Bhutan’s bold new urban venture, the Geluphu Mindfulness City, is being pitched as a landmark in values-based development. Envisioned as an economic hub rooted in sustainability and Buddhist ideals, the project spans 2,500 square kilometres along the country’s southern border with India. But while official narratives emphasise harmony and prosperity, they overlook a critical historical context: Geluphu was once home to thousands of Lhotshampa – Nepali-speaking Bhutanese who were expelled from the country in the 1990s.In this episode of State of Southasia, writer and researcher Maximilian Morch who studies Asia’s borderlands speaks to associate editor Nayantara Narayanan about the implications of the project. Morch says that the announcement project has been “incredibly painful” for displaced Lhotshampa communities, many of whom still hold land documents for plots now earmarked for development. “There are refugees alive today in Nepal who own the land that the GMC is being built on,” he says. “They have not been consulted. Their concerns are being bulldozed.” He also questions the economic viability of the city, given Bhutan’s growing brain drain and struggling public services, noting that “special economic zones tend to have weaker worker rights and less employment protection.” Morch raises questions about who benefits from Bhutan’s development strategy, and who is being left out. You can also listen to this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gVElZ4oZpe8Apple podcastsEpisode notes:Maximilian Morch’s recommendations:- The dark shadows of Bhutan’s Gelephu ‘mindfulness city’ project (Scroll.in)- Susan Banki on the battles of Nepali-Bhutanese refugees: State of Southasia #16 (Himal Southasian podcast)- Unbecoming Citizens: Culture, Nationhood, and the Flight of Refugees from Bhutan - Michael Hutt (non-fiction) Further reading from Himal’s archives:
Bland lessons and careful lies from Bhutan’s prime minister
Dictated democracy? Bhutan struggles to stabilise its government and political system
The dragon bites its tail – Part I, Part II, Part III

Himal Southasian is Southasia’s first and only regional news and analysis magazine. Stretching from Afghanistan to Burma, from Tibet to the Maldives, this region of more than 1.4 billion people shares great swathes of interlocking geography, culture and history. Yet today neighbouring countries can barely talk to one another, much less speak in a common voice. For three decades, Himal Southasian has strived to define, nurture, and amplify that voice. Read more: https://www.himalmag.com/

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