Himalayan Kingdom’s of Nepal and Bhutan

Landlocked between India and Tibet, the Himalayan kingdom’s of Nepal and Bhu­tan together cover an area of a little over 75,000 sq miles (190,000 sq km). Nepal is three times larger of the two, and shares with India a boundary totaling about 750 miles (1,200 km). Historically, they were maintained within the “inner” ring of the British defense interests as “buffer” states. India’s border dispute with China since 1960s brought sharply, into focus the stra­tegic nature of their location.

The political pattern of these Himala­yan kingdom’s emerged recently; for Nepal during the 19th century and for Bhutan even later. Historically, they escaped much of the political turbulence that the Indus and Ganga plains experienced during the Islamic invasions and the consolidation of the British rule.

Nepal managed to survive as an independent country during the Brit­ish annexation of the subcontinent, but kept a close relationship with India by treaties of friendship and protection from external aggression. Bhutan is also pro­tected from external invasion, although it became a fully sovereign nation and a member of the U.N.O. in 1971.

In addition to Nepal and Bhutan a much smaller, Himalayan principality of Sikkim, that lay between the two and was a protectorate of India. It was absorbed as a state within India in 1976. Prior to it India exercised control over its externa. Policy as well as its borders and internal administra­tion. Most of the border of these Himalayan states was disputed by China, particularly parts of Sikkim and Bhutan.

India formally protested in 1959 against China’s claim over Bhutanese territory and maintained its rights to defend its bor­ders. India has been closely helping Bhutan in its defense efforts. Neither India nor China laid territorial claims over the inde­pendent kingdom of Nepal, although China disputed a small portion of Nepal’s Tibetan border, but relinquished its claims in 1961 following a treaty.

Nepal has care­fully followed a policy of non-alignment, and has allowed both India and China to construct roads linking its capital city of Kathmandu with its two big neighbors. In­dia considers Nepal to lie within its perimeter of its defense interests and is aware of the dangerous potential of any possible future southward expansion by China made easier by Tibet-Kathmandu road construction in 1968-1970.

The typical Himalayan physiography is well represented in the region, the gently folding foothills in the south to the com­plex, deeply-folded outer ranges, and the high, crystalline range in the north. The terrain rises abruptly in about 80 miles (130 km) from less than 1,000 feet (305 me­ters) in the piedmont terai area of the south to 2,600 feet (7,930 meters) in west­ern Nepal to over 2,800-2,900 feet (8,540-8,845 meters) at Kanchenjunga and Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) in eastern Nepal.

Population densities in general are low, although the central valley of Nepal, where the capital city of Kathmandu and other major cities are located, and the terai plains in the south are crowded (over 600 persons per sq mile or 15,500 persons per sq. km). The total population for the two countries is estimated to be a little over 23 million of which Nepal accounts for nearly 22.5 million.

Ethnic and cultural distributions follow the physiogeophic vertical zonation. The Mongoloid Tibet­ans generally occupy elevations over 4,000 feet (1,216 meters) in Nepal and only 1,000 feet or less in the valleys of Bhutan. The boundary of Tibetan or Bhutia people rises to nearly 9,000 feet (2,745 meters) in Nepal and descends to 5,000 feet (1,525 meters) in Bhutan.

Lamaistic Buddhism is practiced by nearly all the Tibetan speakers at higher altitudes, giving way to tribal or Hindu practices in the valleys and at lower eleva­tions. Nepal is essentially a Hindu kingdom with nearly 90 percent of the population. They are concentrated in the southern and southwestern parts of the country. In 1959 the Bhutanese govern­ment banned the immigration of these Nepalese settlers.

The discrimination against them is a major internal political problem for Bhutan. The largest ethnic group of Bhutan is that of the Bhutias that make up for over 50 percent of the popula­tion and are concentrated in northern, central and western parts of the country. They speak Tibetan dialects, and follow a form of Tibetan Buddhism.

Most tribal groups in eastern Bhutan are ethnically re­lated to the hill tribes in adjacent areas of India (Assam and Arunachal Pradesh) and are known as the sharchops. They are Indo-Mongoloid, and practice a loose form of Tibetan Buddhism.

