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History
Sikkim
was inhabited in pre-historic times by three
tribes namely Naong, Chang and the Mon. The
Lepcha who entered Sikkim sometimes later
absorbed them completely. The origin of Lepchas
is shrouded in mistery but it seems that they
belonged to the clan of the Nagas of the Mikir,
Garo and Khasia hills which lie to the south
of the Bramaputra valley. Some believe they
came from somewhere on the borders of Tibet
and Burma. According to their own tradition
they came to Sikkim from the east in company
with Jindaxs, who went to Nepal and shared
their tradition. The Lepchas were a very peace
loving people, deeply religious and shy, which
characteristics they still have retained.
They were in fact the children of nature,
and worshipped nature or spirits of nature.
These Lepcha lived quite close to the nature
by way of leading sustenance. Some of them
practiced shifting cultivation and raised
grains like maize and millets. They led a
tribal life at the beck and call of their
tribal leader.
The
credit of organizing them into some sort of
a society goes to a person called Tur ve pa
no. He was eventually elected leader of king
called "Punu" sometimes in A. D. 1400. He
was killed in a battle and was succeeded by
three Kings - Tur Song Pa No, Tur Aeng Pa
No and Tur Alu Pa No. The monarchy came to
an end with the death of the last king. The
Lepchas now resorted to the practice of electing
a leader whose advice and counsel was sought
on crucial matters and followed. The Tibetan
migration in early 17th century led the Rongs
to shift their habitats so as to avoid conflict.
Meanwhile the struggle and conflicts among
the followers of the "Yellow hats" and the
"Red hats" in Tibet forced the latter to seek
refuge in Sikkim, where they attained the
status of aristocracy. Being aggressive they
occupied lands, which was not registered by
the docile Lepchas. These Tibetan migrants
(the Bhutias as they came to be known) who
were followers of the sect of 'Red Hats' now
tried to convert these Sikkimese "Worshippers
of nature" to Buddhism. They succeeded to
some extent, though the Lepchas tried to keep
themselves aloof as far as possible. In order
to avoid any possible opposition from the
Lepchas, these immigrants now chose one venerable
person Phuntsok Namgyal as the temporal and
spiritual leader of Sikkim, whose ancestry
they traced from a legendary prince, who founded
the Kingdom of Minvang in eastern Tibet in
9th century A.D. This dynasty ruled in the
Chumbi and Teesta valley for a long time.
Somewhere in the Thirteenth century a prince
named Guru Tashi of Minyang dynasty in Tibet
had a divine vision that he should go south
to seek his fortune in "Denzong- the valley
of rice". As directed by the divine vision
he along with his family, which included five
sons, headed in the southern direction. The
family during their wandering came across
the Sakya Kingdom in which a monastery was
being built at that time. The workers had
not been successful in erecting pillars for
the monastery. The elder son of Guru Tashi
raised the pillar single handedly and thereby
came to be known as "Kheye Bumsa" meaning
the superior of ten thousand heroes. The Sakya
King offered his daughter in marriage to Khye
Bumsa. Guru Tashi subsequently died and Khye
Bumsa settled in Chumbi Valley and it was
here that he established contacts with the
Lepcha Chieftain Thekong Tek in Gangtok. Khye
Bumsa being issueless went to Sikkim in the
13th century to seek the blessing of Thekong
Tek who was also a religious leader. Khye
Bumsa was not only blessed with three sons
by the Rong chief but he also prophesied that
his successors would be the rulers of Sikkim.
Out of gratitude Khye Bumsa visited Thekong
Tek a number of times. In due course of times
the relationship ultimately culminated in
a treaty of brotherhood between the two Chieftains
at a place called Kabi Longtsok. This treaty
brought about new ties of brotherhood between
the Lepchas and the Bhutias. Mipon Rab the
third son of Khye Bumsa assumed the Chief-Ship
after the death of his father. He had sons
and the four principal clans of Sikkim are
said to have sprung from these four sons.
The fourth son Guru Tashi succeeded Mipon
Rab and shifted to Gangtok. On the other hand
after the death of Thekong Tek the Lepchas
broke into minor clans. They also gradually
turned to Guru Tashi for protection and leadership.
