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Abstract
In most rural areas, the impact of rural-urban migration is rapid deterioration of rural economy caused due to low agricultural production which leads to high cost. Rural-urban migration gives rise to problems such as increased crime rate, pollution, congestion, loosening of family bonds, and loss of traditional way of life, cultural practices and values. This happens mainly due to inundated influx of youth into the cities. This process of flow from rural areas leaves only the older and aged members to form the labor force and fend for them. The present paper is an attempt to study various factors or causes of rural urban migration from the view point of the non-migrants left behind in the rural communities including identifying the positive and negative aspects of rural-urban migration in Bhutan.
Keywords: Rural-urban, Migration, Village, Rural Community, Influx, inundated
Introduction
Bhutan is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from the nearby country of Nepal to the west by the Indian state of Sikkim, and from Bangladesh to the south by the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal.
Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms until the early 17th century, when the area was unified by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, who fled religious persecution in Tibet and cultivated a separate Bhutanese identity. In the early 20th century, Bhutan came into contact with the British Empire, after which Bhutan continued strong bilateral relations with India upon its Independence. In 2006, Business Week rated Bhutan the happiest country in Asia and the eighth-happiest in the world, based on a global survey.
Bhutan's landscape ranges from subtropical plains in the south to the sub- alpine Himalayan heights in the north, with some peaks exceeding 7,000 meters (23,000 ft). The state religion is Vajrayana Buddhism, and the population of 691,141 is predominantly Buddhist, with Hinduism the second-largest religion. Bhutan is a member of the United Nations and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Rural-urban migration in Bhutan is featured as one of the highest in the South Asian region as...