Bhutan Revisited: Ethnic Cleansing

"Playing favorites is one of the most damaging problems in any group of people." -Robert Whipple

While God does not show favoritism, mankind often does.  For various reasons, we simply like some people better than others.  Maybe they are smarter, faster, thinner, prettier, funnier, wealthier, or more talented than others.  Or, maybe it's as simple as the fact that they are like me in some way; the same age, gender, race, or background, and I identify with them.  As common as favoritism may be, it often has damaging results, especially when applied to a country as a whole.  When we start valuing one group of people over another, we are paving the way for atrocities and injustice.  This is what is occurring in Bhutan.  While the Holocaust is an extreme example from recent history, there are frightening similarities to the early years of the rise of Nazism and pure blooded Aryans and what is happening in Bhutan with their "one nation one people" policy.  Restricting education by not teaching it in the common tongue of the people.  Only allowing a few the right to vote on issues that affect everyone.  Restricting travel.  Only allowing people of pure descent access to government and corporate jobs or higher education.  These things all occurred in Germany, and they are happening today in Bhutan.  This affects Christians because the government and people of Bhutan think that in order to be Bhutanese, one must be Buddhist.  The government will not even officially recognize Christianity as a legal organization in their country.  This has created many problems for the church and opened a door for persecution. 

While God does not show favoritism, we do know that "the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love" and that "the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry."  God sees what is happening in Bhutan, and He has not forgotten His people.  As we go about our busy lives this month, let us not forget the Christians in Bhutan.  Let us lift them up in prayer so that the Spirit of God may bring them comfort in their troubles, and bless them with favor in all that they do for His kingdom. 


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Bhutan

Basic Info: Bhutan, the land of the Thunder Dragon, is the eastern equivalent of Switzerland.  It is a small country (about half the size of Indiana) located in the eastern Himalaya Mountains and has remained largely isolated from the outside world.  Known as the last Shangri la, this country strictly controls the amount of tourists allowed in and is rated one of the world's happiest countries.  While having few natural resources, they do control several key passages through the mountains. According to the most recent census, the population is estimated at 740,000 people.  Only 35.6% of the population is urban, and only 52.8% are literate.  However, about 560,000 people have cell phones.  When a UN Council recently made recommendations to Bhutan because of concerns raised by member nations, they agreed, or pledged, to implement more than 70 of the 99 recommendations.  This would seem to be an impressive response, but when looking at which recommendations were unanswered, concerns start to rise. Notable recommendations to which Bhutan chose not to give a clear response included abolition of discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity and religion, resolution of the Bhutanese refugee issue, protection of the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, formation of an independent human rights commission and civil society organizations, and ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Ethnicity:  There is a group of people in southern Bhutan called the “Lhotshampas.”  They are part of the nation’s ethnic Nepalese minority. Some of them have become ministers in the Bhutanese church, but many do not even have full citizenship rights due to the on going issue of revising citizenship in Bhutan. This issue dates back to the 1980s and the early 1990s, when Bhutan adopted a “one nation one people” policy and introduced mandatory Driglam Namza, an ancient code of social etiquette practiced by the dominant Ngalop ethnic group, or people from west Bhutan who are of Tibetan origin. The code involves observance of the national dress – the gho, a knee-length robe tied at the waist by a cloth belt, for men; and the kira, an ankle-length dress clipped at one shoulder and tied at the waist, for women – in offices and at public functions.  The schools were also directed during that period not to use the Nepali language as a medium of education, but only the national Dzongkha language and English. In addition, a strict census was held, and later it was claimed that there were thousands of “illegal immigrants” from Nepal in south Bhutan.  This led to a revolt by southerners (many who are of Nepalese descent), which was met with a crackdown leading to an alleged expulsion of over 100,000 Lhotshampas, who subsequently sought asylum in Nepal.  Through a third country resettlement program, 88,770 Bhutanese refugees have been resettled – about 75,000 of them in the United States. Bhutan’s roughly 19,000 Christians, who are mostly southerners but also from other ethnic groups, are also treated like “second-class” Christians.

