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The Print
10-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
From Brutus to hero—How former Sikkim CM Dorjee's image changed in state's history
Sidhu was a well-connected IPS officer. He was the son-in-law of then Foreign Affairs Minister Swaran Singh under Indira Gandhi when he took up his posting in Gangtok in 1973 as the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). Sidhu noted that Gandhi's approach to foreign policy was quite different from that of her father, and by this time, Jawaharlal Nehru's key foreign policy and intelligence advisers, TN Kaul and BN Mullik, had given way to Kewal Singh and RN Kao, masters in the strategic game. But the most significant factor was the forceful personality of Indira Gandhi. In fact, Sidhu states clearly in the Preface that one of the reasons he wrote the book was to resurrect the reputation of Dorjee, who had led the movement for democracy in Sikkim. After spending years in political wilderness in Kalimpong ( where I met him both as SDO of Kalimpong and later as the CEO of Himul Milk Project), he received the Padma Vibhushan – India's second highest civilian award in 2002 and the Sikkim Ratan in 2004. If Datta Ray's book Smash and Grab: Annexation of Sikkim had portrayed the Kazi Lhendup Dorjee as the ungrateful Brutus who betrayed the trust of the Chogyal to become the first Chief Minister of the new state, GBS Sidhu's book Sikkim: Dawn of Democracy reversed the stand. After India's decisive military victory of 1971, which changed the cartography of South Asia, she was determined to assert India's role as the dominant regional power. The UN recognition of Bhutan took her by surprise, and the foreign office got quite an earful as India was not consulted on this move. Sidhu highlights Chogyal's antipathy toward his Nepali subjects – whom he felt were outsiders, but by then they were 75 per cent of the population. The more he supported the claims of Bhutias and Lepchas as the first inhabitants of Sikkim, the greater was the anti-Chogyal feeling in the majority community. This was also the key point stressed by BS Das, in his book The Sikkim Saga (1984), the Administrator of Sikkim present along with Sidhu during the period of turmoil. According to Das, had the Chogyal accepted the peaceful transition to adult franchise with a Nepali majority assembly and accepted the position of a constitutional head with symbolic powers per the 1973 arrangements of Sikkim as an Associate state of India, the applecart might not have been rocked. However, Das also admits that there was a lack of ground-level coordination among the different agencies of the government of India. There's also Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom by the Scotsman Andrew Duff (2015), who was trying to trace his grandfather's travel to the Sikkim Himalayas undertaken over a century ago. He had access to the weekly letters of the Scottish Headmistresses of the Paljor Namgyal Girls' school in Gangtok. Both Martha Hamilton and Isabel Ritchie had maintained their journal, and also wrote regularly to their family in Scotland. These letters and journal entries give a first-hand, contemporaneous account of the events in Gangtok from 1959 to 1975, including the fairytale marriage celebrations of the Chogyal with Hope Cooke. Of course, the perspective is largely that of the royal palace, as the missionaries were often invited to dine with the royal family and shared some of their confidences. However, to be fair to Duff, he also gives the viewpoint of the other dramatis personae, including Kazi Saheb, in his narrative. In Kolkata, at a literature festival in 2016, I spoke to Duff. The focus of the book is not political – but the major events do find a fair coverage in its pages. Also read: Sikkim's accession to India has 6 stories. And 3 strong-willed women India's 22nd state In 2021, Ambassador Preet Mohan Singh Malik, who had been posted in Sikkim in the late 1960s, penned his memoirs under the title Sikkim: A History of Intrigue and Alliance in 2021. He delves deep into history and has a keen interest in historical reasoning. Even before listing the contents, he quotes professor and former Ambassador of India to China KM Panikkar: 'But a nation can neglect geography only at its peril.' The thesis advanced in the book is that India under Nehru neglected 'geography'. But in hindsight, Panikkar too can be accused of giving a clean chit to the Chinese Communist Party's 'imperial ambitions' concerning the non-Han nationalities. In fact, Nehru's China policy was shaped, over and above the protestations of the Secretary General of the foreign office, Girja Shankar Bajpai, by the dispatches from Panikkar, who was, in many ways, a fellow traveller. The 18 chapters are divided into three parts: Britain, Tibet and Sikkim; Britain and its perfidious dealings with Tibet; and India, Tibet, and Sikkim. Malik combines insights into the erstwhile kingdom's unique history with the intriguing story of how Sikkim became India's 22nd state. He examines the often-fraught relationship between the Lepchas (Rongpas) — its original inhabitants — and the Bhutias, people of Tibetan origin who established institutions of religion and governance, and founded the Namgyal dynasty that ruled Sikkim until it became a part of the Indian Union. He also traces the clash of both with the Nepali settlers who would eventually form the majority. Last, but not least, let us look at a book written by Biraj