Guru Tashi appointed a Lepcha, Sambre as his
chief adviser and lieutenant. Guru Tashi's
rule marked the absorption of the foreign
ruling house into the native soil and also
paved a way for a regular monarchy. This way
Guru Tashi became the first ruler of Sikkim
and was crowned as such. He was followed by
Jowo Nagpo, Jowo Apha and Guru Tenzing who
pursued the policy creating progressively
amicable relation with Lepchas. Phuntsok (or
penchu) Namgyal was the next ruler. He was
Guru Tenzing's son (great grandson of Guru
Tashi) and was born in 1604. Phuntsok Namgyal's
crowning was charged with all the vivid fantacy
and miraculous phenomenon that is befitting
to so important an occasion. Three venerable
lamas are said to have entered sikkim from
three different direction direction at the
same time. They met at Yoksam (meaning three
wise men) and began a debate on the desirability
of having a temporal and religious head to
rule over pagan Sikkim. Two of the lamas furthered
their own claims but the third lama reminded
them of the prophecy of Guru Padamsambhava
that a man coming from east and Phuntsok by
name would rule Sikkim. It was also told that
none of them came from east hence the real
man must be looked for. Messengers were sent
to seek Phuntsok. Near Gangtok the desired
youngman was found and lamas lost no time
in crowning him the king. They seated him
on a nearby rock slab and sprinkled water
on him from the sacred urn. He was given one
of Lhatsun Chenpo's (the lama told about prophecy)
names, Namgyal, and the title of Chogyal or
religious king. It happened in the year 1642.
The Namgyal dynasty ruled over Sikkim as hereditary
kings for about 332 years. Phuntsok Namgyal,
the first consecrated ruler ruled over a vast
territory, many times the size of present
Sikkim. His kingdom touched Thang La in the
Tibet in the north, Tagong La near Paro in
Bhutan in the east and the Titalia on the
borders of West Bengal and Bihar in the south.
The western border Timar Chorten on the Timar
river in Nepal. Phuntsok though a distant
descendant of Indrabodhi was now a Bhutia
by his domicile. He was persuaded by the lamas
enthroning him as Chogyal (Heavenly king or
king who rules with righteousness) to seek
recognition from Dalai Lama of Tibet. The
Dalai Lama recognized Phuntsok Namgyal as
the ruler of the southern slopes of the Himalayas
(Sikkim) and is also credited to have sent
ceremonial present such as the silken scarf
bearing Dalai Lama's seal, the mitre (hat)
of the Guru Rimpoche, the devil dagger (Phurpa)
and the most precious sand image of the Guru.
Consequently, the newly established Bhutia
principality of Namgyal Dynasty was tied to
Tibetan theocracy. Since then up to 19th century,
the Bhutia rulers of Sikkim looked up to Tibet
for protection against political foes. Phuntsok
Namgyal proved to be an efficient and capable
administrator. He divided his kingdom into
twelve Dzongs i.e. districts and appointed
Dzongpana i.e. governor for each. He also
declared Mahayana Buddhism as the state religion,
which continued to be the state religion under
all the Namgyal rulers. He very tactfully
kept the lepchas, Bhutias and Limbus together.
The Governors were appointed from the lepchas
who were then in majority. Since Yatung the
greatest commercial Tibetan center being nearer
to Gangtok posed some danger, he shifted his
capital to Yoksom. Phunstok Namgyal and the
three saints immediately got to the task of
successfully bringing the Lepcha tribes under
the Buddhist fold. Politically, sikkim expanded
its borders, which include Chumbi valley,
the present Darjeeling district and a part
of present-day Nepal and Bhutan. The capital
of sikkim was established in Yoksam itself.
Tensung Namgyal succeded his father Phuntsok
Namgyal in 1670 and moved his capital to Rabdentse.
He had three wives - a Tibetan, a Bhutanese
and Limbu girl. The latter was the daughter
of the Limbu chief Yo Yo-Hang. The chief's
daughter brought with her seven girls who
were later on married into important families
of Sikkim. Many of them rose to the rank of
councilors to the King. These councilors later
on came to be known as Kazis who enjoyed immense
power and privileges. Chador Namgyal a minor
son from Tensung's second wife succeeded on
the death of his father. Pedi the daughter
from the first wife who came from Bhutan challenged
the succession and invited Bhutanese intervention.
