RowenaGlenny3 at 23:26, 28 March 2026

2026-03-28T23:26:41Z

New page

{{Short description|Kingdom in South Asia (1642–1975)}}
{{Distinguish|Sikh Empire}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=May 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Sikkim
| common_name = Sikkim
| native_name = {{nobold|{{native name|sip-Tibt|འབྲས་ལྗོངས།|italics=off}}}} ''Drenjong'' {{nobold|{{native name|xct-Tibt|འབྲས་མོ་གཤོངས།|italics=off}}}} ''Dremoshong'' {{nobold|{{native name|lep-Lepc|ᰕᰚᰬᰯ ᰜᰤᰴ|italics=off}}}} ''Mayel Lyang''
| status = [[Protectorate]]
| status_text = {{plainlist|
* Protectorate of [[Ganden Phodrang|Tibet]] of [[Qing dynasty|Qing China]] (until 1890)
** ''Bhutanese domination (1680/1700–1792)''
** ''Nepalese domination (1776–1792)''
** ''Nepalo-Bhutanese presence (1792–1816)''
** ''[[East India Company]] presence (1816–1858)''<ref>''The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences ...'', Volume 25, page 89.</ref>
* Presence of [[British Raj]] (1858–1861)
* Protectorate of the British Raj (1861–1947) (''[[de facto]]''){{sfnp|Mullard, Opening the Hidden Land|2011|p=184}}
* Protectorate of [[India]] (1950–1975)}}
| government_type = [[Absolute monarchy]] (until 1973) [[Parliamentary system|Parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]] (1973–1975)<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/16/archives/sikkim-votes-to-end-monarchy-merge-with-india.html Sikkim votes to end monarchy & merge with India], nytimes.com. Accessed 11 April 2024.</ref>
| title_leader = [[Chogyal]]
| leader1 = [[Phuntsog Namgyal]]
| year_leader1 = 1642–1670 (first)
| leader2 = [[Palden Thondup Namgyal]]
| year_leader2 = 1963–1975 (last)
| title_representative = [[List of heads of government of the Kingdom of Sikkim|Prime Minister]]
| representative1 = [[Tashi Tshering (Sikkimese politician)|Tashi Tshering]]
| year_representative1 = 1949 (first)
| representative2 = [[Kazi Lhendup Dorjee]]
| year_representative2 = 1974–1975 (last)
| event_start = Established
| year_start = 1642
| event_end = Merger with [[India]]
| date_end = 16 May
| year_end = 1975
| event1 = [[Timeline of Bhutanese history#17th century|Bhutanese 1st Invasion]]
| date_event1 = 1680
| event2 = [[History of Sikkim#Invasions from Bhutan and Nepal|Bhutanese 2nd Invasion]]
| date_event2 = 1700
| event3 = Nepalese Invasion
| date_event3 = 1776
| event4 = [[Treaty of Titalia]] signed
| date_event4 = 1817
| event5 = [[Darjeeling]] given to [[British Raj|British India]]
| date_event5 = 1835
| event6 = [[Palden Thondup Namgyal]] forced to abdicate
| date_event6 = 1975
| P1 =
| image_flag = [[File:Flag of Sikkim (1967-1975).svg|100px]]
| image_flag2 = [[File:Royal flag of Sikkim.svg|100px]]
| flag_type = [[Flag of Sikkim|Flag of Sikkim (1967–1975)]]
| flag_caption = [[Flag of Sikkim|Flag]] '''Top:''' State flag (1967–1975) '''Bottom:''' Royal flag (1877–1975)
| image_coat = Achievement of Sikkim.jpg
| coat_alt =
| image_map = [[File:Kingdom of Sikkim map.png|250px]] [[File:Sikkim map 1898.jpg|250px]]
| image_map_caption = Location and administrative map of the Kingdom of Sikkim before incorporation into India
| capital = {{plainlist|
* [[Yuksom]] (1642–1670)
* [[Rabdentse]] (1670–1793)
* [[Tumlong]] (1793–1894)
* [[Gangtok]] (1894–1975)
}}
| motto = "Oh, the jewel of creation is in the Lotus"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.hubert-herald.nl/BhaSikkim.htm | title=Sikkim / Dämojong | access-date=22 November 2021 | archive-date=22 November 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122151525/http://www.hubert-herald.nl/BhaSikkim.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>
| national_anthem = ''Drenjong Silé Yang Chhagpa Chilo''{{sfn|Hiltz, Constructing Sikkimese National Identity|2003|pp=80–81}} "Why is Sikkim Blooming So Fresh and Beautiful?"
| official_languages = [[Classical Tibetan|Chöke]], [[Sikkimese language|Sikkimese]]
| common_languages = [[Lepcha language|Lepcha]] (early period), [[Dzongkha]], [[Nepali language|Nepali]] (late period)
| religion = [[Tibetan Buddhism]] [[Hinduism in Nepal|Nepali Hinduism]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2023/03/22/nepali-speakers-of-sikkim-reflect-on-foreigners-label | title=Nepali speakers of Sikkim reflect on 'foreigners' label }}</ref>|
| demonym = Drenjop, Sikkimese
| currency = [[Rupee]]
| legislature = [[State Council (Sikkim)|State Council of Sikkim]]
| today = [[India]]
| area_km2 =
| area_rank =
| GDP_PPP =
| GDP_PPP_year =
| HDI =
| HDI_year =
| iso3166code = SK
}}
{{Contains special characters|Tibetan}}
{{Contains special characters|Uncommon Unicode}}

