south asia Flashcards
1
Q
Bhutan has been under the influence of…
A
- tibet and mongols under the yuan dynasty. very similar to tibet in terms of culture & religious beliefs
2
Q
geography of Bhutan
A
- quite isolated because of mountains so conquest and relations w/it’s difficult
- wide range of ecosystems
- home to world’s highest unclimbed mountain
3
Q
Bhutan’s conflicts w/british india in 1850 ended by…
A
-1865 treaty of sinchula. Bhutan lost and gave all its gained territories back to British India
4
Q
Bhutan internal conflict starting in late 1800s to 1910
A
- warlords fought for control of it until it was united in 1885 by Ugyen Wangchuck
- 1907: buddhist and poli leaders + influential fams appointed Ug Wang as king. he spent early 20th century trying to unite Bhutan
- 1910: Bhutan signed Treaty of Punakha w/brit gov. gave brit gov control of Bhutan’s foreign affairs. had no impact on its relationship w/tibet
- 1947: left Indian union and recognized Indian independ early
5
Q
working towards democracy in Bhutan
A
- began in 1953 w/king jigme dorji wangchuck as he established the country’s legislature
- 1947: Bhutan became part of UN
- currently: Bhutan is constitutional monarchy = king has ceremonial role, not administrative/legislative one
6
Q
king jigme singye wangchuck and king jigme khesar namgyel wangchuck
A
singye:
- became king in 1972
- coined the term “Gross National Happiness” (GNH), more important to nation than GNP
khesar:
- became king in 2008 when dad retired, very beautiful
7
Q
Bhutan and environmental conservation
A
- it’s a role model for this. only carbon negative country
- environmentalism is ingrained in constitution, requires that 60% of country remains as forest + 40% is reserves, parks & protected areas
- “middle path:” connects all protected areas w/nature corridors; animals can move between all areas of country
- 10% of cars are electric. mutual cohabitation: gov’t offers insurance when crops/property get damaged by wildlife
8
Q
caterpillar fungus issue
A
- explosion in demand caused its overexploitation in the wild and it’s difficult to regulate
- 1kg = a lot of money
9
Q
Bhutan and India today
A
- strong ties out of fears from Chinese aggression, especially after annexation of tibet in 1959
- bhutanese & indians can freely cross each other’s borders w/out passports, bhutanese can work in india w/out restrictions
10
Q
Bhutan and china today
A
- Bhutan is good with most other countries but there’s tension w/china
- 1998: signed first agreement w/china, but still disputed territory between them
- 2005: Chinese troops built roads and bridges in disputed territory
- 2007: to respond, Bhutan signed alliance w/india. its army’s trained by india and requires their army’s services for navy and Air Force
11
Q
Bhutan’s economy overview
A
- very smol
- 1 of fastest growing economies in the world
- 1 of lowest poverty rates in South Asia (1.6%)
- will be first asian country to graduate from LDC category to developing country by 2023
- runs an annual deficit which is offset by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (as india doesn’t want china-bhutan friendship)
12
Q
exports in Bhutan
A
- heavily relies on primary sector
- includes agriculture, forestry & hydroelectric power
- over 1/2 of Bhutan works in agriculture/ranching
- hard to build infrastructure cuz of mountains
- industry is big on cement, steel & other alloy products
13
Q
tourism in Bhutan
A
- tourists call it last shangri-la because of unspoiled environment/ cultural heritage. 2nd largest industry, explosion in Bhutan tourism recently
- tourists must spend min of $250 USD/day
- concerns over increase in tourism traffic as infrastructure (no traffic lights, sketchy roads, not much accommodation) and culture (doesn’t want to become like Bali) cannot handle it
14
Q
demographics of bhutan
A
- pop of 800 000. 3 major ethnic groups are Ngalops, Sharchops and Lhotshampa. first 2 are similar to each other & to tibet, 3rd is ethnically Nepalese
- by 90s, gov’t forced out 108 000 Lhotshampa for not assimilating w/Ngalops & Sharchops , many are in Nepalese & Indian refugee camps while others fled to the west
- before expulsion, Lhotshampa made up 45% of pop. now they only make up 20%
15
Q
religion in bhutan
A
- state religion = buddhism, 75% of pop practices it.
