Thousands of Hindus exiled from their homeland of Bhutan have found solace during their annual festival in Galion.
Nearly 10,000 members of the Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization are expected to visit the Om Center Divya Dham at 4270 Ohio 309 between Galion and Marion for this year’s event, Varshik Utsav, which runs July 6-12.
Residents of Richland, Crawford, Marion and Morrow counties will notice that number is down from the 75,000 who visited for the 2025 festival, said Kamal Dhimal, president and CEO of the Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization.
“Last year, we had a huge program, and that program was organized by 11 different countries,” Dhimal said. “This year, we don’t have that big volume, though we have some people from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Michigan and some other areas.”
The larger events drawing worldwide travelers are expected to take place every five years.
‘They wanted to force us to do their religion’
Dhimal was 11 years old in 1992 when the Buddhist government of Bhutan, a small Asian nation landlocked by China and India, banned all Hindus of Nepali decent.
“They killed my father,” Dhimal said. “They killed thousands of Nepali people there because they wanted to force us to do their religion and to follow their culture.”
More than 100,000 people fled Bhutan for nearby Nepal, where Dhimal lived in a refugee camp for the next 18 years.
It was during those years that Dhimal developed his vision as a leader of the Bhutanese diaspora, explained David Swalley, a lifelong Galion resident and friend of the Bhutanese Hindu community.
“The last thing his dad asked was, ‘Please use your life to maintain the culture of Bhutanese-Nepali Hinduism,'” Swalley said. “He’s on a mission.”
The refugees started immigrating to the United States in 2008. Dhimal moved in 2010.
“We get lucky and we get opportunity to come to this land of opportunity,” Dhimal said. “More than 90,000 people, we came here to this country, and the remaining 28,000, they went to other countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the U.K.”
‘We really feel proud to be here’
The exiled worshippers had no connection to North Central Ohio until 2022, when Dhimal and other religious leaders discovered the 170-acre Cobey Family Estate for sale at a price they could afford: $1.7 million.
So far, they have used the land for religious and cultural events.
“There will be homes here,” Swalley said. “There will be a school.”
The estate will be a haven for the Bhutanese diaspora so that never again will they face the fear of living in exile.
“Our own goal is to establish a retirement center for ourselves,” Dhimal said. “They can, after the age of 80 or 85, if they are not able to cook, then they can go to the nursing home. Before that, they have a life.”
Primarily, the property hosts the Om Center Divya Dham, which is considered a spiritual sanctuary for the worldwide members of the Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization.
The last three years have been exciting for leaders of the Bhutanese Hindu community. They have developed friendships throughout North Central Ohio they could have never imagined only a short time ago.
“Galion is, I feel for myself, a welcoming city,” Dhimal said. “We are here to bring the international visitors to this place as tourism, to grow a mutual understanding, to understand the diversity and international culture. So, we really feel proud to be here.”
Contact Zach Tuggle at 419-564-3508. Follow him on X at @zachtuggle.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization has found refuge in Galion
Reporting by Zach Tuggle, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Zach Tuggle, Mansfield News Journal | USA TODAY Network