The '''Kingdom of Sikkim''' ([[Classical Tibetan]] and {{langx|sip|འབྲས་ལྗོངས།}}, ''Drenjong'', {{langx|dz|སི་ཀིམ་རྒྱལ་ཁབ།}}, ''Sikimr Gyalkhab'') officially '''Dremoshong''' (Classical Tibetan and {{langx|sip|འབྲས་མོ་གཤོངས།|links=no}}) until the 1800s, was a [[hereditary monarchy]] in the [[Eastern Himalayas]] that existed from 1642 to 16 May 1975, when it was [[Annexation of Sikkim|annexed]]<ref>{{Cite web |author= |date=16 May 2018 |title=16th May 1975: The Kingdom of Sikkim and its Annexation with India |url=https://eurasiantimes.com/sikkim-history-india-annexed/ }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Did India have a right to annex Sikkim in 1975? |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19780430-did-india-have-a-right-to-annex-sikkim-in-1975-818651-2015-02-18 |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Abrahams |first=Pema |date=2023-06-01 |title=The Forgotten Kingdom |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/20/the-forgotten-kingdom-sikkim-forty-years-india/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}</ref> by India. It was ruled by [[Chogyal]]s of the Namgyal dynasty.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marathe |first=Om |date=2019-08-20 |title=Explained: Sikkim, from Chogyal rule to Indian state |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sikkim-chogyal-rule-to-indian-state-sdf-bjp-5921574/ |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=The Indian Express |language=en |archive-date=13 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113131452/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sikkim-chogyal-rule-to-indian-state-sdf-bjp-5921574/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==
===Foundation of the monarchy===
According to legend, [[Khye Bumsa]], a 14th-century prince from the [[Western Xia|Minyak]] House in [[Kham]] in eastern [[Tibet]], received a [[divine revelation]] instructing him to travel south to seek his fortunes. A fifth-generation descendant of Khye Bumsa, [[Phuntsog Namgyal]], became the founder of Sikkim's monarchy in 1642, when he was consecrated as the first [[Chogyal]], or priest-king, of Sikkim by the three venerated [[lama]]s at [[Yuksom]]. Phuntsog Namgyal was succeeded in 1670 by his son, [[Tensung Namgyal]], who moved the capital from Yuksom to [[Rabdentse]] (near modern [[Pelling]]). By the time of its foundation, Sikkim became a protectorate of Tibet (which at the time was part of The [[Khoshut Khanate]] until 1717 when it became part of the [[Dzungar Khanate]] and later to The [[Qing Dynasty]] in 1720.)

