Bhutanese Nepali literature
Bhutanese Nepali literature (भूटानी नेपाली साहित्य ) refers to the literary works in the Nepali language by Bhutanese people.
Literature in Bhutan
More than 90% of Bhutanese people used Nepali as official language before 1960 (Ref).
In 1962, Bhutan started to publish Kuensel (first national newspaper) from Madi printing press of Kalimpong India, and Nepali literature in Bhutan had an opportunity to increase its area. In those days, Nepali articles written by the writers from Kalimpong and Darjeeling used to publish in Kunsel. This provided the interest in Nepali literature to the southern Nepali speaking Bhutanese. In the process of developing language and literature, in 1970 the government of Bhutan started to publish another magazine "Drucklosal" once in three months. The editor of the magazine was Gauri Shankar Upadhaya. Gradually the magazine earned the interest of every Nepali-speaking Bhutanese and fulfilled their thirst. The magazine was published up to 19th volumes continuously. The government of Bhutan came to know that the Nepali literature reached the peak in development. So in 1984, the government became jealous by seeing development in Nepali literature and banned that magazine. At that time the writers used their pen in writing poem, story, essay etc. Thus, the government attacked the literature of 45 percent of the country's total population of Nepali-speaking people. And in 1987, the government burned all the Nepali books that were taught in entire Bhutanese schools. And the government banned in both written and verbal Nepali language. Until 1980, in the process of development of Nepali literature, Devi Bhakta Lamitare’s political article "Dankido Bhutan" (Murder of Democracy) in 1970, "Kumbhaparva”, “Himachal philosophy” and Narayan Luitel’s religious literature "Shivalaya Mahatme" (1977) were published. Purely literary masterpieces were not seen to be published. Government banned in Nepali literature, lack of resources and a favorable environment for the study of literature were the obstacles in the development of Bhutanese Nepali literature. So literature in Bhutan was not found in books. In the beginning of the 1980s, Gauri Shankar Upadhyay was considered as he first literary figure who used his pen in Nepali literature from Banaras India.
Literature in refugee camps in Nepal
Bhutanese refugee camps were established in the beginning of the 1990s. They received food from the World Food Programme (WFP), and clothing and housing from Lutheran Social Service (LSS) and education from Caritas Nepal. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provided them with basic humanitarian assistance and international protection in co-operation with other national and international partners, including WFP. Later Bhutani Bhasa Parisad Nepal, a Nepali classes for elderly people focused on Bhutanese literature, was established. According to the census of 2007, a total of 107,807 refugees were registered by the UNHCR as a result of a joint verification process conducted with the government of Nepal. They were resettled in eight countries.
Bhutanese literature after resettlement
By the end of 2008, Bhutanese refugees started resettling in eight countries: Australia, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom, and United States. Since 2009 Bhutanese literature dot com (a community based site) has made a global connection to all the writers. It has announced 1600 articles on its archive of writers around the globe. This is a platform for the new and old generation writers to uplift their new creations in literary based work in Nepali, English and Dzongkha. Bhutanese are working for protecting their language, literature and identity around the world. Writers communicate via social media like Facebook, Twitter and Skype.
References
- Bhutan Hijo Ajaa Author Balaram Poudel
- Albeda Belgadi Author Shiva Lal Dahal