Adhikari, an insider: Sikkim: The Wounds of History (2010). As his name suggests, Adhikari is a Sikkimese of Nepali origin. He was a school-going teenager when he had to learn a new national anthem and salute a new flag. He writes about the dilemma of talking about the 'merger' in public, while calling it an 'annexation' in private conversation. Adhikari is not an apologist for the Chogyal either – he points out that for all his pretensions of sovereignty, the Chogyal always held an Indian passport. Adhikari blames the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi for describing the 1956 Chogyal trip to New Delhi as a 'state visit', and playing the Sikkim National Anthem on his ceremonial arrival. His book talks about the multiple dilemmas faced by his generation. Are Sikkimese full-fledged Indians, especially in the context of 371 F? Well, even though Sikkimese have all the privileges of Indian citizenship, what about Indians living in Sikkim? They are denied several privileges reserved for Sikkim state subjects—preferential access to education, employment and land rights and exemption from the payment of income tax. As Sikkim grows at a double-digit pace, it would certainly attract many more non-Sikkimese Indians, and a demographic change of a magnitude similar to the one in the latter half of the 19th century may be in the offing. And if demography is indeed destiny, then those currently enjoying the privileges of being Sikkim state subjects may resist the extension of similar rights to the rest of their countrymen. Adhikari tried his hand in the democratic polity of Sikkim—but was always second in the hustings. However, he was always an influential voice in Sikkim poetics – having been associated with Sikkim National Congress, Sikkim National Peoples Party, and Hamro Sikkim. But he hopes for a closure to the apprehensions which many people in this state, with a fragile demography, are legitimately concerned with. One hopes that this extended essay gives us an insight not just into the facts of the case, but also about the multiple perspectives that shape our understanding of the events in the past. History, as they say, is always in the making. Sanjeev Chopra is a former IAS officer and Festival Director of Valley of Words. Until recently, he was director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. He tweets @ChopraSanjeev. Views are personal. (Edited by Ratan Priya)
India Today
29-05-2025
- General
- India Today
(1982) From the India Today archives
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated March 15, 1982)The last years of his life had been spent in bitterness and pain and even humiliation. He was a king without a kingdom, betrayed by his own people, his tiny Himalayan monarchy snatched rudely away by a mighty neighbour, his power and prestige reduced to nothingness. And then, the final denouement: deserted by his American wife, he lay stricken with cancer in an alien Palden Thondup Namgyal, 59, the former Chogyal of Sikkim, finally passed into legend and history, there remained the ultimate irony: his voice box had been removed three months earlier so there were no last words, no epitaph he could give himself, no final benediction to his irony, however, was not over. In death, if not in life, the Chogyal finally was king again and his tortured soul had found peace. For 20 days, his body, embalmed in New York where he died, lay in state in the royal monastery in Gangtok while thousands of mourners filed past, some sobbing uncontrollably, to pay their final farewell to the departed leader. At each corner of the tent-shaped coffin (the Chogyal, according to traditional custom, was placed seated in the classic Buddha pose) four members of the Sikkim Police maintained a 24-hour vigil, heads bowed and rifles PAGEANTRY: Only a king could have commanded, and deserved, such stylised pageantry. Instead of the sombre trappings of a funeral, the coffin room was a riot of colours. Two rows of wizened lamas in their red robes sat facing each other, eyes closed and lips moving silently in prayer. Huge prayer flags and tankhas with intricate designs hung solemnly from the hundred butter lamps flickered constantly in the centre of the room, bathing the scene in an eerie glow. There was also a symbolic show of defiance in the form of the red and white Sikkim national flag draped over the coffin and hiding the Chogyal's mortal remains from public to the coffin, neatly laid out with spotless tableware, was an incongruous sight - a full meal, freshly cooked, which was served up thrice a day. At breakfast, for instance, there were two fried eggs, bacon, orange juice, a thermos jug of coffee and fruit. According to Buddhist tradition, the soul of the dead does not leave the body immediately, but at a moment termed auspicious by the lamas for a period up to 49 days after economic reasons, since the family of the dead person has to feed the mourners, the actual cremation takes place within a week. In the Chogyal's case, the lamas had picked the 21st day after his death for the the day his body had been flown in to Gangtok on January 31, a row of intricately designed tents had been erected on the grassy knoll separating the palace from the royal monastery. Under the tents, hundreds of female volunteers slaved day and night to provide meals for the hundreds who arrived daily from all parts of the rugged, mountainous state for the door, in the tiny Victorian building known as the Palace, the members of the Chogyal's family huddled in private