Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas. It is the least populous state in India, and the second smallest in area after Goa. Sikkim was an independent state ruled by the Chogyal monarchy until 1975, when a referendum to make it India's twenty-second state succeeded. The thumb-shaped state borders Nepal in the west, The People's Republic of China to the north and east, and Bhutan in the south-east. The Indian state of West Bengal borders Sikkim to its south. The official language is Nepali, and the predominant religions are Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism. Gangtok is the capital and largest town.

History

The earliest recorded event related to Sikkim is the passage of the Buddhist saint Guru Rinpoche through the land in the 9th century. The Guru is reported to have blessed the land, introduced Buddhism to Sikkim, and foretold the era of monarchy in the state that would arrive centuries later.

Related Topics:
Guru Rinpoche - 9th century - Buddhism

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In the 13th century, according to legend, Guru Tashi, a prince from the Mi-nyak House in Kham in Eastern Tibet, had a divine revelation one night instructing him to travel south to seek his fortunes. His descendants were later to form the royal family of Sikkim. In 1642, the fifth generation descendant of Guru Tashi, Phuntsog Namgyal, was consecrated as the first Chogyal (king) of Sikkim by the three venerated Lamas who came from the north, west, and south to Yuksom, marking the beginning of the monarchy.

Related Topics:
13th century - Guru Tashi - Mi-nyak House - Kham - Tibet - 1642 - Phuntsog Namgyal - Chogyal - Yuksom

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Phuntsog Namgyal was succeeded in 1670 by his son, Tensung Namgyal, who moved the capital from Yuksom to Rabdentse. 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. Between 1717 and 1733, the kingdom faced many raids by the Nepalese in the west and Bhutanese in the east, culminating with the capture of the capital Rabdentse by the Nepalese.

Related Topics:
1670 - Tensung Namgyal - Rabdentse - 1700 - Bhutanese - 1717 - 1733

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Following the arrival of the British in neighbouring India, Sikkim allied with them against their common enemy, Nepal. The Nepalese attacked Sikkim, overrunning most of the region including the Terai. This prompted the British East India Company to attack Nepal, resulting in the Gurkha War of 1814. Treaties signed between Sikkim and Nepal–the Sugauli Treaty – and Sikkim and British India – Titalia Treaty – returned the territory annexed by the Nepalese to Sikkim in 1817.

Related Topics:
British - Terai - British East India Company - The Gurkha War - 1814 - Sugauli Treaty - Titalia Treaty - 1817

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Ties between Sikkim and the British administrators of India grew sour, however, with the beginning of British taxation of the Morang region. In 1849 two British doctors ventured into the mountains of Sikkim unannounced and unauthorised. The doctors were detained by the Sikkim government, leading to a punitive British expedition against the Himalayan kingdom, after which the Darjeeling district and Morang were annexed to India in 1861. The invasion led to the chogyal's becoming a puppet king under the directive of the British governor.

Related Topics:
Morang - 1849 - Doctor - Darjeeling - 1861

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In 1947, a popular vote rejected Sikkim's joining the Indian Union and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to a special protectorate status for Sikkim. After a period of unrest in 1972-1973, matters came to a head in 1975, when the Kazi (Prime Minister) appealed to the Indian Parliament for representation and change of status to statehood. A referendum was held in which 97.5% of the people voted to join the Indian Union. A few weeks later on May 16th, 1975, Sikkim officially became a state of the Indian Union, and the monarchy was abolished.

Related Topics:
1947 - Prime Minister - Jawaharlal Nehru - Protectorate - 1972 - 1973 - 1975 - Kazi - Indian Parliament - Referendum - May 16th

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http://www.sikkiminfo.net/elections_after_merger.htm

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In 2000, in a major embarrassment for China, the seventeenth Karmapa Urgyen Trinley Dorje, who had been proclaimed by China, made a dramatic escape from Tibet to the Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim. Chinese officials were in a quandary on this issue as any protests to India on the issue would mean an explicit endorsment of India's governance of Sikkim, which the Chinese still hadn't recognised. China eventually recognised Sikkim as an Indian state in 2003, which led to a thaw in Sino-Indian relations. In return, India announced its official recognition of Tibet as an integrated part of China. As part of a significant pact between India and China signed by the prime ministers of the two countries, Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao, China released an official map clearly showing Sikkim as part of the Republic of India. (Barua, The Hindu, 2005)

Related Topics:
2000 - Karmapa - Urgyen Trinley Dorje - Rumtek Monastery - 2003 - Sino-Indian relations - Tibet - Manmohan Singh - Wen Jiabao

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