How Sikkim Became the Part of India

From 1642 to 1975, Sikkim was a Buddhist monarchy ruled by the Namgyal-Chogyal dynasty. The little kingdom had to defend itself from Nepali invasions on several occasions. Darjeeling, which had previously been part of Sikkim, was conquered by British India in 1835.. Sikkim was initially a protectorate of British India, and then, after India's independence in 1947, a protectorate of India. With India's foreign policy and national security in its hands, Sikkim's political power was severely limited when the new Constitution took effect in 1955. Bureaucrats had planned to bring down the monarchy to an end in the year 1973 and India in turn, increased the influence. Palden Namgyal Thodup, the Chogyal (king who rules with righteousness), was killed in a plane crash in 1975, and Sikkim became India's 22nd state. In this article, we are going to talk about how Sikkim became a part of India. 

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Prehistory: Information About Sikkim

The Lepcha are the first known inhabitants of Sikkim. Their cultural features, like clothing and family customs, are quite similar to the Khasi of Meghalaya, and they have a lot of language similarities with the Tangkul Naga of Northern Manipur. The Buddhist saint Padmasambhava travelled in Sikkim in the 8th century A.D., according to the oldest historical documents. Guru Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rimpoche, was the first to introduce Buddhism and foretold that the period of monarchy would arrive a century later.

AD 1200’s

Guru Tashi, a prince from the Kham area of eastern Tibet, had a heavenly vision to journey south and seek his fortune in the rice valley of Denzong. He and his family of five boys follow the directions and go south.. During their travels, they come across a Sakya kingdom where the labourers' failure to install the pillars is preventing the construction of a monastery. Guru Tashi's eldest son assists in the single-handed lifting of the pillars and is dubbed Khye Bumsa, which means "the superior of ten thousand." TThe Sakya monarch gives Khye Bumsa his daughter in marriage, and the pair settle in the Chumbi Valley.

AD 1300’s

The pair is urged to seek aid from Thekong Tek, the Lepcha priest monarch who controls (Sikkim) the territory south of the Chumbi, because Khye Bumsa's wife is barren. Bumsa's wife is able to produce three kids thanks to Thekong Tek's blessings, and out of gratitude, he visits the venerable old sage several times more, fostering an amiable connection between them. Ironically, Thekong Tek does not have any children to inherit his empire. It is believed that after a blood brotherhood bond was made between them at Kabi Lungchok, he permitted Khye Bumsa to reign after his death, on the solemn promise that he would not discriminate against his newly acquired Lepcha followers.It is a truth that most of Khye Bumsa's nobles chose a Lepcha wife to vouch for them. This will help people know about the origin and history of Sikkim state. 

Foundation of the Monarchy

AD 1600’s

The Nyingmapa sect was persecuted in Tibet, causing many to abandon the nation and seek sanctuary in areas like Sikkim and Bhutan. In 1642 Phuntsog Namgyal, a fifth-generation descendant of  Khye Bumsa is consecrated as the first Chogyal in Yuksam by Rimpoche Lhatsun Chempo, the founder of the Nyingmapa order in Sikkim and two venerated lamas. The Chumbi Valley located in the north, which goes up to Ha Dzong in the country of Bhutan, as far as the river Arun in Nepal, and much to the Jalpaiguri District in the West Bengal were all the parts about Sikkim's dominion during the time.

Phuntsog Namgyal, a fifth-generation descendant of Khye Bumsa, was consecrated as the first Chogyal (king who governs with righteousness) at Yuksom in 1642  by three venerated lamas. In 1670, Phuntsog Namgyal's son replaced him, and the capital was transferred from Yuksom to Rabdentse.

AD 1700’s

With the help of the Chogyal’s half-sister who had been denied the throne, Sikkim was invaded by the Bhutanese in 1700. The Bhutanese were forced back with the assistance of Tibet, and the Chogyal's monarchy was restored 10 years later. Bhutan gains control of Kalimpong and all of Sikkim's eastern lands.

Between 1717 and 1733, the kingdom of Sikkim was subjected to several invasions by Nepalese in the west and Bhutanese in the east, culminating in the Nepalese devastation of the capital Rabdentse. China dispatched troops to help Sikkim and protect Tibet against the Gorkha Kingdom of modern-day Nepal. Following the Gorkha's loss, the Chinese Qing Dynasty took control of Sikkim.

