Sikkim, an Indian State on the Eastern Himalayan ranges, is counted among stateswith Buddhist followers, which had strong cultural ties with the Tibetan regionof the Peoples’ Republic of China. Because of its past feudal history, it was one of the three ‘States’ along with Nepal and Bhutan which were known as ‘the Himalayan Kingdoms’ till 1975, the year of its merger with the Indian Union.It is a small state with 2, 818 sq. m. (7, 096 sq. km.) between 27 deg. 4’ North to28 deg 7’ North latitude between 80 deg. East 4’ and 88deg. 58’ East longitude.This 113 kilometre long and 64 kilometre wide undulating topography is locatedabove 300 to 7,00 metres above sea level. Its known earliest settlers, the Lepchas,termed it as Neliang, the country of the caverns that gave them shelter. Bhotias,the Tibetan migrants, called it lho’mon, ‘the land of the southern (Himalayan)slop’. As rice plays important part in Buddhist rituals in Tibet, which they used toprocure from India, they began calling it ‘Denjong’ (the valley of rice). Folktraditions inform us that it was also the land of mythical ‘Kiratas’ of Indian classics. The people of Kirati origin (Lepcha, Limbu, Rai and possibly Magar)used to marry among themselves in the hoary past. As the saying goes, a newlywedded Limbu bride on her arrival to her groom’s newly constructed house,exclaimed, “Su-khim” -- the new house. This word not only got currency, but alsogot anglicized into Sikkim (Basnet 1974).Sikkim claims that it had an extensive territory in the past. The Shah rulers ofNepal invaded Sikkim from 1770 to 1810 and came to the river Tista.Subsequently Sikkim lost the region known as Limbuan in Nepal. Up to the lastdecade of 19thcentury, Chumbi valley was a part of Sikkim. Between 1817 to1861, Sikkim lost its foothills and Darjeeling hills in the south to British India.Succession disputes in the ruling family in Sikkim gave Bhutan the chance tointerfere with its internal affairs and it lost land on its eastern frontiers to Bhutan.
Land and People
Lepchas -It is clamed that the Lepchas, who call themselves ‘Rong’ , the people living inravines, migrated to the present site from Assam hills, are the earliest settlers ofland. They have elaborate terms for rivers, water lives, flora and fauna of Sikkimunlike any community found in the country. However, their current name itself, is a gift of the Nepali language, “Lapcho’, cairn, the residents of the heap of stone, or the stone house. It is claimed that Rongs were organized by Turve Panu, theirking or chief, in the hoary past After some generations, kingship came to an endand the tribe switched off to a system of chieftainship. It is said that Thokeng Tek,the Lechpa chief, was instrumental in installing the Bhotia rule in Sikkim byassociating himself with the Tibetan migrants. Accordingly, a dozen of Lepchachiefs were accorded with the status of Dzongpens, or regional rulers or thegovernors, by the first Bhotia theocrat, Phuntso Namgyal (1642 –1670). These Dzongpens along with another dozen of Bhotia Councillors came to be known asthe qazis or kazis, the Sikkimese aristocrats, in course of time .These two dozen qazis inter-married among themselves and many of the Lepchasbecame Buddhists. However, the Lepcha qazis came to be known as the ‘createdor the fashioned’ ones (‘A-den’) against the Bhotia (‘Bar fung-mo’) ‘t he flowing from on high’; the lower and the higher order respectively of the qazis.Ethnological literature on the Lepchas suggests that it is a community of ‘mild,timid, and peaceful persons who are devoid of all sort of conflict’. It is said thatthere is no word for violence and conflict in their language. By tradition, they areinhabitants of Inner Himalayan highland and they lived in Zongu Lepcha reserve, a preserve of the former royal family. BhotiasBhotia herdsmen moved in search of pasture grounds as per seasonalrequirements without any consideration to the geographical divides. They used tocamp in high Himalayas during the summer and Chumbi valley in the harsh winter. It appears that the Bhotia herdsmen were already there in Sikkim during the period of Guru Padama Sambhava (eight century A D), who is credited tohave preached an early form of Buddhism. It is said that some Bhotia patriarchsof Namgyal dynasty came to Sikkim in 13 the century along with their cattle wealth. Khye-Bumsa was one, whose descendants would play significant role in
