Kingdom of Sikkim

Kingdom of Sikkim
འབྲས་ལྗོངས། (Sikkimese)
*Drenjong*
འབྲས་མོ་གཤོངས། (Classical Tibetan)
*Dremoshong*
ᰕᰚᰬᰯ ᰜᰤᰴ (Lepcha)
*Mayel Lyang*
Kingdom of Sikkim འབྲས་ལྗོངས། (Sikkimese); Drenjong; འབྲས་མོ་གཤོངས། (Classical Tibetan); Dremoshong; ᰕᰚᰬᰯ ᰜᰤᰴ (Lepcha); Mayel Lyang
1642–1975
	Flag of Sikkim; (1967–1975) Coat of arms
	Anthem: Drenjong Silé Yang Chhagpa Chilo; Why is Sikkim Blooming So Fresh and Beautiful?
	Kingdom of Sikkim (red)
Status	Protectorate of Tibet (–1890) Nepalese domination (1776–1792); Nepalese presence (1792–1816); British presence (1816–1890); ; Protectorate of the British Empire (1861–1947); Protectorate of India (1950–1975);
Capital	Yuksom (1642–1670); Rabdentse (1670–1793); Tumlong (1793–1894); Gangtok (1894–1975);
Common languages	Official language Chöke, Sikkimese Other common languages Lepcha (early period) Nepali (late period)
Religion	Tibetan Buddhism
Demonym(s)	Drenjop, Sikkimese
Government	Monarchy
Chogyal
• 1642–1670 (first)	Phuntsog Namgyal
• 1963–1975 (last)	Palden Thondup Namgyal
Legislature	State Council of Sikkim
History
• Established	1642
• 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	Paisa; Rupee
	Succeeded by
Sikkim
Today part of	India

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The Kingdom of Sikkim (Classical Tibetan and Sikkimese: འབྲས་ལྗོངས། Drenjong), earlier known as Dremoshong (Classical Tibetan and Sikkimese: འབྲས་མོ་གཤོངས།, official name until 1800s), was a hereditary monarchy from 1642 to 16 May 1975 in the Eastern Himalayas. It was ruled by Chogyals of the Namgyal dynasty.

History[]

Nepalese domination[]

In the mid-18th century, Sikkim was invaded by Nepal (then the Gorkha Kingdom) and was under the Gorkha rule for more than 40 years. Between 1775 and 1815, almost 180,000 ethnic Nepalis^{[citation needed]} from Eastern and Central Nepal migrated to Sikkim.^{[citation needed]} After the British colonisation of India, however, Sikkim allied itself with British India as they had a common enemy – Nepal.^{[citation needed]} The infuriated Nepalese attacked Sikkim with vengeance, 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[3]

British and Indian protectorate[]

Under the 1861 Treaty of Tumlong Sikkim became a British protectorate, then an Indian protectorate in 1950.^[4]

Accession to India[]

In 1975, allegations of discrimination against Nepali Hindus in Sikkim led to resentment against the Chogyal.^[5]^[6] Their instigation led to Indian Army personnel moving into Gangtok. According to Sunanda K. Datta-Ray of The Statesman, the army killed the palace guards and surrounded the palace in April 1975.^[4]

After disarming the palace, a referendum on the monarchy was held, in which the Sikkimese people overwhelmingly voted to abolish the monarchy, and the new parliament of Sikkim, led by Kazi Lhendup Dorjee, proposed a bill for Sikkim to become an Indian state, which was promptly accepted by the Government of India.^[4]^[7]

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.

References[]

^ Hiltz, Constructing Sikkimese National Identity 2003, p. 80–81.
^ According to Article II of Convention of Calcutta, Sikkim was a direct protectorate of the British Government, not the British Indian government.
^ "History of Nepal: A Sovereign Kingdom". Official website of Nepal Army. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Indian hegemonism drags Himalayan kingdom into oblivion". Nikkei Asian Review. Nikkei. 21 February 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
^ Larmer, Brook (March 2008). "Bhutan's Enlightened Experiment". National Geographic. Bhutan. (print version).
^ "25 years after Sikkim". Nepali Times (#35). 23–29 March 2001.
^ Sethi, Sunil (18 February 2015). "Treaties: Annexation of Sikkim" (2). India Today. India Today. Retrieved 4 December 2016.

Works cited[]

Hiltz, Jackie (2003), "Constructing Sikkimese National Identity in the 1960s and 1970s" (PDF), Bulletin of Tibetology

External links[]

[FOOTNOTEHiltz,_Constructing_Sikkimese_National_Identity200380–81-1] Hiltz, Constructing Sikkimese National Identity 2003, p. 80–81.

[2] According to Article II of Convention of Calcutta, Sikkim was a direct protectorate of the British Government, not the British Indian government.

[nepalarmytwo-3] "History of Nepal: A Sovereign Kingdom". Official website of Nepal Army. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011.

[nikkei-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Indian hegemonism drags Himalayan kingdom into oblivion". Nikkei Asian Review. Nikkei. 21 February 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2018.

[5] Larmer, Brook (March 2008). "Bhutan's Enlightened Experiment". National Geographic. Bhutan. (print version).

[6] "25 years after Sikkim". Nepali Times (#35). 23–29 March 2001.

[7] Sethi, Sunil (18 February 2015). "Treaties: Annexation of Sikkim" (2). India Today. India Today. Retrieved 4 December 2016.

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show v t State of Sikkim
Capital: Gangtok
State symbols	Emblem: Emblem of Sikkim Animal: Red panda Bird: Blood pheasant Flower: Noble dendrobium Tree: Rhododendron
Topics	History Kingdom Chogyal Geography Highest point Music Politics People
Administration	Government Legislative Assembly Chief Ministers Governors High Court Police Seal Human Rights Commission Political Party
Districts	East Sikkim North Sikkim South Sikkim West Sikkim
Towns	Gangtok Singtam Rangpo Namchi Jorethang Geyzing Mangan
Rivers	Jaldhaka Lachen Lachung Lhonak Rangeet Rangpo chu Rangpo River Ranikhola Ratey Chu Roro Chu Teesta
Lakes	Gurudongmar Khecheopalri Menmecho Tso Lhamo Tsongmo
Glaciers	Lonak Rathong Zemu
See also	Jorethang Singtam Rangpo Upper Tadong

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