Kingdom of Sikkim

Not to be confused with Sikh Empire.

Kingdom of Sikkim འབྲས་ལྗོངས། (Sikkimese) Drenjong འབྲས་མོ་གཤོངས། (Classical Tibetan) Dremoshong ᰕᰚᰬᰯ ᰜᰤᰴ (Lepcha) Mayel Lyang
1642–1975
Flag Top: State flag (1967–1975) Bottom: Royal flag (1877–1975) Coat of arms
Motto: "Oh, the jewel of creation is in the Lotus"
Anthem: Drenjong Silé Yang Chhagpa Chilo "Why is Sikkim Blooming So Fresh and Beautiful?"
Location and administrative map of the Kingdom of Sikkim before incorporation into India
Status	Protectorate of Tibet of Qing China (until 1890) Bhutanese domination (1680/1700–1792) Nepalese domination (1776–1792) Nepalo-Bhutanese presence (1792–1816) East India Company presence (1816–1858) Presence of British Raj (1858–1861) Protectorate of the British Raj (1861–1947) (de facto) Protectorate of India (1950–1975)
Capital	Yuksom (1642–1670) Rabdentse (1670–1793) Tumlong (1793–1894) Gangtok (1894–1975)
Official languages	Chöke, Sikkimese
Common languages	Lepcha (early period), Dzongkha, Nepali (late period)
Religion	Tibetan Buddhism Nepali Hinduism
Demonyms	Drenjop, Sikkimese
Government	Absolute monarchy (until 1973) Parliamentary constitutional monarchy (1973–1975)
Chogyal
• 1642–1670 (first)	Phuntsog Namgyal
• 1963–1975 (last)	Palden Thondup Namgyal
Prime Minister
• 1949 (first)	Tashi Tshering
• 1974–1975 (last)	Kazi Lhendup Dorjee
Legislature	State Council of Sikkim
History
• Established	1642
• Bhutanese 1st Invasion	1680
• Bhutanese 2nd Invasion	1700
• Nepalese Invasion	1776
• Treaty of Titalia signed	1817
• Darjeeling given to British India	1835
• Palden Thondup Namgyal forced to abdicate	1975
• Merger with India	16 May 1975
Currency	Rupee
ISO 3166 code	SK
Today part of	India

The Kingdom of Sikkim (Classical Tibetan and , Drenjong, , Sikimr Gyalkhab) officially Dremoshong (Classical Tibetan and ) until the 1800s, was a hereditary monarchy in the Eastern Himalayas that existed from 1642 to 16 May 1975, when it was annexed by India. It was ruled by Chogyals of the Namgyal dynasty.

History

Foundation of the monarchy

According to legend, Khye Bumsa, a 14th-century prince from the Minyak House in Kham in eastern Tibet, received a divine revelation instructing him to travel south to seek his fortunes. A fifth-generation descendant of Khye Bumsa, 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, who moved the capital from Yuksom to Rabdentse (near modern Pelling). By the time of its foundation, Sikkim became a protectorate of Tibet (which at the time was part of The Khoshut Khanate until 1717 when it became part of the Dzungar Khanate and later to The Qing Dynasty in 1720.)

Nepalo-Bhutanese domination

In the mid-18th century, Sikkim was invaded by both Nepal (then the Gorkha Kingdom) and Bhutan (then ruled by Gyalsey Tenzin Rabgye) and was under both the Gorkha and the Bhutanese rule for more than 40 years. Between 1775 and 1815, almost 180,000 ethnic Nepalis from Eastern and Central Nepal migrated to Sikkim. After the British colonisation of India, however, Sikkim allied itself with the British India in order to fight Nepal, their common enemy at the time. The Nepalese then attacked Sikkim, overrunning most of the region including the Terai. This prompted the British East India Company to attack Nepal in 1814, resulting in the Anglo-Nepalese War. The Sugauli Treaty between Britain and Nepal and the Treaty of Titalia between Sikkim and British India resulted in territorial concessions by Nepal, which ceded Sikkim to British India.

British and Indian protectorate

Under the 1861 Treaty of Tumlong, Sikkim became a British protectorate.

Thutob Namgyal, the 9th Chogyal of Sikkim, looked to the Dalai Lama for spiritual leadership and during his reign the Tibetan government started to regain political influence over Sikkim. In 1888 the British sent a military expedition to expel Tibetan forces from Sikkim.

Sikkim became an Indian protectorate in 1950.

Accession to India

In 1975, allegations of discrimination against Nepali Hindus in Sikkim led to resentment against the Chogyal. According to some accounts, these developments contributed to the movement of Indian Army personnel into Gangtok. According to journalist Sunanda K. Datta-Ray of The Statesman, in April 1975 the Indian Army carried out a surprise operation during which the palace was surrounded and palace guards were killed.

Following the disarming of the palace, a referendum on the monarchy was held, which some sources describe as having taken place under questionable circumstances. Official results indicated that an overwhelming majority voted to abolish the monarchy. Subsequently, the newly formed parliament of Sikkim, led by Kazi Lhendup Dorjee, passed a resolution requesting that Sikkim become an Indian state, which was accepted by the Government of India under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Culture and religion

In culture and religion, Sikkim was linked closely with Tibet, from which its first king migrated, and Bhutan, with which it shares borders. The presence of a large ethnic Nepali population, mainly from eastern and central Nepal, also leads to cultural linkages with Nepal.

See also

• Sikkim
• History of Sikkim
• Bhutan
• Chogyal
• List of heads of government of the Kingdom of Sikkim
• List of political officers in the Kingdom of Sikkim

Sources

• Hiltz, Jackie (2003), "Constructing Sikkimese National Identity in the 1960s and 1970s" (PDF), Bulletin of Tibetology, archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2017, retrieved 1 August 2017

Further reading

• Duff, Andrew (2015). Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom. Edinburgh: Birlinn. ISBN 978-0-85790-245-0.
• Rai, Rajiv (2015), The State in the Colonial Periphery: A Study on Sikkims Relation with Great Britain, Partridge Publishing India, ISBN 978-1-4828-4871-7
• Rose, Leo E. (Spring 1969), "India and Sikkim: Redefining the Relationship", Pacific Affairs, 42 (1): 32–46, doi:10.2307/2754861, JSTOR 2754861
• Rose, Leo E. (1971), Nepal – Strategy for Survival, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-01643-9
• Sharma, Suresh Kant; Sharma, Usha (2005), Discovery of North-East India: Geography, History, Culture, Religion, Politics, Sociology, Science, Education and Economy. Sikkim. Volume ten, Mittal Publications, pp. 117–, ISBN 978-81-8324-044-4
• Singh, Amar Kaur Jasbir (1988), Himalayan triangle: a historical survey of British India's relations with Tibet, Sikkim, and Bhutan, 1765–1950, British Library, ISBN 9780712306300

External links

• "Buddhist Monasteries of Sikkim". Sikkim.nic.in.
• Climbing the clouds to Sikkim
• Kings of Sikkim
• The Sikkim saga, through an American lens, thehindu.com. Accessed 11 April 2024.