India's hydro-politic against exiled Bhutanese minorities

India’s election outcome and Bhutan’s hydropower potentials has always been making relay race trampling on the track and field of Bhutanese minority Lhotshampas whose population was reduced to half for the benefit of these two nations.

Prime ministers: Bhutan and India in New Delhi (BBS foto)

Bhutan’s practice of forcible exile of its minority citizens and India’s horrendous ignore against them withstand the test of time for more than twenty years and now succeeded to wipe them away from their neighbouring state, Nepal once and for ever.

Over 130,000 Bhutanese minority Lhotshampas exiled since 1990; 107,800 of those residing since then continuiously in the Bhutanese refugees camps in Nepal, are reduced to only about 30,000 by the time India’s general election was showing truimph of the Bharatiya Janta Party whose topman, Mr. Narendra Modi got sworned on 26^th May 2014 as the 15^th Prime Minister of the world’s largest democratic nation. To congratulate Mr. Modi and quickly place the hydropower project bait to this Hindu regime, Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay flew to New Delhi one day ahead. Tobgay succeeded with his Buddhist bait and declared together that India agreed to commence four new joint ventures hydroelectric projects with a capacity to generate 2120 Megawatt. Bhutan’s rivers are like oil of the Arabian states as India being the glutonous consumer of the electricity thereby generating revenue for Bhutan as an eternally durable source. 

Such joint ventures between these two countries began since early 1980's when the absolute monarchy of Bhutan of that time envisaged the strategic ethnic cleansing to get rid of every possible opposition against the Drukpa elite even after democracy is promulgated. 'India consented with the king of Bhutan to ignore whatever he would do against the Bhutanese Hindu minorities and even help out behind the veil', declares an exiled Bhutanese parliamentarian, Teknath Rizal acting as the human rights activist from Nepal. That is the reason why India did not allow the fleeing refugees get asylum there and, in even worst, is that they were dumped forcibly in Nepal. Further India did not allow these refugees to march back back to Bhutan. The present so called democratic kingdom of Bhutan is having the second elected head of government and yet neither the first one- prime minister Jigme Thinley  did nor the present Tobgay would do justice to these refugees. They are bound by their His Majesty the King's aspirations and the consent he has drawn with the leaders of India earlier. 

A refugee showing his Bhutanese identity

It has always been a prerogative between Bhutan and India to repeat their rhetoric aphorism of having a ‘unique and special relationship’ and embark projects on Bhutan’s natural resources each time a new prime minister comes up to power in India. It is obvious that they have mutual interest, and now the ‘security interest and national interest’ too.  In these matters of interests, the plight of the exiled Bhutanese refugees fell inconsiderable, disgusting and ignored publicly, however, behind the curtain secret protocol maneuver like one would say;  ‘pinch the cat in the dark’. As long as Indian diplomats could please the Bhutanese rulers, obviously in exchange of their political interest to get rid of the ethnic Lhotshampas, India could exploit Bhutan’s natural resources very easily. 

If india is truly the best friend of Bhutan, with special relationship, it should advice the Bhutanese regime do fair to these refugees and allow a few thousands of them repatriate, also as part of burden sharing like other countries are giving home for them. The previous Indian congress leaders in power did not budge in this regard and now Mr. Modi, being a representative of the Hindu masses may kindly make a break through in this process. It will be wise if Bhutan takes back those refugees who are not opting for the 3rd country resettlement. What can more loyal to Bhutan than this state of these Lhotshampas who being exiled to the refugee camps in Nepal for over 20 years still wishes to be back to their country  and be benevolent to its regime as before?

Bhutanese refugees brought to The Netherlands

Then, so far, The United States of America has taken the largest numbers Bhutanese refugees, (66,134). Canada took 5,376, Australia welcomed 4,190, New Zealand 747, Denmark resettled 746, Norway 546 and The Netherlands invited 326, while the United Kingdom gave home to 317 Bhutanese refugees forwarded by the UNHCR and IOM and released by the government of Nepal. India simply stared at this human cataclysm while Bhutan could be very much thrilled at successfully reducing the population of the Lhotshampa minorities; a part of the strategy to make possible for Drukpa elite to hang on with the power of its controlled democracy.

Before a Hindu nationalist leader Mr. Modi gets into his power display in India, the UNHCR based in Nepal hurriedly aanouced the deadline of 30 June 2014 for those remaining Bhutanese refugees to submit ‘an expression of interest form’ a dictated application to accept the forced migration to Europe and America, under polished program called the 3^rd country resettlement, the stakeholder’s conceived solution of the prolonged Bhutanese refugee crisis. These refugees have appealed fought, begged and pleaded to all these stakeholders with the genuine display to repatriate to Bhutan several times over the last 20 years but their plight was always ignored and rejected. Why?  

This is a modernised trend of human rights violation, if other dictatorial leaders of the world would learn from the king of Bhutan, there will be a world chaos no stakeholders of any strength can resolve.  

nanda Gautam

Video on a Bhutanese refugee in the Netherlands