History of Sikkim

The earliest recorded event related to Sikkim is the passage of the Buddhist saint Guru Rinpoche through the land in the 8th 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. In the 14th century, according to legend, Khye Bumsa, a prince from the Minyak 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 Khye Bumsa, 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.

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 destruction of the capital Rabdentse by the Nepalese.

Following the arrival of the British Raj 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 Sugali Treaty - and Sikkim and British India - Titalia Treaty - returned the territory annexed by the Nepalese to Sikkim in 1817.

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 1835. The invasion led to the chogyal’s becoming a puppet king under the directive of the British governor.

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 Sikkim’s status to a state of India. 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 the 22nd state of the Indian Union, and monarchy was abolished. [1]

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 as being a part of India.

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)

Kingdom of Sikkim

In 1642, the fifth generation descendant of Guru Tashi, Phuntsog Namgyal was consecrated as the first Denjong Gyalpo or the Chogyal (king) of Sikkim by the three great Lamas who came from the north, west and south to Yuksom Norbugang in West Sikkim. The event, Naljor Chezhi, was as predicted by Guru Rinpoche some eight hundred years before. This historical gathering of the three virtuous lamas is called Yuksom, which in Lepcha means the ‘Three Superior Ones’. The chogyal, along with the three lamas proselytised the Lepcha tribes into Buddhism and annexed the Chumbi Valley, the present day Darjeeling district and parts of today’s eastern Nepal.

Phuntsog Namgyal was succeeded by his son, Tensung Namgyal in 1670. The reign of the chogyal was peaceful and saw the capital being shifted from Yuksom to Rabdentse. Chadok Namgyal, the king’s second wife’s son took over the throne from him in 1700. This outraged his elder half-sister Pendiongmu and ousted him with the help of the Bhutanese. Chadok fled to Tibet where he remained in exile for ten years before returning and reclaiming his lost territory with the help of the Tibetans.

His son Gurmed Namgyal succeeded him in 1717. Gurmed’s reign saw many skirmishes between the Nepalese and Sikkimese. Phunstok Namgyal, the illegitimate child of Gurmed, succeeded his father in 1733. His reign was tumultuous and faced with attacks by the Bhutanese and the Nepalese who managed to capture the capital Rabdentse.

Tenzing Namgyal, the next ruler of Sikkim was a weak ruler, and his sovereignty saw most of Sikkim being appropriated by Nepal. The chogyal was forced to flee to Lhasa where he died in 1780. Tshudpud Namgyal, his son returned to Sikkim in 1793 to reclaim the throne. Finding Rabdentse too close to the Nepalese border, he shifted the capital to Tumlong.

British arrival

With the arrival of the British in neighbouring India, Sikkim allied itself with them as they had a common enemy - Nepal. The infuriated Nepalese attacked Sikkim with vengeance overrunning most of the region including the Terrai. This prompted the British East India Company to attack Nepal resulting in the Gurkha War in 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.

Meanwhile the British were looking for a route to establish trading links with Tibet. An offshoot of the ancient Silk Route through Sikkim meant that the kingdom was ideal as a transit route. A secondary reason for the establishment of links was to quell the growing Russian influence in Tibet. However ties between Sikkim and India grew sour with the taxation of area of Morang by the British. In 1835, Sikkim was forced to cede the town of Darjeeling to the British on the condition that a compensation of Rs 35,000 be paid to him.

Puppet state

In 1849, a pair of British doctors Campbell and Hooker ventured into the mountains of Sikkim unannounced and unauthorised by the Chogyal of Sikkim. The doctors were detained by the Sikkim government, which led to a punitive British expedition against the Himalayan kingdom in which the whole of Darjeeling district and Morang were annexed in 1861, although the kingdom continued to exist as an independent rump state centred around the capital at Gangtok. The old Chogyal was forced to abdicate in favour of his son, Sidekong Namgyal in 1863.

The Chogyals of Sikkim endeavoured to modernise their state in the succeeding decades, along with their army. A state visit to Darjeeling by the new, Sidekong’s half brother, Chogyal Thutob Namgyal in 1873 failed to yield such results, and he returned to Tumlong disappointed. In 1886, the British, interested in trade with Tibet, launched a brief expedition into Sikkim. The Tibetans occupied several of Sikkim’s northern border forts, and the Chogyal and his wife were held prisoner by the British when they came to negotiate at Calcutta. In 1888, the Tibetans were defeated and northern Sikkim came under the rule of British India. The British established new landholdings in Sikkim, but released the Chogyal only to have him captured again in 1891. In 1894, the capital was shifted to Gangtok.

In 1895, the Chogyal was released, but the British governors in India reneged on an agreement - the Ten Clauses Agreement - which returned sovereignty to Sikkim. The governor of British India, Claude White, refused to return any sovereignty, and only let the Choygal retain the judiciary of Sikkim.

In 1905, the Prince of Wales - the future King George V - arrived in Calcutta on a state visit during which he met the Chogyal. The two made an excellent acquaintance and the Crown Prince of Sikkim, Sidkeong Tulku was sent to study at Oxford University. When Sidkeong came to power, he arranged widened sovereignty for Sikkim from King George’s government and endorsed sweeping reforms in his short rule as Chogyal, which ended in 1914. In 1918, Sikkim’s independence in all domestic affairs was restored, and in the next decade she embarked on a policy to end social ills, outlawing gambling, child labour, and indentured service.

Independent monarchy

Sikkim had retained guarantees of independence from Britain when she became independent, and such guarantees were transferred to the Indian government when it gained independence in 1947. A popular vote for Sikkim to join the Indian Union failed and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to a special protectorate status for Sikkim. Sikkim was to be a tributary of India, in which India controlled its external defence, diplomacy and communication. A state council was established in 1955 to allow for constitutional government for the Chogyal, which was sustained until 1973.

In 1962, India and the People’s Republic of China went to war. Although Sikkim was an independent country, skirmishes occurred at the Nathula Pass between Indian border guards and the Chinese soldiers. Following India’s subsequent defeat, the ancient Pass was permanently shut down.

The old ruler Tashi Namgyal died in 1963 after suffering from cancer. The last hereditary ruler, the Chogyal, Palden Thondup Namgyal ascended to the throne in 1965. Meanwhile trouble was brewing in the state after the Sikkim National Congress demanded fresh elections and greater representation for the Nepalese. In 1973, riots in front of the palace led to a formal request for protection from India. The chogyal was proving to be extremely unpopular with the people and was considered to be aloof, especially after his marriage to an US citizen.

Frosty relations between the chogyal the elected Kazi (Prime Minister) Lendup Dorji, witnessed the attempting of the blocking the meeting of the Legislature. The Kazi was elected by the Council of Ministers which was unanimous in its opposition to the retention of the Monarchy. Matters came to a head in 1975 when the Kazi appealed to the Indian Parliament for representation and change of status to statehood. On April 14, 1975, a referendum merged Sikkim with the union of India. Sikkim became the 22nd Indian State on April 26, 1975. On May 16, 1975; Sikkim was officially a state of the Indian Union. This was promptly recognised by the United Nation and all countries except China.

The position of Chogyal was thus abolished, ending the monarchy. In 1982, Palden Thondup succumbed to cancer in the United States.