Professor Dr. Michael Hutt, who was until recently Professor of Nepali and Himalayan Studies, at the School of Oriental and Africa Studies (SOAS), University of London, is a renowned scholar…
Democracy and Political Prisoners in Bhutan
ABSTRACT The uprising of 1990 in Bhutan was a wake-up call for the Bhutanese monarchy to reform. The King announced in 2005 that the country will have a ‘democratic’ government. He handed…
Bhutanese Refugee Cultural Complex: An Outsider-Insider’s Perspective
ABSTRACT The Bhutanese Refugee Cultural Complex (BRCC), housed in Jhapa in eastern Nepal, is a centre devoted to the memory and study of Bhutanese refugees. As the BRCC develops into a fully functioning centre, it…
Bhutanese Settlement and Community Leadership
ABSTRACT Traditionally, three possible solutions are pursued to address refugee problems globally. These include repatriation of refugees to their country of origin; local integration or third-country resettlement. This article explores further the resettlement option, how…
Integration and Satisfaction Among Resettled Bhutanese in Australia
ABSTRACT Bhutan’s population design out of unfounded fears led to the eviction of over 20% of the country’s population, mostly Nepali speakers. It was not ethnic cleansing. It was Bhutan’s best effort to…
Democracy, Adult Franchise and Public Participation
ABSTRACT Bhutan is now a democracy. This new democracy promotes adult franchise. It conducts periodic elections and has elected members in parliament and government. It has political parties contesting elections. Despite these basics of democracy, the country lacks accountability…
De-Suung: The Orange Army
ABSTRACT What was the need of the Orange Army with strength more than that of the Royal Bhutan Army or the Royal Bhutan Police? The Orange Army called De-Suung (Organisation) and Desuup (members) established in 2010 on the auspicious of the King’s thirtieth birthday is now the largest force in…
Editorial
We offer TBJ Second Issue of BW to readers. It gives us an immense pleasure and satisfaction to some extent. It is the unofficial link between the Bhutanese Diaspora and…
Bhutan confronts China
Bhutan and China have landed into fresh border dispute – this time quietly in an international forum, details of which have started coming out only recently, bit by bit. Indian…
Wamrong case: a litmus test for Bhutanese judiciary
You cannot question the authority for its actions. This was the primary principle of governance in Bhutan for centuries. Post ‘guided democratic’ changes, little has changed to diffuse the perception…