Thakur P. Mishra and Bhutanese refugee resettlement efforts

¶ … Reporting plan on the profile story about Thakur P. Mishra.

Profile: Thakur P. Mishra

People to interview

This proposed assignment will profile Thakur P. Mishra, head of the Carolina Refugee Resettlement Agency. Mishra has worked to resettle many persecuted Bhutanese suffering political persecution in the United States, where they can find a harbor of safety. Mishra is a journalist in exile from his native Bhutan as well as works to help others who have been persecuted by the current ruling Bhutanese regime. He is also an editor and special correspondent for the monthly Bhutan Reporter (TBR) as well as the founder and editor-in-chief of the Bhutan News Service (BNS) ("Thakur P. Mishra," 2015). He maintains an active blog on the subject of Bhutan entitled A Former Refugee's Journal. As well as interviewing Mishra himself, current and former co-workers of Mishra will be interviewed, along with people who have been helped by the Carolina Refugee Resettlement Agency. If time permits, experts on issues of Bhutan and freedom in the press will be interviewed from local universities.

Freedom of the press in Bhutan and other issues

The struggle for freedom of the press in Bhutan has been a rocky one. According to Freedom House, an independent watchdog group dedicated to monitoring the status of nations around the world, during the early half of the 20th century, Bhutan was ruled by a British-installed monarchy. Even after independence, freedom of the press was still limited. In the 1980s, Nepali-speakers were placed under further restrictions which precipitated a series of demonstrations by the Bhutanese People's Party (BPP), causing many Southern Bhutanese to flee to Nepal in the early 1990s: free elections only took place in 2007 ("Bhutan," 2012). "The authorities restrict freedom of expression, and a 1992 law prohibits criticism of the king and the political system. A 2006 media law led to the establishment of two independent radio stations, but it did not provide specific protections for journalists or guarantee freedom of information" ("Bhutan," 2012). Theoretically, there is freedom of assembly and association under the constitution "but the government must approve the purpose of any protests" and only groups "not harmful to the peace and unity of the country" are permitted which effectively means censorship for Nepali-speaker and other organizations critical of the government ("Bhutan," 2012).

To-do list

The first step will be reviewing all primary and secondary sources available on Thakur P. Mishra, beginning with sources authored by the subject. Then, the sources about Mishra and Bhutan in general will be reviewed to provide context to his own articles. This will provide information for the first interview of Mishra. After interviewing Mishra, his coworkers at the Carolina Refugee Resettlement Agency will be interviewed, followed by individuals Mishra has helped. Experts and other writers on the subject of freedom of the press in Bhutan and freedom of the press in general will also be sought out so the importance of Mishra's work can be better understood by the reader who might be unfamiliar with this region of the world.