Information About Sikkim During The Rule Of The British In India

AD 1800’s

During British domination in neighboring India, Sikkim allied with the UK against their similar adversary, Nepal. The British East India Company was motivated to invade Nepal in response to a Nepalese invasion that afflicted most of Sikkim, including the Terai plains, ending in the Gurkah war of 1814.

British India and Sikkim negotiated treaties that led in the restoration of part but not all, of the seized land to Sikkim.

AD 1817

Following their battle with Nepal, British India intervened, and the Treaty of Titalia between British India and Sikkim was signed, restoring part, but not all, of Nepal's seized land.

AD 1828

J. W. Grant, one of the British Commercial Residents belonging to Malda, and Captain Lloyd visited Darjeeling to break down a dispute between the countries Nepal and Sikkim. They quickly recognise Darjeeling's potential as a hill resort and a trading outpost with Tibet, and they submit the plan to their government.

AD 1835

The Sikkim Raja leases Darjeeling for a price of Rs. 3,000 per year.

When the British began taxing the Morang area, ties between Sikkim and the British deteriorated.

 AD 1849 – 1865

Darjeeling became known as a hill station and a sanatorium under the Raj. Tibet's trade grows, and tea farms spring up all across the country's mountainous terrain.. In Darjeeling the British planted with the help of Nepalese workers the first tea gardens. The British create Darjeeling a hill station for their administrators since it has a more agreeable temperature than Kolkata.

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker and Dr. Archibald Campbell, the latter in charge of ties between the British and Sikkimese administrations, went unexpectedly and unapproved into the Sikkimese highlands. The doctors were imprisoned by the Sikkimese government, prompting a British invasion to punish the kingdom, which resulted in the Darjeeling region and Morang being annexed to British India in 1853. Following the invasion, the British administrator appointed the Chogyal of Sikkim as a nominal monarch.

The British Indian Empire took Kalimpong from Bhutan in 1865, and it competes about Sikkim and Darjeeling as a Tibetan commercial centre.

AD 1889

Claude White is appointed Political Officer in Sikkim, with the responsibility of keeping a close eye on the Raja of Sikkim and his ministers. Following then, a series of fascinating events unfold. Two heirs apparent to Sikkim's throne die under unexplained circumstances, putting the monarchy in the hands of second-in-line princes who had been trained for monkhood by royal edict.

AD 1890

Sikkim became a British protectorate, and during the following three decades, it progressively gained increasing independence.

AD 1914

Sidkeong Tulku, one of the 10th Chogyal, heir to the throne in AD 1914, bringing administrative along with political changes, but his rule was brief. Within a year after his enthronement, he dies. Tashi Namgyal, his brother, takes over as his successor.

Post Indian Independence: Some Details About Sikkim

AD 1947

Sikkim's membership in the Indian Union was rejected by a popular vote when India gained independence in 1947, and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to an unique protectorate status for the state. Sikkim became a part of India's suzerainty, with India controlling its foreign affairs, military, diplomacy, and communications, although it kept administrative autonomy.

AD 1953

In 1953, the Chogyal formed a state council to allow for constitutional rule. Meanwhile, the Sikkim National Congress has called for new elections and more Nepali representation in Sikkim.

AD 1962

China has launched an attack on India. Inside Sikkim, there is a significant build-up of Indian forces.

Merger of Sikkim with India

AD 1975

In 1975, the Prime Minister of Sikkim petitioned the Indian Parliament to make Sikkim a state. In April of that year, the Indian Army captured Gangtok and disarmed the Chogyal's palace guards. Following that, a referendum was held in which it was stated that a majority of voters supported the monarchy's abolition, thereby approving the union with India. The referendum's legitimacy, on the other hand, has been extensively questioned. A single Bhutia-Lepcha vote was equal to six Nepalese votes to preserve balance between the Bhutia-Lepcha minority (25 percent) and the Nepalese majority (75 percent). After rioting in front of the Chogyal's palace in 1973, the Chogyal made an official plea to India for security.The monarchy was abolished on May 16, 1975, when Sikkim became the Indian Union's 22nd state. 

The Indian Parliament modified the Indian Constitution to make it possible for the new state to be formed. To begin with, the 35th Amendment established a series of requirements that designated Sikkim as a "Associate State," a classification that no other state has. Sikkim became a complete state after the 36th Amendment overturned the 35th Amendment and added its name to the Constitution's First Schedule.