Having come to know about this secret move
Yungthing Yeshe a loyal minister took the
minor king to Lhasa. During his asylum in
Lhasa, Chador Namgyal distinguished himself
in Buddhist learning and Tibetan literature.
By dint of his acumen and scholarship he rose
to the position of state astrologer to the
Sixth Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama was so much
pleased with the erudition of this young scholar
that he bestowed high honors and titles on
the young king. The young king also received
an estate in central Tibet with sovereign
rights. On the other hand Bhutanese forces
had captured the Rabdentse palace and imprisoned
the son of Yugthing Yeshe. But on the intervention
of Tibet, King Deb of Bhutan withdrew. Chador
Namgyal came back and drove out the rest of
Bhutanese forces. The south-eastern tract
was, however, lost to sikkim as it had been
heavily colonized by then. The Bhutanese after
a short while made a second attempt to capture
Sikkim territory. Chador Namgyal gave a tough
resistance but areas now called as Kalimpong
and Rhenock were lost forever. Chador was
himself religious and took steps for the propagation
of Buddhist religion in his territory. He
commanded that the second of every three sons
of Bhutia family must be ordained a monk of
the Pemiongchi Monastery, which was also open
to the Tsongs. He not only built the Guru
Lhakhang Tashiding (1715) and patronised the
sacred places but also adapted the religious
dances (mystery plays) to keep alive the martial
and native traditions and invented an alphabet
for the Lepchas. However, Pedi the half sister
of the ruler did not reconcile. She conspired
with a Tibetan man of medicine and caused
Chador Namgyal's death by way of blood letting
from a main artery while the king was holidaying
at Ralang hot water spring in 1716. A force
was sent to Namchi, the doctor was executed
and Pedi was strangled to death by a silk
scarf. Gyurmed Namgyal succeeded his father
Chador. Consequently upon a Mongol (Dzungar)
invasion on Tibet to persecute Nyingma sect,
the Mindoling Abbot's sister. In his times
the people were forced to work on the fortification
of Rabdentse in the fear of Gurkhas and Bhutanese
raids. Many Tsongs who were not prepared to
yield to forced labour fled to Limbuana, which
became a rebel district and broke away from
Sikkim even earlier to Gurkha expansion. A
boundary dispute with Bhutan also arose. The
Magar Chieftain Tashi Bidur also revolted,
though he was subdued. Limbuana was, however,
lost to Nepal. Gyurmed had no issue but while
on his death bed at the age of 26 (1733) gave
out that a nun in Sanga Choling was carrying
his child. But some people do not believe
it. It is said, he was impotent and generally
shunned his wife. Therefore, the story goes
that in order to keep the Namgyal Dynasty
going, the lama priest of Sikkim concocted
a story that a nun was carrying the child
of the King. Fortunately the nun delivered
a male child and he was accepted as heir to
Gyurmed. He was named as Phuntsok after the
first temporal and the spiritual head of Sikkim.
Phuntsok Namgyal II was opposed by many people
including some Bhutias on the plea of illegitimacy.
Tamdang a close confident and treasurer of
Gyurmed not only opposed the succession but
assured the powers of the ruler and continued
to rule Sikkim for three years inspite of
the opposition by pro-king faction. The Lepchas
backed the baby king and fought the pretender
under the leadership of Chandzod Karwang.
