Lhotshampa

[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.

[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.

[11][failed verification] The first small groups of Nepali emigrated primarily from eastern Nepal under British auspices in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

[12] The beginning of Nepali immigration largely coincided with Bhutan's political development: in 1885, Druk Gyalpo Ugyen Wangchuck consolidated power after a period of civil unrest and cultivated closer ties with the British in India.

The government traditionally attempted to limit immigration and restrict residence and employment of Nepali to the southern region.

Local Lhotshampa leaders responded with antigovernmental protests demanding citizenship and damaged government institutions.

In 1990, violent ethnic unrest and anti-government protests in southern Bhutan pressed for greater democracy and respect for minority rights.

[13] That year, the Bhutan Peoples' Party, whose members are mostly Lhotshampa, began a campaign of violence against the Bhutanese government.

Bill Frelick of Human Rights Watch reported that state security forces forcibly removed ethnic Lhotshampa from their homes and coerced them into renouncing their citizenship.

Samchi, Chirang and Geylegphug are southern dzongkhags that have a large Lhotshampa community where most people speak Nepali.