Lhotshampa

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Lhotshampa, or Lhotsampa, means southerners in Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan, and refers to the Nepali settlers who reside primarily in the southwest of the country.

The Lhotshampa, who mainly came from Nepal, are generally classified as Hindus. However, this is an oversimplification as many groups that including the Tamang and the Gurung are largely Buddhist; the Kiranti groups that include the Rai and Limbu are largely animist followers of Mundum (these later groups are mainly found in eastern Bhutan). Whether they are Hindu or Tibetan Buddhist, most of them abstain from beef, notably those belonging to the upper castes who are vegetarians. Their main festivals include Tihar, a festival superficially similar to the Indian Diwali.

The oversimplification also carries over into when they immigrated into Bhutan. The government had accepted all those settlers of Nepalese origin who were there prior to 1958. However, settlers continued to enter Bhutan with a spurt from the 1960s when Bhutan's first modern 5-year plan began. These numbers swelled significantly and later led to a crackdown by the government.

In the late 1980s, over 100,000 Lhotshampa were forced out of Bhutan, accused by the government of being illegal aliens. Because of this, many of them have either returned to Nepal or have lived in the refugee camps of India. According to US State Department estimates, about 28% of the population of Bhutan is Lhotshampa if the displaced refugees are counted as citizens.