Unbecoming Citizens

Description

"This book recounts the plight of about a hundred thousand refugees of Nepali ethnic origin who claim to have been wrongfully evicted from Bhutan. They arrived in Nepal during the early 1990s and since then not a single one of them has returned. The author explains who these people are and analyses the Bhutanese government s new policies on citizenship, language, and dress that ultimatley led to the flight of many erstwhile citizens. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of South Asian and Himalayan politics, anthropology, cultural studies, and refugee studies. [This] is a rich, carefully researched and important book. It provides a rare case study of the dynamics of nationalism in the Himalayas. -- Journal of Refugee Studies The most memorable parts of the book are the narratives, the stories the refugees try to tell, the memories they try to evoke. -- Frontline It is for the historical construction of the migration of Nepalis into South Bh utan and the recording of their history from their settlement to expulsion that the book is valuable. -- Himal South Asia In this absorbing book, Michael Hutt provides a cogent analysis of the problems and challenges of nation-building... -- The Hindu"