa." en.wikipedia.org.
3. Minority Rights Group International. "Lhotshampas in Bhutan." minorityrights.org.
4. Wikipedia. "Lhotshampa." en.wikipedia.org.
5. Wikipedia. "Bhutanese Nationality Law." en.wikipedia.org.
6. Wikipedia. "Ethnic Cleansing of Lhotshampa in Bhutan." en.wikipedia.org.
7. The Diplomat. "Bhutan's Dark Secret: The Lhotshampa Expulsion." thediplomat.com.
8. EthnoMed. "Nepali-Speaking Bhutanese." ethnomed.org.