===Nepalo-Bhutanese domination===
In the mid-18th century, [[Sikkim]] was invaded by both [[Nepal]] (then the [[Gorkha Kingdom]]) and [[Bhutan]] (then ruled by [[Gyalsey Tenzin Rabgye]]) and was under both the Gorkha and the Bhutanese rule for more than 40 years. Between 1775 and 1815, almost 180,000 ethnic [[Nepali people|Nepalis]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chettri |first=Mona |date=2013 |title=Ethnic politics in the Nepali public sphere three casesfrom the eastern Himalaya. |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/18060/1/Chettri_3563.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=13 November 2022 |website=SOAS Research Online |archive-date=13 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113131854/https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/18060/1/Chettri_3563.pdf }}</ref> from Eastern and Central Nepal migrated to Sikkim.{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}} After the British colonisation of India, however, Sikkim allied itself with the British India in order to fight Nepal, their common enemy at the time.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}} The Nepalese then attacked Sikkim, 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|date=April 2017}} The [[Sugauli Treaty]] between [[British Raj|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.<ref name="nepalarmytwo">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nepalarmy.mil.np/history.php?page=two|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607215048/http://www.nepalarmy.mil.np/history.php?page=two|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-06-07|title=History of Nepal: A Sovereign Kingdom|publisher=Official website of Nepal Army}}</ref>

===British and Indian protectorate===
Under the 1861 [[Treaty of Tumlong]], Sikkim became a [[British protectorate]].

[[Thutob Namgyal]], the 9th Chogyal of Sikkim, looked to the [[Dalai Lama]] for spiritual leadership and during his reign the [[Tibet]]an government started to regain political influence over Sikkim. In 1888 the British sent a [[Sikkim expedition|military expedition to expel Tibetan forces from Sikkim]].

Sikkim became an Indian protectorate in 1950.<ref name="nikkei">{{cite news|url=http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/Indian-hegemonism-drags-Himalayan-kingdom-into-oblivion?page=1|title=Indian hegemonism drags Himalayan kingdom into oblivion|date=21 February 2016|publisher=Nikkei Asian Review|agency=Nikkei|access-date=24 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403015228/http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/Indian-hegemonism-drags-Himalayan-kingdom-into-oblivion?page=1|archive-date=3 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Accession to India===
In 1975, allegations of discrimination against [[Nepalis|Nepali]] Hindus in Sikkim led to resentment against the [[Chogyal]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Larmer |first=Brook |date=March 2008 |title=Bhutan's Enlightened Experiment |url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/bhutan/larmer-text/8 |id=([https://web.archive.org/web/20080326010831/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2008/03/bhutan/larmer-text print version]) |newspaper=National Geographic |location=Bhutan |access-date=7 September 2016 |archive-date=20 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320163730/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=23–29 March 2001 |title=25 years after Sikkim |url=http://nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9621#.V89C9zVGRhY |newspaper=Nepali Times |issue=#35 |access-date=7 September 2016 |archive-date=31 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131071530/http://nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9621#.V89C9zVGRhY |url-status=live}}</ref> According to some accounts, these developments contributed to the movement of [[Indian Army]] personnel into [[Gangtok]]. According to journalist [[Sunanda K. Datta-Ray]] of ''[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]]'', in April 1975 the Indian Army carried out a surprise operation during which the palace was surrounded and palace guards were killed.<ref name="nikkei" />

Following the disarming of the palace, a [[1975 Sikkimese monarchy referendum|referendum on the monarchy]] was held, which some sources describe as having taken place under questionable circumstances. Official results indicated that an overwhelming majority voted to abolish the monarchy. Subsequently, the newly formed parliament of Sikkim, led by [[Kazi Lhendup Dorjee]], passed a resolution requesting that Sikkim become an Indian [[States and union territories of India|state]], which was accepted by the Government of India under Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]].<ref name="nikkei"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Sethi |first=Sunil |title=Treaties: Annexation of Sikkim |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19780430-did-india-have-a-right-to-annex-sikkim-in-1975-818651-2015-02-18 |access-date=4 December 2016 |agency=India Today |issue=2 |publisher=India Today |date=18 February 2015 |archive-date=28 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128172513/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/did-india-have-a-right-to-annex-sikkim-in-1975/1/435037.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==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.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

