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Lhotshampa
Bhutanese people of Nepalese descent / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Lhotshampa or Lhotsampa (Nepali: ल्होत्साम्पा; Tibetan: ལྷོ་མཚམས་པ་, Wylie: lho-mtshams-pa) people are a heterogeneous Bhutanese people of Nepali descent.[5] The Lhotshampa were estimated to comprise around 35% of the Bhutan's population by the U.S. Department of State as of 2008.[6] The Lhotshampa are predominantly Hindu and speak the Nepali language.[7]
ल्होत्साम्पा ལྷོ་མཚམས་པ་ | |
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Total population | |
242,000[1][2][3][4] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Languages | |
Religion | |
(Minority) | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Indo-Aryans: Bahun, Chhetri, Khas people, Newar people Tibeto-Burman: Newar people, Kirati people |
People of Nepali origin started to settle in uninhabited areas of southern Bhutan in the 19th century.[8] The term "Lhotshampa", which means "southern borderlanders" in Dzongkha, began to be used by the Bhutanese state in the second half of the twentieth century to refer to the population of Nepali origin in the south of the country.[9] By the 1990s, over 100,000 Lhotshampa had been forcibly displaced and removed from Bhutan.[10]
After being displaced as a result of the state-run ethnic cleansing and living in refugee camps in eastern parts of Nepal, starting in 2007 most of the Bhutanese refugees were resettled to various countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. As of 2021[update], the number of Lhotshampa in Nepal is significantly lower than that in the United States and other countries where they have resettled.[11][failed verification]