Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan

The above mentioned separatist groups emerged in India in the late 1970s, each of them calling for building a socialist state on the respective territory of India.
The underground problem in the Himalayan kingdom started in 1991 when the ULFA leadership set up a strong base in the southern part of the country, bordering northeastern India. Following suit, the other extremist organizations soon set up camps in dense forests of Bhutan. The coming of Indian militants to Bhutan meant for its civilian population a spur of violence as a result of which over 200 people have died in the Himalayan kingdom since 1991.
According to the royal government of Bhutan, there are about 22 camps of the ultras scattered in various bordering districts of the country taking advantage of hilly terrain. But the Bhutan government has been not been able to contain the
activities of the militant groups. The fact remains that government does not have enough power to cope with the gun might of the militants. Moreover ,the government does not want to worsen the situation by way of launching army operations. Though the Bhutan government has been constantly pursuing the matter with the leadership of the ultras, yet the militant groups are not willing to vacate their camps. The leadership of the three militant groups have claimed that over 3000 guerrillas are undergoing training at various camps in Bhutan.
The stepped up militancy problem has forced the royal government to increase the defense budget. During 2000-2001 the government had spent Nu 177.81 million (approx. $3.6 million) for security and for restructuring the royal Bhutan army (RBA). In 2000, the government of India proposed to Bhutan to launch a joint military operation to force the militant groups to vacate their camps, but it was turned down
by the Bhutan king.
In a bid for an amicable solution to the problem, the Bhutan Assembly initiated two years ago a four-point formula, calling for opening peaceful negotiations to resolve the perennial crisis; stopping ration and other supplies to the militant camps located in
dense forests of the country; and punishing people that help the ultras. Immediately after that the militant leaders threatened to carry out subversive activities which forced the government to withdraw it’s move. Moreover, the underground groups have now started mobilizing inhabitants of southern Bhutan to launch a full-scale armed revolution against the king of Bhutan. Southern Bhutan is inhabited mainly by Nepalese farmers. It became known that the Nepalese have been provided with arms and ammunition by the underground groups to fight a revolution.
In the last couple of years, the Indian government has been helping the royal government of Bhutan in providing military training to the personnel of the RBA to contain the activities of ultras . In spite of that, the RBA has not been able to scale down the stepped up activities of the underground groups. The prolonged militancy
has broken down the economy of the country as the government has to bear a huge sum of money to protect the people, and also affected the people living along the border as the ongoing trade has come to a grinding halt.