grief, led by the bespectacled and self-assured scion of the Namgyal family, Wangchuk Namgyal, 29."His last days were peaceful and spent in meditation. I think he knew he was going to die and though he couldn't speak he made this quite obvious," says Palden Namgyal the Chogyal's curly-haired son by his second wife, Hope Cooke, who studies in New York and was by his father's bedside when the end present was Bhuvanesh Kumari, member of the erstwhile royal family of Patiala and a family friend as well as the former Chogyal's legal adviser. "He was a great man, a renowned scholar and this spontaneous show of grief is a measure of the affection the people had for him," she the day of the cremation, the royal family gathered around the coffin at 4.30 a.m. in the pre-dawn darkness to make the traditional offerings of scarves to the Chogyal's coffin. They were joined by the royal family of Bhutan, led by the queen mother, which is related by marriage to the Chogyal's 4.45, with dawn edging over the mountains, the coffin was brought out of the monastery and taken to a specially-erected tent and placed on a gaily-decorated palanquin. Till 9 a.m., the coffin remained there while assorted VIPs including N.R. Lasker, minister of state for home, and Homi Talyarkhan, governor of Sikkim, and commoners filed past silently to pay final overcome by emotion, knelt and touched the ground with their foreheads in the traditional obeisance to a king. At 9.05, the former Chogyal set out on his final journey to the royal cremation ground on top of a hill overlooking the the procession were a group of lamas carrying prayer flags and playing instruments. Behind them marched a brass band playing funeral marches. Behind them was a police contingent with rifles pointing backwards followed by a group of old women with prayer wheels chanting incantations. Then came the main body of the procession, led by the Head Lama. Behind him, the two princesses, Yangchen and Hope Lizum, the latter, the 14-year-old daughter of the Chogyal's second wife Hope Cooke, carrying food and drink wrapped in white CLIMB: The coffin itself was initially carried by the male members of the royal family led by Prince Wangchuk and his step-brother, Palden, and Simon Abraham, the English husband of procession circled the royal monastery thrice before another set of pall-bearers took over the started the long seven-kilometre climb to the royal cremation ground. Every 200 yards, the pall-bearers would be replaced by people from various localities along the route. In fact, for the last four kilometres of the route, the procession crawled up a narrow, steep path that was, in some places, little more than a goat took the procession over three hours to finally arrive at the cremation ground where the coffin was placed on top of a specially-constructed bell-shaped funeral pyre. The cremation ground itself was a mass of humanity, with the more agile having clambered up trees to obtain a better an hour of rituals, the royal family paid their last respects by throwing scarves onto the pyre after bowing thrice with folded hands, their foreheads touching the ground. Finally, to the moving sound of the Last Post echoing through the hills, the pyre was lit and a huge pillar of smoke rose slowly in the hushed silence, casting its shadow over the entire was, in the end, a symbol of many things. The end of a shadowy era and the tenuous beginnings of another. An intangible tribute to the memory of a lost kingdom and a disillusioned king. But to the thousands of watching mourners, for that one fiery moment, Sikkim was theirs again and not the 22nd state of the Indian to India Today Magazine
India Today
29-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
How royals, British, Tibetans and political parties shaped Sikkim's faith
The summer of 1975 saw a key shift in India's map. On May 16, Sikkim officially became the 22nd state of the Indian Union through the 36th Amendment of the Constitution, following a public vote that supported joining development was not sudden. It came after more than 20 years of political talks, unrest, and treaties. The monarchy of the Chogyal rulers came to an end, and Sikkim moved from a protectorate (a state that is controlled and protected by another) to full links to the Indian region go back centuries. Some early legends connect its rulers to India's ancient past. After independence in 1947, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took on the task of bringing over 550 princely states into the Union. Sikkim stayed out of this process but remained in close contact with 1950, under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, India and Sikkim signed a treaty. This agreement allowed India to handle defence, communication, and foreign affairs -- areas that had been managed similarly during British time, protests grew in Sikkim. Demands for democratic reform gained support. In 1975, a referendum was held. Most people voted to end the monarchy and join leaders -- Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, and later, Indira Gandhi -- each played a part in this shift. Patel laid the groundwork, Nehru handled early diplomacy, and Gandhi oversaw the final step. The last Chogyal ruler with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (Image: Wikimedia Commons) advertisementTHE LAST MONARCHS OF SIKKIMThe Chogyal dynasty of Sikkim began its rule in the 17th century, following centuries of Tibetan influence that dated back to around the 7th the time, the region was