History of Sikkim

Sikkim is a state in northeastern India. It borders Tibet in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to India's Siliguri Corridor near Bangladesh. Sikkim is the least populous and second smallest among the Indian states. A part of the Eastern Himalaya, Sikkim is notable for its biodiversity, including alpine and subtropical climates. Sikkim is also home to Kangchenjunga, the highest peak in India.  Almost 35% of the state is covered by the Khangchendzonga National Park - a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Statistics Symbols of Sikkim Timeline Formation of Monarchy Indian Protectorate British Raj and Sikkim Annexation and Statehood Recent History

Admission to Union -   16 May 1975 Capitol - Gangtok (Largest City) Chief Minister - Prem Singh Tamang Total Area - 7,096 km 2   Total Population - 619,000 (2012) Population Density - 86/km 2    Official Languages - Sikkimese, Nepali, Lepcha, English HDI - 0.716 (High) 10th Literacy – 87.6% 

Emblem  Tree - Rhododendron Ferrugineum Bird - Blood Pheasent Flower - Noble Dendrobium Animal - Red Panda

 

Phuntsog Namgyal, became the founder of Sikkim's monarchy in 1642, when he was consecrated as the first Chogyal, or priest-king, of Sikkim by the three venerated lamas at Yuksom. Phuntsog Namgyal was succeeded in 1670 by his son, Tensung Namgyal. In 1700, Sikkim was invaded by the Bhutanese with the help of the half-sister of the Chogyal, who had been denied the throne. The Bhutanese were driven away by the Tibetans, who restored the throne to the Chogyal ten years later. In 1791, China sent troops to support Sikkim and defend Tibet against the Gorkha Kingdom. Following the subsequent defeat of Gorkha, the Chinese Qing dynasty established control over Sikkim. Flag of the Sikkim Monarchy A Sikkim Monarch

Following the beginning of British rule in India, Sikkim allied with Britain against their common adversary, Nepal. However, ties between Sikkim and the British weakened when the British began taxation of the Morang region. In 1849, two British physicians, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker and Dr. Archibald Campbell, the latter overseeing relations between the British and Sikkimese governments, ventured into the mountains of Sikkim unannounced and unauthorized. The doctors were detained by the Sikkimese government, leading to a punitive British expedition against the kingdom, after which the Darjeeling district and Morang were annexed to British India in 1853. The Chogyal of Sikkim became a titular ruler under the directive of the British governor as a result of the invasion. Sikkim became a British protectorate in the later decades of the 19th century.  Sikkim was gradually granted more sovereignty over the next three decades and became a member of the Chamber of Princes, the assembly represen

Prior to Indian independence, Jawaharlal Nehru, as the Vice President of the Executive Council, pushed through a resolution in the Indian Constituent Assembly to the effect that Sikkim and Bhutan, as Himalayan states, were not 'Indian states' and their future should be negotiated separately. A standstill agreement was signed in February 1948. Meanwhile, Indian independence and its move to democracy spurred a fledgeing political movement in Sikkim, giving rise to the formation of the Sikkim State Congress (SSC). The palace attempted to defuse the movement by appointing three secretaries from the SSC to the government and sponsoring a counter-movement in the name of Sikkim National Party, which opposed accession to India. A state council was established in 1953 to allow for constitutional government under the Chogyal. Despite pressures from an India "bent on annexation", Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal was able to preserve autonomy and shape a "model Asian state&quo

In 1975, the Prime Minister of Sikkim appealed to the Indian Parliament for Sikkim to become a state of India. In April of that year, the Indian Army took over the city of Gangtok and disarmed the Chogyal's palace guards. Thereafter, a referendum was held in which 97.5 percent of voters supported abolishing the monarchy, effectively approving union with India.  On 16 May 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union, and the monarchy was abolished. Gangtok The Chogyal's Palace

In 2000, the seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who had been confirmed by the Dalai Lama and accepted as a tulku by the Chinese government, escaped from Tibet, seeking to return to the Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim. Chinese officials were in a quandary on this issue, as any protests to India would mean an explicit endorsement of India's governance of Sikkim, which China still recognized as an independent state occupied by India. The Chinese government eventually recognized Sikkim as an Indian state in 2003, on the condition that India officially recognize Tibet as a part of China. The current Chief Minister of Sikkim is Prem Singh Tamang. Prem Singh Tamang Dalai Lama