Detailed Description of Bhutan

Contents:-

I. INTRODUCTION

II. LAND AND RESOURCES

III. POPULATION

IV. ECONOMY


V. GOVERNMENT

VI. HISTORY

Description:-

I  INTRODUCTION

    Bhutan, monarchy, southern Central Asia, in the eastern Himalaya, bounded on the north and north-west by Tibet and on the east, south, and south-west by India. It has a total area of 47,000 sq km (18,100 sq mi). The capital of Bhutan is Thimphu.

II  LAND AND RESOURCES

    Bhutan is almost entirely mountainous. A narrow strip along the southern border, the Duars Plain, is the country’s only area of flat land. Ranges of the Himalaya rise abruptly from the plain and generally increase in height to the north, rising to maximum elevation at Kula Kangri (7,554 m/24,784 ft) on the Chinese border. Bhutan’s rivers, none of which are navigable, flow south to the Brahmaputra in India.

    Climate varies from subtropical, on the Duars Plain, to temperate, with cool winters and warm summers in the mountain valleys. It becomes increasingly harsh at higher altitudes. Average annual precipitation is generally heavy, ranging from about 1,520 mm (60 in) in the mountain valleys to more than 5,080 mm (200 in) in the Duars Plain. More than two-thirds of the country is forested. Wildlife is diverse and includes elephants, leopards, bears, and deer. Known mineral resources include copper, gypsum, iron ore, limestone, lead, coal, and dolomite; commercial exploitation is minimal.

III  POPULATION

Bhutanese Dzong

    The largest ethnic group in Bhutan, constituting more than 60 per cent of the population, is the Bhote, or Bhotia, who live mostly in the east. Nepalese constitute the largest minority. Bhutan has a population (2001 estimate) of 2,049,412, giving a population density of nearly 44 people per sq km (113 per sq mi). Thimphu (population, 1999 estimate, 22,000) is the capital and largest town. The official language is Dzongkha, a Tibetan dialect. The official religion is a Lamaist form of Mahayana Buddhism; monasteries are numerous in Bhutan, and monks number some 6,000. Although all children are entitled to 11 years of primary and secondary education, few attend school. Only 47.3 per cent of the adult population was literate in 2000.

IV  ECONOMY

    The economy of Bhutan is overwhelmingly agricultural. Much of the cultivated land is terraced and irrigated. The principal crops are rice, wheat, corn, and potatoes. Cardamom and fruit, including apples, pears, and plums, are grown for export. Livestock, such as cattle, yaks, and sheep, is raised. Some light industry has been established, producing textiles, cement, matches, and alcoholic drinks. In 1999 Bhutan produced about 1.9 billion kWh of electricity, 99.61 per cent of it hydroelectric. Revenue from hydroelectric power exports provides around 40 per cent of Bhutan’s national revenue. The Seventh Development Plan (1992-1997) focused on self-reliance and sustainability as well as private-sector development and public participation.

    In 1974 Bhutan began to welcome tourists, although the tourist industry continues to be subject to government control, with strict regulations on the number of tourists entering the country. In 1999, about 7,000 tourists visited Bhutan, and tourism was the largest source of foreign exchange, earning US$5.83 million in 1995. There are no railways, but by 1998 there were about 3,285 km (2,041 mi) of roads linking many parts of the country. There are also scheduled flights linking Bhutan with India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Thailand. Although previously banned, Bhutan's first local television station began broadcasting in June 1999, along with the launch of its own Internet service, as part of the celebrations to mark King Jigme Singye Wangchuck's silver jubilee. There are international microwave and satellite telecommunications links, but private satellite and cable television links are banned to protect Bhutanese cultural identity. The monetary unit of Bhutan is the ngultrum of 100 chetrum (46.683 ngultrums equal US$1; 2001).

V  GOVERNMENT

    Bhutan is a limited monarchy. The king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, is advised by the Royal Advisory Council, whose members he appoints. In theory, legislative power is held by the Tshogdu (National Assembly), 105 of whose 154 members are elected by the public; the rest are chosen by the king or indirectly elected.

VI  HISTORY

    Scholars believe that princes of Indian origin ruled Bhutan until the 9th century, when they were driven out by the forebears of today’s dominant ethnic group, the Bhotia (derived from Bod, the ancient name for Tibet). Lamaistic Buddhism was then brought into Bhutan and by the mid-16th century fortified monasteries (dzongs) dotted the inner Himalayan valleys. From 1300 to 1600 Bhutan’s history reflected the conflict among various elites until, finally, power accrued to a dharma raja, who served as spiritual leader, and a deb raja, who handled civic affairs. For much of the 17th and 18th centuries aristocratic families squabbled, and Bhutan followed an aggressive policy towards its neighbours—eventually bringing it into conflict with the expanding British East India Company in 1772. The British annexation of Assam in 1826 heightened border tensions, but an uneasy truce prevailed until 1864, when a war broke out. At the conclusion of peace in 1865 Bhutan was forced to cede certain border areas to British India and was given an annual subsidy in return. In the late 19th century a series of civil wars plagued the country. Bhutan remained an important buffer state for British India. The 1910 treaty between the British and the newly established (1907) monarchy granted Bhutan internal autonomy and an annual subsidy but allowed British control over the country’s foreign relations, as did the 1949 treaty with newly independent India. China’s territorial claims and disputes over Tibetan refugees (1959) further strengthened Bhutan’s relationship with India, followed by new economic aid agreements, military assistance, and diplomatic representation. Bhutan became a member of the UN (1971) and of the Non-Aligned Nations (1973).

    As a result of measures instituted by the monarchy to protect the Bhutanese national identity from the influence of Nepalese immigrants, many of them illegal, an insurgency campaign against the government by ethnic Nepalese began in 1990; over 80,000 Nepalese have since fled from southern Bhutan to Nepal, where they live in camps. Bhutanese opposed to the king’s absolute rule formed the Bhutan National Democratic Party (BNDP) in Kathmandu in February 1992. In January 1998 Amnesty International issued a report criticizing Bhutan’s treatment of dissidents and “anti-nationals”, shortly before Britain’s Prince Charles visited the country. Formal talks to resolve the refugee problem took place between Bhutan and Nepal in September 1999, but ended in deadlock over differences on the verification procedure. Bhutan claims that only a few thousand are Bhutanese and refuses to allow any others into the country, while Nepal believes that all the refugees are Bhutanese, and that they have a right to return. Talks resumed in December 2000 and in early 2001 the two nations formed a joint verification team, and agreed to begin the verification procedure.