largely inhabited and governed by the Lepchas, Limbus, and Magars. In the early 1600s, a major Tibetan migration into the area led to the consecration of Phuntsog Namgyal as the first dynasty maintained its rule for generations until British interest in the region grew. During the Anglo-Gorkha War of 1814-16, Sikkim aligned with the British against the Gorkhas of Nepal. The alliance resulted in territorial gains for the Chogyals at Nepal's Great Game of the 19th century between Soviet Russia and Britain opened new possibilities for the region. Both British India and Qing China viewed Sikkim as a strategic as Chinese control over Tibet declined in the early 19th century, the British extended their reach northwards. This culminated in British military expeditions into the late 19th century, Sikkim's isolation had ended. The kingdom was increasingly drawn into the geopolitical calculations of the British Empire, setting the stage for deeper integration in the decades to not formally annexed into Her Majesty's dominions, the sovereignty of Sikkim had been considerably tempered by a series of solemn treaties and diplomatic understandings with the East India Company and its 'British Sikkim' existed, 'Independent Sikkim' remained as a rump state based in Gangtok, controlling about 2,500 square miles (6,500 km) of land," writes Sir Richard Carnac Temple in his most notable of these instruments is the Treaty of Tumlong, concluded in the year 1861, whereby a formal protectorate was established. King of Sikkim with a group of Tibetan lamas (Image: Wikimedia Commons) By this accord, the British assumed control over the affairs of Sikkim without laying full claim to its lands, permitting the native Chogyals to retain their throne, albeit under the watchful eye of imperial agents and the British agent has been deployed in the capital Convention of Lhasa, held in 1904 following the British expedition into Tibet, further affirmed the articles of the earlier Calcutta Convention, thus strengthening the British position in the region and placing Sikkim ever more firmly within the imperial INDIA AND SIKKIMAfter the British left India in 1947, the princely states of India had to make a decision whether to be part of India or the newly made Pakistan. Most of the states chose to be either with India or Pakistan; several, however, took a stance that turned into an uphill task for the leaders of Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the ruler of Junagadh remained undecided at that no such direct control of the British over Sikkim, the challenge was on the table for Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and then Prime Minister Jawaharlal a most deliberate and statesmanlike endeavour, it has been recorded in the work The Origin of India's States by Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan, that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, in concert with the esteemed constitutional counsellor to the Assembly of the Realm, BN Rau, did set forth upon a noble enterprise -- to draw the Kingdom of Sikkim into the fold of the Indian dominion.A popular vote for Sikkim to join the Indian Union failed, and the Indian government was forced to agree upon special protectorate status for people by then were allowed to travel on Indian passports abroad, and in times of security threats, India could override domestic powers as mentioned in the growing Communist Chinese influence in the region made India worrisome, and the invasion of Tibet by China shook the chairs in Delhi. Indian soldiers at the Chinese Border during the Indo-Sino War (Image: Wikimedia Commons) "In 1959, the Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet highlighted Sikkim's strategic importance to both India and China. Prime Minister Nehru remarked that the Chumbi Valley, held by China, was a dagger pointed at the heart of India. During the 1962 Sino-Indian War, Indian forces moved to prevent a Chinese advance, leading to brief skirmishes," writes Andrew Duff in A Himalayan Chess the Sino-Indian War, the forces of India blocked the Sikkim passes to counter any possible threats from the region. The strategy remained successful, and Sikkim was never invaded by the SIKKIM BECAME INDIA 'S 22ND STATEThe political turmoil in the state weakened the monarchy in a decade, and with a strong democratic presence in India, there were a higher chance of installing a pro-democratic government in the work Sikkim: Dawn of Democracy, a former RAW agent Sidhu recounts how, in 1973, he led a discreet mission to official charge was to inform the Chogyal of Chinese movements, yet his true task was to advise the Sikkim Congress and support the kingdom's entry into year, protests against the monarchy grew, surrounding the royal palace with Chogyal, pressed by unrest, requested help from New Delhi, which sent troops. A tripartite agreement was signed between the Chogyal, the Indian government, and political parties to bring political 1974, elections were held, won by the Sikkim Congress under Kazi Dorji. A new constitution reduced the monarch to a figurehead. The following year, a referendum showed strong support to abolish the monarchy and join after, India's Ministry of External Affairs introduced the Thirty-Sixth Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha to admit Sikkim as a state. Sikkim's new parliament then proposed a bill for statehood, which India journey to becoming India's 22nd state was marked by strategic challenges, diplomatic resolve, and shifting power dynamics -- from the fading rule of the Chogyals to decisive leadership under Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira even a base for CIA operations amid Cold War anxieties, Sikkim now stands firmly on the path of progress as an integral part of India's democratic Watch