history of Sikkim, who had settled down in Chumbi valley. Some four hundredyears after that date, three monks from Tibet met at Yoksom near Gangtok andstaked their claim to rule over Sikkim, but they failed to settle their conflicting claims. At long last, they appeared to have postponed their quarrel and decided toexplore more for a better choice. As the myth goes, they chanced upon Phuntso Namgyal , a well-establishedpatriarch from Khye-Bumsa’stock, who also happened to be close to the localLepcha. The three holy men took Phuntso to Yoksom, where he was consecratedas the ruler of Denjong in 1642. The Bhotias follow polyandry as well aspolygamy. Apart from the newly chosen king, the Bhotia kalons ( Councillors) were encouraged to marry Lepcha and Limbu ladies besides their Bhotiaconsorts. The monks were also instrumental in creating an ethnic common wealthof lho’+mon+Tshongs ( Lhomontshong= lho-Bhotia ( father), +mon-Lepcha(mother)+ Tshong-Limbu ( the child), an organic family of three ethnic stocksresiding in Sikkim at the time .A ritual of blood brother hoodamong three tribes was claimed to be solemnized, in which apart from Buddhistpractices shamanistic rituals were also enacted. LimbusLimbus are one of the indigenous communities of Sikkm, residing there evenbefore the Namgyal dynasty was established in 1642. It is a community divided into three gotras (clan): Bhiphuta (the animists), Kashi Gotra (those, who are underHindu fold) and Lhasa Gotra or the Tshongs (the Buddhists). Myth suggests thatwhile the first clan claims to have sprung up from earth right in Limbuan and theyhave their own system of belief. The second one are said to have come fromVaranasi (Kashi on river Ganges in India) and they appear to be sanskritisedLimbus, who are under Hindu fold. Lastly, the Lhasa clan is said to have migrated from Lhasa, Tibet and are Lamaists. So much so that last Chogyal ofSikkim had introduced a separate reserve seat in Sikkim State Council for theTshongs. However, once the system of ethnic parity was done away with in 1979, this provision was with drawn. Right now Limbus are counted among the OtherBackward Castes (OBCs) since 1994. And since then, it was the Limbus (Sanchman Limbu), Now, Pawan Kumar Chamling is who ruling the State.
Nepale or the Paharias (NEPAMUL) A new power emerged in Nepal in the form of Prithvi Narayan Shah in mid-19thcentury, who consolidated his kingdom in Nepal and his successors tried toextend its boundaries in the East and West of the country. Gorkha generalsvanquished the weak Namgyal authority in Sikkim. Gorkha generals Kazi Damodar Pande and Jahar Singh Thapa crossed in to Sikkim and capturedterritories west of river Tista in 1789. The king of Sikkim, Tenzing Namgyal (1780-1793), ran away to Tibet and sought an asylum. Gorkha occupation inSikkim continued up to 1817, when the British forced them to leave Sikkim east of river Mechi as per terms of Segauli Treaty. Though the bulk of the Gurkhaswithdrew from Sikkim for time being, they returned eastward within a few years as per the British policy to locate Nepalese on the Eastern Himalayas. Darjeeling was secured by the British from Sikkim as a hill resort for theconvalescing Europeans in 1835. Hardy Nepalese labors were encouraged tosettle to clear the forests and develop it in to an urban centre for the European. Asper the provisions of the 1861 Treaty signed at Tumlong, the British got acomplete foothold in Sikkim. The British secured the Sikkimese principality in1888 and appointed John Claude White as the Political Officer residing atGangtok. The Ruler was interned along with his consort and White ranadministration with the help of Council of Advisors.Land lease system was introduced; Nepali Newars were invited to mine copperand mint coins; forestland was released to Nepali labour for agricultural development so that revenue of the State could be increased. Settlement of the‘Paharias’ –Nepalese labour led to physical violence between the colonizers andBhotia qazis. Matter went up to such a situation that ruler, Thutub Namgyal,appealed to the Viceroy to intervene in colonization of the Nepalese in Sikkim. At last, an imaginary line just north of Gangtok, drawn from East to West in 1894,was agreed to be the northern limit of Nepalese settlement in Sikkim. By the time the third Census of India was conducted in 1891, the number of the Nepalese in Sikkim had risen to 30, 458. Out of which after discounting the Lepchas (5,762), the Bhotias (4,894) and the Limbus (3,356), Nepalese werenumbered more than half (15,458). The 2001 Census of India recorded thepopulation of Sikkim at 540,493 persons. Among them 22 percent were identifiedas the scheduled tribes (Lepcha, Bhotia inclusive of Chumbipa, Dopthapa, Dukpa, Kagatey, Sherpa, Tibetan, Tromopa, and Dolmo), 5.93 percent as the scheduledcastes of Nepali origin (Kami, Saraki, Damai, Lohar and Manjhi) and thereare Nepamul communities such as Tamang, Gurung, Rai,Limbu and Sunwar, who have been recognized as the Other Backward Castes(OBCs). More than three-fourth population of Sikkim is of Nepali origin. They are sociallydivided into ‘tagadharis’ (those, who are entitled to sacred thread---Bahun