==See also==
* [[Sikkim]]
* [[History of Sikkim]]
* [[Bhutan]]
* [[Chogyal]]
* [[List of heads of government of the Kingdom of Sikkim]]
* [[List of political officers in the Kingdom of Sikkim]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{citation |last=Hiltz |first=Jackie |title=Constructing Sikkimese National Identity in the 1960s and 1970s |journal=Bulletin of Tibetology |year=2003 |url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/243140/bot_2003_02_04.pdf?sequence=1 |ref={{sfnref|Hiltz, Constructing Sikkimese National Identity|2003}} |access-date=1 August 2017 |archive-date=1 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801201114/https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/243140/bot_2003_02_04.pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=live }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Duff|first=Andrew|title=Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom|date= 2015|publisher=Birlinn|location=Edinburgh|isbn=978-0-85790-245-0}}
* {{citation |last=Rai |first=Rajiv |title=The State in the Colonial Periphery: A Study on Sikkims Relation with Great Britain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mstdCgAAQBAJ |year=2015 |publisher=Partridge Publishing India |isbn=978-1-4828-4871-7 |ref={{sfnref|Rai, The State in the Colonial Periphery|2015}}}}
* {{citation |first=Leo E. |last=Rose |title=India and Sikkim: Redefining the Relationship |journal=Pacific Affairs |volume=42 |number=1 |date=Spring 1969 |pages=32–46 |doi=10.2307/2754861 |jstor=2754861 |ref={{sfnref|Rose, India and Sikkim|1969}}}}
* {{citation |last1=Rose |first1=Leo E. |title=Nepal – Strategy for Survival |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v07Vo3vAaKwC |year=1971 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-01643-9 |ref={{sfnref|Rose, Nepal – Strategy for Survival|1971}}}}
* {{citation |last1=Sharma |first1=Suresh Kant |last2=Sharma |first2=Usha |title=Discovery of North-East India: Geography, History, Culture, Religion, Politics, Sociology, Science, Education and Economy. Sikkim. Volume ten |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kBk3xBjSRbsC&pg=PA117 |year=2005 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-8324-044-4 |pages=117– |ref={{sfnref|Sharma & Sharma, Discovery of North-East India, Volume ten|2005}}}}
* {{citation |last=Singh |first=Amar Kaur Jasbir |title=Himalayan triangle: a historical survey of British India's relations with Tibet, Sikkim, and Bhutan, 1765–1950 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4dq1AAAAIAAJ |year=1988 |publisher=British Library |isbn=9780712306300 |ref={{sfnref|Singh, Himalayan Triangle|1988}}}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100828072311/http://sikkim.nic.in/sws/glim_mon.htm "Buddhist Monasteries of Sikkim"]. Sikkim.nic.in.
* [http://www.gluckman.com/Sikkim.htm Climbing the clouds to Sikkim]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101027093510/http://www.sikkim-culture.gov.in/Kings%20of%20Sikkim/Kings%20of%20Sikkim.aspx Kings of Sikkim]
* [http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-sikkim-saga-through-an-american-lens/article4617433.ece The Sikkim saga, through an American lens], thehindu.com. Accessed 11 April 2024.

{{Sikkim}}
{{Former Monarchies}}
{{Princely states of India}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikkim, Kingdom of}}
[[Category:Kingdom of Sikkim| ]]
[[Category:History of Sikkim]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1642]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1975]]
[[Category:Former countries in South Asia]]
[[Category:Former British protectorates]]
[[Category:Princely states of India]]
[[Category:Buddhist holy sites in Tibet]]
[[Category:Associated states]]
[[Category:Former British colonies and protectorates in Asia]]
[[Category:1642 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:1975 disestablishments in Asia]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of India]]
[[Category:Former least developed countries]]
[[Category:Vassal and tributary states of the Qing dynasty]]

Kingdom of Sikkim - Revision history

RowenaGlenny3 at 23:26, 28 March 2026