NDTV
29-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
PM Modi To Launch Development Projects In Sikkim, West Bengal Today
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the golden jubilee celebrations marking 50 years of Sikkim's statehood at the Paljor Stadium in Gangtok on Thursday. Marking 50 glorious years of Statehood, the Prime Minister will participate in 'Sikkim@50: Where Progress Meets Purpose and Nature Nurtures Growth'. The historic event will commemorate Sikkim's transformation from a monarchy to becoming the 22nd state of India in 1975, following a referendum that led to the merger of the erstwhile Chogyal kingdom with the Indian Union. The northeastern state, India's second smallest, attained full statehood on May 16, 1975. The accession came with a special constitutional safeguard -- Article 371F -- ensuring the preservation of Sikkim's unique ethnic identity, cultural traditions, and customs. Over the past five decades, Sikkim has emerged as a model for sustainable development and eco-friendly governance, drawing national and global recognition for its green initiatives and environmental stewardship. The Sikkim government has planned a year-long series of activities under the theme 'Sunaulo, Samriddha and Samarth Sikkim', celebrating the essence of the north-eastern state's cultural richness, tradition, natural splendour and history. During his visit, PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple development projects, including a new 500-bedded District hospital worth over Rs 750 crore in Namchi district; a Passenger Ropeway at Sangachoeling, Pelling in Gyalshing District; a Statue of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Atal Amrit Udyan at Sangkhola in Gangtok District, among others. In addition to this, the Prime Minister will release the Commemorative coin, souvenir coin and stamp of 50 years of Statehood. While PM Modi was originally scheduled to participate in the Statehood Day celebrations on May 16, the visit was deferred due to Operation Sindoor -- India's military response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. In preparation for the high-profile event, the Sikkim government has extended formal invitations to all officers from the rank of Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary (and their equivalents), along with staff from various state departments, public sector undertakings, and central government agencies in Gangtok. To facilitate the smooth execution of the ceremony, the Sikkim government had earlier issued an advisory, announcing the temporary closure of offices and schools in Gangtok along with vehicular movement restrictions across key routes in the capital city. Later in the day, the Prime Minister will visit Alipurduar in West Bengal, where he will lay the foundation stone for the City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in the Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts. This initiative is aimed at expanding clean energy infrastructure in the region. While PM Modi was originally scheduled to participate in the Statehood Day celebrations on May 16, the visit was deferred due to Operation Sindoor -- India's military response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
Hindustan Times
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Sikkim gears up to celebrate 50th anniversary of statehood; PM Modi to attend
SILIGURI: Sikkim, India's least populous and the second-smallest among Indian states, will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its statehood on Thursday, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also travel to the state on the occasion and inaugurate several projects, including a 500-bed hospital built at a cost of ₹750 crores at Namchi, a passenger ropeway at Gyalshing and a statue of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Gangtok. 'India is very proud of the contribution of Sikkim towards national progress. The unique culture of Sikkim is also widely admired,' PM Modi said in a post on X, announcing his visit to celebrate the 50th anniversary. Sikkim health minister GT Dhungel said the multi-speciality hospital at Namchi reflects how Sikkim has developed in the health sector. 'The STNM Hospital at Sokeythang is among the biggest government hospitals in the country,' he said. Sikkim became the 22nd state of India in 1975, two years after the first rebellion in the erstwhile kingdom in 1973 which followed government intervention. Article 371 (F) of the Constitution still protects Sikkim's old laws and its people enjoy special status. Founded by the Namgyal dynasty in the 17th century, Sikkim was a kingdom ruled by the Chogyal monarchs from 1642 to 1975. Home to Nepalis, Bhutias and Lepchas, Sikkim played an important role in the recognition of the Nepali language under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in 1992. Chief minister Prem Singh Tamang, who is also the president of ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, said: 'In Sikkim, progress meets purpose and nature nurtures growth,' he said, stressing that the state has planned year-long activities 'to celebrate the essence of the state's cultural richness, traditions, natural splendour and history'.