- hindus = 23% of pop
- education is closely tied to buddhism, many teachers are from india. so some still don’t go to school (attendance isn’t mandatory) and 40% of country is illiterate
- in public functions & in gov’t properties, men & women must wear national dresses
16
Q
a) has Bhutan banned smoking
b) talk about sports in Bhutan
A
a) yuh, since 2010. stiff fines and prison for anyone who smokes in public/involved w/sale of tobacco
b) national sport = archery. darts and soccer have recently become popular
17
Q
gender roles of bhutan
A
- men make their “own way” in life, the women inherit the property so they can take care of it. work in fam based agriculture = low paying. women are timid
- domestic violence is tolerated, 25% of women experience it.
- arranged marriages are common in rural areas
- polygamy is accepted but only practiced by royals and powerful fams to keep wealth concentrated
18
Q
homophobia in bhutan
A
- laws are homophobic: some sex acts result in fines/prison sentences. but most bhutanese oppose these laws
19
Q
nepal demographics
A
- pop of 29.3 mil. mainly hindu due to centuries of rule by Indian emperors.
20
Q
prithvi narayan shan and sino-nepali war
A
- a gorkhan king of nepal
- 1769: established the borders of modern Nepal (between china and india) and declared himself the first monarch of nepalese kingdom
- under gorkhan control, it expanded its borders to its peak, but there were territorial/trade disputes w/tibet at the time, leading Qing emperor to begin Sino-Nepali War (1788-1792). Nepal lost and gave shit to Beijing
21
Q
anglo-nepali war
A
- began in 1815-16 due to disputes w/East India Co about a territory bordering Nepal
- brits got defeated since they underestimated Nepalese forces, but reinforcements arrived and they defeated Nepal
- resulted in Treaty of Sugauli: Nepal ceded territory to Britain and they could recruit Gurkhas = used as shock troops in quest for global dominance
- nepal lost right to hire foreigners for public service
22
Q
Jung Bahadur Kunwar
A
- 1846: this military leader caused Kot Massacre = slaughter of court officials, royal fam, poli leaders & PM. liked rule of law. made himself PM w/hereditary title under Rana dynasty
- nepal became pro-english & helped maintain their control over India in 1857. Britain gave nepal territory of Terai in response
- 1923: UK and Nepal signed agreement of friendship, replacing Sugauli treaty
23
Q
Jung Bahadur Kunwar’s descendants
A
- very corrupt so Rana Dynasty became known for tyranny, corruption & religious prosecution
- they abolished slavery in 1924 though :)
24
Q
civil unrest in Nepal
A
- began in 1950. King Tribhuvan supported democratic movement causing his exile to India. Indian gov’t wanted to control Nepal so it supported King Trib in reforming Nepal
- 1951: Trib returned to Nepal, established new congress after protests occurred due to his exile. For next 40 years, Nepal was quasi-democracy = monarch still held power to remove politicians/leaders
25
Q
pro-democracy movements of 1989 in Nepal
A
- organized by unified congress, forced King Birendra to accept constitutional reforms, establishing multiparty parliament through 1991 election
26
Q
nepal communist party probs of 1996
A
- began campaign to end monarchy & make nepal a people’s republic, causing Nepal Civil War that ended in 2006 & killed 1 500
- 2001: Bir & much royal fam were executed. Bir’s bro, Gyanendra, became king. he suspended all const. rights to crush communists, but there was still rural commy stuff. so Gyanendra gave ppl power & reinstated parliament in 2006. members restricted his power & made nepal secular, ending hindu kingdom
- 2008: nepal became federal republic, abolishing the monarchy
27
Q
Nepal’s rocky road to democracy past 2008
A
- diversity caused regionalism, nationalistic sentiment & ethnic self-government. no legislation passed
- 2012: assembly dissolved, interim non-partisan gov’t was established to get elections going
- 2015: massive earthquake affected the gov’t, 8 500 died and 1/3 of GDP was damaged. gov’t made 7 provinces, new constitution was passed w/90% majority
- 2017: commy became ruling party
28
Q
biodiversity of nepal
A
- occupies 1/3 of Himalayas, includes mt. Everest
- terai region is only 60m above sea level though
- southern: tropical - subtropical. northern: alpine. pop mainly lives in south for agriculture.
- 5 seasons: summer, monsoon, autumn, winter & spring
- southern gets flooding during monsoon season. northern gets dry season from oct to may with almost no rain