 In Bhutan, the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs issues citizenship ID cards and there are seven categories. Category 1 is for “genuine Bhutanese citizens.” Category 2 is for southerners who left Bhutan once and then returned; 3 is for those who were not around when the 1988 census was held; 4 refers to non-national women married to Bhutanese men, and their children; 5 is for non-national men married to Bhutanese women, and their children; 6 is for legally adopted children. And category 7 would mean the card holder is a non-national. (Authorities normally categorize a child according to the lowest category to which either of the parents belongs.)  Holders of cards in categories other than 1 and 4 normally do not get the security clearance required for a passport. They cannot get voter ID cards either, which mean they cannot vote. Worse, those who carry category 7 cards, or fall in that category – and there are significant numbers of them – cannot get admission into schools or get government or corporate jobs. They find it difficult to travel even within the country – they get a “route permit” for restricted domestic travel.  While the government is making efforts to grant citizenship to such people, the categorization has created divisions among the southerners, as those with category 1 card think they are superior to those belonging to lower categories. Also, while the Bhutan Citizenship Act of 1985 provides for eligibility criteria for citizenship by naturalization, it states, “The Royal Government of Bhutan also reserves the right to reject any application for naturalization without assigning any reason.” Of Bhutan’s 740,000 people, about 20 percent are Lhotshampas, most of whom are Hindu by religion.


Religion: The state religion is Vajrayana Buddhism, which is Lamaistic Buddhism influenced by Bon (pre-Buddhist animism).  Other religions are barely tolerated and seen as foreign intrusions.  Bhutan was closed to all Christian witness until 1965.  The next 25 years was a brief time when Indian and other expatriates were able to share their witness with the people of Bhutan.  Since 1990, restrictions have increased.  Proselytism and incitement to convert are illegal.  The spread of Christian witness and the potentially "destabilizing" effects on society of proselytism and Western style democracy are the excuses given for the harsh treatment of Christians.  In 2008, the nation's first parliamentary elections were held and a new constitution was adopted. While it guarantees freedom of religion in practice, the attitude of the government and people is if you are Bhutanese, you are Buddhist.   Article 7(15) states that all persons are equal before the law and are entitled to equal and effective protection of the law and shall not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, sex, language, religion, politics or other status.  However, only Buddhists and Hindus are allowed to form organizations to function legally in the country. The Religious Organizations Act of 2007 – the only legislation that provides for the formation of religious groups – says that its main intent is to “benefit the religious institutions and protect the spiritual heritage of Bhutan”.  About 80 percent of Bhutan’s population is Buddhist.  Christians have applied for the registration of a confederation so that they can also function with a legal Christian identity, but the Home Ministry has not obliged thus far. As a result, there are no Christian burial grounds and no Christian book stores. Church buildings are forbidden in all but a very few cases because the construction of non-Buddhist religious buildings is restricted by the government, and most churches are in homes.  The import of Christian materials is not allowed and Christian missionaries are prohibited from entering the country.  Bhutanese who become Christians face the loss of their citizenship and other benefits such as free education, health care, employment, and access to electricity and water.  In some cases, harassment and beatings occur.

Because of the ambiguity over the legality of practicing Christianity in Bhutan, official have been known to harass Christians. For example, police in southern Samtse District arrested two pastors, M.B. Thapa and Tandin Wangyal, on March 5 for holding a Christian gathering without the required prior permission from authorities. The pastors remained in jail until April 22 despite an absence of formal charges. Home Minister Damcho Dorji told Business Bhutan that the pastors were “forcibly” converting people, but the local police clearly denied they found any basis for that charge. Another Christian CBN News interviewed said back in the year 2000 an angry government official threatened to kill him if he did not renounce Christianity and return to Buddhism.  "He said you come back otherwise who knows you may be expelled out of the country," explained the Christian. "He also said for the sake of country, I will kill you also and I don't think the government will object because to kill you is to save the people from going to Christianity."  But he stood firm in his faith.  "I said no, I will not give up. I will not give up because He is the only true God. I knew that Jesus saves me." VOM workers recently distributed 6,000 Bibles to Bhutanese refugees in South Asia and left another 3,000 Bibles for pastors and church leaders to distribute as needed.

References include an article by Vishal Arora (New Delhi-based journalist) in The Diplomat; Operation World "Bhutan"; CIAWorldFactBook "Bhutan"

Bhutan: Forgotten Refugees (2009)


Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal (April 2013)

The Overcomers Bhutan (2010)


The Brokpa People of Bhutan (2009)