The more we move towards globalization the more we witness the emergence of regionalism and ethnic violence. South Asia is no exception. This region has become more vulnerable to terrorism, separatism and political destabilization that have created havoc in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. An important reason for this problem is the migration of people from one region to another: it has also seen the biggest ever migration in world history following Partition. Numerous factors have caused migration in this region, like colonial policy and push and pull factors due to economic backwardness. No doubt, globalization has genealogical links with industrialization and colonization, with the imbalance of development in Asia and Africa.

 

The politics of migration and the emergence of regionalism in Bhutan should be seen in this context. During the recent visit of the Bhutanese King to India, the matter of intra-regional migration was not discussed, but it is high time that the problem is addressed before it another LTTE-type  movement in Bhutan. At present there are over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees living in various camps in southeastern Nepal. They are victims of forced migration from Bhutan during the early nineties. Most of these people are of Nepalese origin who were living in southern Bhutan. The discriminatory slogan of "one nation, one people" of the northern Bhutanese started the process of alienation from their own culture and homeland. It is ironical to see that the number of these refugees has grown to 100,000, whereas the total Bhutanese population is only 600,000.

 Ã‚ Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š The direct result of this forced migration is the suffering of these people. They are not only denied political rights, but are also branded as criminals. There should be no surprise if ethnic violence starts and Bhutan becomes another Sri Lanka. India cannot escape this problem, if some of the migrants should move into India which is already suffering from the burden of internal and external migration. No doubt some terrorist organizations must be waiting to take advantage of this situation. Since the region is close to China it is also for sensitive for security reasons. So, what are the options? There are four possible solutions to this problem viz. politics of sympathy, terrorism, intervention of a third party or multilateral talks. The politics of sympathy by the Bhutan and Nepal governments started with the identification of around 12,000 refugees in the Khudunabari camp. The result was surprising as only 2.5 per cent i.e. only 293 persons were accepted to be Bhutanese citizens forced to migrate. The second solution, terrorism, cannot be justified whatever its ends. The intervention of a third party like UN or India may not be very fruitful, given the nature of the situation, as Bhutan has ruled out a role for the UNHCR and intervention by India may give rise to anti-India feelings as happened in Sri Lanka. Thus, it seems that only multilateral talks will bring about a fruitful solution since all the countries of South Asia are suffering from the "burden? of history. The following steps could also be may be taken to reach a logical conclusion:

• All the countries of South Asia should draw up a road map and a time frame to reach a permanent solution to the problem, after an extensive survey of the migrants living in various parts of the regions;

• A future plan should be prepared to stop probable migration in future by providing identity cards and increasing surveillance on the international borders;

• Development of the frontier region by the government or by the army deputed in the area may stop those who migrate with the hope of a betterment of their life;

• No doubt politicians should also think that their petty politics would ultimately harm them and their country as has happened in the case of Sri Lanka. So, it is time to retrospect and work for the betterment of the people; and

• The cultural identity of the minority people should be respected so that there should not be any identity crisis that would lead to violence and other activities amounting to destabilization of the region.

 Ã‚ Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š Ãƒâ€š It is clear from the above discussion that the problem of Bhutanese refugees cannot be seen as an issue in isolation, rather its solution has to be discovered within a broader perspective. An enlightened framework will be helpful for the suffering people but also for the security and balanced development of the region. Only then, as Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said in the ASEAN meet, will the twenty-first century be the age of Asia.