An investigative book titled Pardapachhadi ko Bhutan and its English version Bhutan Behind the Curtain, written by Bhutanese refugee leader Balram Paudyal, was launched at Yalamaya Kendra in Lalitpur. The book launch event was organized by the Tank Prasad Acharya Memorial Foundation. The book was jointly unveiled by humam rights activist and journalist Kanak Mani Dixit, Devendra Bhattarai, and Sushil Pyakurel alongside the author.
The English edition is translated by Bhishma Prasad Sangraula and jointly edited by Narayan Phuyal Sharma and Sangraula himself.
The event also featured discussions on issues related to refugees and political prisoners. Speakers called for judicial redress for the injustices inflicted by the Bhutanese government on Nepali-speaking citizens. They highlighted that over 6,000 refugees still remain in uncertainty in Nepal and that many Nepali-speaking individuals are imprisoned in Bhutan. Referring to the increasingly complicated situation of Bhutanese refugees deported from the United States, speakers urged the Nepal government to take serious diplomatic steps.
During the event, Bhishma Prasad Sangraula proposed the formation of a concerned stakeholders’ group, which was supported unanimously by rights activists and intellectuals present in the event.
Author Paudyal stressed the need to resume bilateral dialogue and expressed hope for a resolution to the issue by 2025.