Nearly 60 percent of Nepal’s popula­tion is that of the Gurkhas, who show a mixture of Tibetan Mongoloid and Cauca­sian (Indo-Aryan) traits of North India. The Gurkhas speak Gorkhali or Nepali which is the official language of the coun­try, and is a derivation of Sanskirt and akin to Hindi of North India.

The Gurkhas provide the ruling family of Nepal, and take pride in their Indo-Aryan and Hindu background. They are principally concen­trated in central and northern parts of the country. Several Tibeto-Nepalese tribes the Tharu, Tamang, Bhutia, and Newar— live in the northwestern and eastern re­gions, and speak several Tibetan-related dialects and profess Buddhism, adhering to Hindu beliefs, but Bhutan claims about 70 percent of the population professing Lamaistic Buddhism. Both countries are culturally plural. One-third of Bhutanese population is composed of Gurunegs, peo­ple of Nepalese origin and professing Hinduism and speaking Gorkhali.

Close to 90 percent of Nepalese and Bhutanese live in small market centers. Kathmandu with a population of 535,000 is the capital of Nepal, and is the market center for the central valley, and a major religious and tourist attraction. Smaller ur­ban centers are located in the terai along the Nepal-India border, where economic activity has been recently developing. Thimpu, the capital of Bhutan, has a population of merely 24,000 and acts as an administrative and a regional market center.

Lacking in substantial resources, landlocked, and hampered by an inadequate transport net­work, these remote countries of Nepal and Bhutan are among the least developed na­tions in the world. Their economy is dependent on foreign markets on imports of basic requirements such as fuel, machin­ery, textiles, most consumer goods, and fertilizers, and their exports of timber and food resources. For geographic and politi­cal reasons nearly all of their foreign trade is with India which also acts as their transit conduit to foreign markets.

Economy of these nations is predomi­nantly agrarians and over 80 percent of the labor force is engaged in agriculture. Min­eral resources are small, scattered and remain underdeveloped. There are known deposits of coal, iron ore, copper and mica in Nepal; but are virtually untapped. Bhu­tanese minerals also remain un-prospected.

The river systems provide immense poten­tial for hydroelectric development. If these resources could well be developed and util­ized within the countries and exported to India it could contribute significantly to their economy. Nepal has already started to export a part of its hydroelectric power to the neighboring region of India. In Bhu­tan, the Chhukha Hydel project financed by India is the principal source of nation’s hydroelectric potential most of which is exported to India.

The amount of land available for agri­culture is limited by steep slopes, poor soils, and adverse climate. Only a fraction of the total area of Bhutan, and terai land and valleys in central Nepal, are utilized for the cultivation of such crops as rice, maize, potatoes, sugarcane, citrus fruits, wheat, and millets.

Agricultural productiv­ity is low resulting from the use of inefficient techniques, shortages of fertiliz­ers and improved seeds. Farms are small in size. Terraces are used extensively to raise crops on hillsides. On the whole, Nepal has a small surplus in food grains, due largely to the development of the terai land, where greatest potential for increase in agricultural production exists.

About one-third of Nepal’s and 70 per­cent of Bhutan’s total area is forested. Timber represents a valuable resource and a major source of potential revenue despite overcutting and poor forest management in Nepal. Industrial production represents a very small, but growing segment of eco­nomic activity. Most industries are small, localized operations based primarily on the processing of agricultural products.

In Nepal jute manufacturing, rice milling, and sugar processing are the main indus­tries located chiefly in Kathmandu Valley in Biratnagar, Birgani, and in the terai re­gion. Other industries include oil mills, processing of construction materials, paper and food grains. Modern manufacturing plants in Bhutan are of recent origin but growing. These are mostly located in the south, close to the Indian border. Food processing, cement and wood products ac­count for most of the country’s industrial base.

Transport facilities in these nations are limited, but are being slowly extended. In Nepal the construction of new roads has been undertaken since the 1970s with aid from India, China, Great Britain and the United States, linking Nepal with India and Tibet. India has been providing aid for the development of a road system in Bhutan. Except for a small stretch along the south­ern border of Nepal along India, there is no railroad track in Nepal or Bhutan.