Tamdang was defeated and fled to Tibet to
seek guidance and help. But to keep Sikkim
under their Tutelage the Tibetan authorities
favoured the minority of the king. A convention
representing all shades of Sikkimese population
was held which defined the functions, powers
and responsibilities of the Government. The
system of annual taxation was also introduced
to augment the state treasury. The Magar tribe,
lost its chieftain during this time and asked
the regent to appoint the deceased's son as
chieftain. But the regent expressed his inability
to comply with their demand. This act enraged
the Magars who sought the help and protection
from Bhutan. This way Sikkim lost Magars allegiance
forever. In the year 1752 the Tsongs rose
in arms, but were subdued and won over by
tactfully by Chandzod Karwang. The rise of
Gurkhas also posed a threat for Sikkim. The
later years of Phuntsok II witnessed Gurkhas
inroads in Sikkim under the leadership of
Raja Prithvi Narayan Shah of Nepal who formented
the rebellious elements in Sikkim. Bhutan
also invaded Sikkim and captured all area
east of Tista, but withdrew to present frontiers
after negotiation at Rhenock. The Gurkha inroads
were beaten back seventeen times. A peace
treaty with Nepal was signed in 1775, and
Gurkhas promised to abstain from further attacks
and collaboration with Bhutanese. But the
Gurkhas at a later stage violated the treaty
and occupied the land in western Sikkim. Phuntsok
II had three queens but had a son Tenzing
Namgyal from his second queen in 1769. Tenzing
Namgyal succeeded Phuntsok Namgyal in 1780.
During the reign of Tenzing Namgyal, Nepali
forces occupied large chunks of Sikkim territory.
They attacked Rabdantse and the Chogyal had
to flee to Tibet. The Nepalis excursions emboldened
them to penetrate even into Tibet. This led
to the Chinese intervention and Nepal was
defeated. In the Sino-Nepal treaty, Sikkim
lost some of its land to Nepal, but monarchy
was allowed to be restored in the country.
Tenzing Namgyal died in Lhasa and his son
Tsudphud Namgyal was sent to Sikkim in 1793
to succeed him as the monarch. Rabdantse was
now, considered too insecure because of its
proximity to the Nepal border and Tshudphund
Namgyal shifted the capital to a place called
Tumlong. The defeat of Nepal by the Chinese
did little to weaken the expansionist designs
of the Nepalese. They continued to make attacks
into the neighbouring British territories
and Sikkim. British India successfully befriended
Sikkim. They felt that by doing so the expanding
powers of the Gorkhas would be curtailed.
British also looked forward to establishing
trade link with Tibet and it was felt that
the route through Sikkim was the most feasible
one. War between Nepal and British India broke
out in 1814 and came to an end in 1816 with
the defeat of the Nepalis and the subsequent
signing of the Treaty of Sugauli. As a direct
spin-off, British India signed another treaty
with Sikkim in 1817 known as the Treaty of
Titalia in which former territories, which
the Nepalis captured, were restored to Sikkim.
H. H. Risley writes in the Gazette of Sikkim,
1894, that by the Treaty of Titalia British
India has assumed the position of Lord's paramount
of Sikkim and a title to exercise a predominant
influence in that State has remained undisputed.
The British became interested in Darjeeling
both as a hill resort and an outpost from
where Tibet and Sikkim would be easily accessible.
Following a lot of pressure from the British,
Sikkim finally gifted Darjeeling to British
India on the understanding that a certain
amount would be paid as annual subsidy to
Sikkim. The gift deed was signed by the Chogyal
Tsudphud Namgyal in 1835. The British appointed
a superintendent in the ceded territory. The
British however did not pay the compensation
as had been stipulated and this led to a quick
deterioration of relation between the two
countries. There were also difference between
the British Government and Sikkim over the
status of people of Sikkim. Because of the
increased importance of Darjeeling, many citizens
of Sikkim mostly of the labor class started
to settle there as British subjects. The migration
disturbed the feudal lords in Sikkim who resorted
to forcibly getting the migrants back to Sikkim.
This annoyed the British Government, which
considered these as acts of kidnapping of
British citizens. The relations deteriorated
to such an extent that when Dr. Campbell,
the Superintendent of Darjeeling and Dr. Hooker
visited Sikkim in connection with the latter's
botanical research, they were captured and
imprisoned in 1849. The British issued an
ultimatum and the two captives were released
after a month of detention. In February 1850,
an expedition was sent to Sikkim, which resulted
in the stoppage of the annual grant of Rs.
6000/- to the Maharaja of Sikkim and also
the annexation of Darjeeling and a great portion
of Sikkim to British India. Sikkim resorted
to making attacks into British territories
and it was in November 1860 that the British
sent an expeditionary force to Sikkim. This
force was driven back from Rinchenpong in
Sikkim. A stronger force was sent in 1861
that resulted in the capture of the capital
Tumlong and the signing of a Treaty between
the British and Sikkimese the same year. His
son Sidekeong Namgyal succeeded Tsugphud Namgyal
in 1863. The British Government started the
payment of annual subsidy of Rs. 6000/- in
1850 for Darjeeling. In an attempt to keep
good relation with Sikkim, the British enhanced
the subsidy to Rs. 12000/- per annum. Chogyal
Sidekong Namgyal defied in 1874 issueless
and was succeeded by his half brother Thutob
Namgyal. There were serious difference between
the Nepalese settlers and the original inhabitants
of Sikkim and this led to British intervention.
The settlement went in favour of the Nepali
settlers and made Thutob Namgyal have ill
feeling for the British. He retreated to Chumbi
and became more aligned towards the Tibetans.
The British meanwhile were making concerted
efforts to establish a trade links with Tibet
and also imposed their influence. A delegation
led by Colman Macaulay, Financial Secretary
to the Bengal Government of British India
was sent to Sikkim in 1884 to explore the
possibility of establishing a trade route
with Tibet through the Lachen Valley. This
delegation visited Tumlong the capital where
it met the Maharaja. The Britishers started
building of roads in Sikkim. This was viewed
with suspicion by Tibet and in 1886, some
Tibetan militia occupied Lingtu in sikkim
near Jelepla pass. In May 1888, the Tibetans
attacked Gnathang below Jelepla but were driven
away. In September of the same year the British
called for reinforcements and the Tibetans
were pushed back from Lingtu. A memorial was
built at Gnathang for the few British soldiers
who died in the engagement. The Britishers
appointed Claude White as the first political
officer in Sikkim in 1889 and Chogyal Thutob
Namgyal was virtually under his supervision.
Thutob Namgyal shifted the capital from Tumlong
to Gangtok in 1894. The Sir Thutob Namgyal
Memorial (STNM) Hospital built in 1917 is
named in the memory of Thutob Namgyal who
died in 1914. Alarmed by the growing Russian
influence in Tibet and also to assert itself,
the British sent an expedition led by Col.
Younghusband to Lhasa via Jelepla in 1904.
The expedition met with resistance from the
Tibetan army, which was defeated, and a treaty
was dictated by Younghusband on Tibet. The
Treaty secured monopoly-trading privileges
in Tibet for the British. Thutob Namgyal was
succeeded by his son Sidekong Tulku in 1914.
Unfortunately he did not live long and died
in the same year. He was succeeded by his
half brother Tashi Namgyal who promulgated
many reforms in the state. In 1947 when India
became independent, Tashi Namgyal was successful
in getting a special status of protectorate
for Sikkim. This was in face of stiff resistance
from local parties like Sikkim State Congress
who wanted a democratic setup and accession
of Sikkim to the Union of India. The treaty
signed between India and Sikkim ratified the
status of Sikkim as a protectorate with Chogyal
as the Monarch. Tashi Namgyal died in 1963
and was succeeded by his son Palden Thondup
Namgyal. By the beginning of 1970 there were
rumbling in the political ranks and file of
the State, which demanded the removal of Monarchy
and the establishment of a democratic setup.
This finally culminated in wide spread agitation
against Sikkim Durbar in 1973.There was a
complete collapse in the administration. The
Indian Government tried to bring about a semblence
of order in the state by appointing a Chief
administrator Mr. B. S. Das. Further events
and election led to Sikkim becoming transformed
from a protectorate to an associate State.
On 4th September 1947, the leader of Sikkim
Congress,Kazi Lendup Dorji was elected as
the Chief Minister of the state. The Chogyal
however still remained as the constitutional
figure head monarch in the new setup. Mr.
B. B. Lal was the first Governor of Sikkim.
Events leading to the confrontation between
the Chogyal and the popular Government caused
Sikkim to become a full-fledged 22nd state
of the Indian Union on 16th may 1975. The
institution of Chogyal was subsequently abolished.
Since then Sikkim has been a state of the
Indian Union like any other state. The 1979
assembly election saw Mr. Nar Bahadur Bhandari
being elected as the Chief Minister of Sikkim.
He has been returned to office in the election
held in 1984 and 1989. In 1994 assembly election
Mr. Pawan Kumar Chamling became the fifth
Chief Minister of Sikkim.
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