and Chhetris) and ‘matwalis’ (those, who are by tradition permitted to drinkintoxicants). Then, there is a social hierarchy starting with the Thakuris, Newarisand Kiratis. While the Thakuris have a four fold division of varns (casts); Newarisare a separate ethnic stock invariably following Lamaism and Kiratas claim to thestatus of ‘janajatis’ i.e. tribesmen on the fringe of the Nepali social world. Thelingua franca of the community is Nepali or Gorkhali. However, Newaris andkiratis are at least bi-lingual and they are not necessarily Hindus.2. Political and Economic Profile Sikkim and NepalA profile of Sikkim, even today, cannot be developed without a detailedexamination of its long relationship with Nepal which has shaped its history and development more than any other influence, barring India. It appears that withconsolidation of Gorkha rule in Kathmandu Valley (1768 - 1814) , a new Gorkhaor Nepalese identity began to emerge. The Gorkha onslaught on Sikkim led to badblood between the Bhotias and the Nepalese. There was another reason for thismutual distrust. While Bhotias looked to Tibet as their political, religious andcultural fount, Nepalese were of Hindu orientation in such matters. Almost five decade long excursion in Sikkim did not mean complete withdrawal of Nepalese ethnic elements from Sikkim in 1817 with signing of Treaty of Titaliya, by which Nepal surrender all her possessions east of river Mechi to Namgyal rulers. For example, Jorethang, a small village on south -eastern part of Sikkim, is derivedafter name of Gorkha General, Jawaher Singh Thapa. Within less than two decades of signing of the Treaty of Titaliya, Sikkim wasinveigled to cede Darjeeling hills, ‘the road of destiny’ (Pinn 1990) to the British between 1835-1839. Col. W G A Lloyd, the British factotum on Darjeeling hills in 1830s, “whose lack of sensitivity in human relations was one of his leastattractive traits” informed his superiors in Calcutta that the Sikkim ruler hadgifted the hill to the British out of friendship. What he did not sufficiently informthat as per oriental tradition the ruler of Sikkim expected a matching return gift from the Governor- General. Thus, possession of Darjeeling began with a built-ingrudge on the part of Sikkim. To begin with, it was an enclave within Sikkimese territory, to which the British got engaged in developing in to an urban hill resort. Within no time, developers, shopkeepers, tea planters and hordes of labourersbegan to pour in this newly established hill station in search of opportunities. Those were the days, when slavery was a common practice in Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim. Apart from genuine migrants, slaves, criminals, and even politicalfugitives began to take shelter in this New Haven. The hill resort not only gavenew opportunities to the new comers, but it also offered better terms of earningand wages.There was something like exodus of human beings to Darjeeling, which became a matter of resentment among hill states such as Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan withthin population. There was a sizeable migration of the Nepalese to Darjeeling, but Nepal found alternatives to its depleting manpower. Sikkim and Bhutan developed a grudge against growing glitter of Darjeeling and their rulers felt thatas if it was done at their cost. Continuous harassment of Darjeeling enclave byill-informed Sikkimese authorities led to a number of skirmishes between theSikkimese and the British in next 25 years from ceding of Darjeeling in 1835.Needless to add that ill-equipped Sikkim was poorly prepared for this context andit lost all the territories south of its present boundary up to the plains of India andwest of river Teesta to the Nepalese boundary in the west. Not only that, theBritish overlords also brought Sikkim under their imperial protection.This created a new situation in which the British watched Nepalese perseveranceand industriousness from close quarters while engaged in developing the newlyacquired district of Darjeeling. Wherever unskilled and semi-skilled labour wasrequired, the Nepalese were employed, especially in the hilly tracts. Within a fewdecades, Darjeeling was developed as model district by dint of Nepalese labour. There was another angle to this scenario.The British were suspicious of the people of Tibetan origin. They experimented with Nepalese response in similar situations and found them ‘loyal, trustworthyand obedient’. Thus, they decided unintentionally to settle the eastern Himalayanfoothills with the Nepalese settlement, a wedge between the highlander Bhotiasand the Indian plains. The culmination of this policy might be seen in Herbert H Risley’s famous gazetteer of Sikkim in 1994 (Risley, H H : 1994). Naturally, under Britishinspiration, the Neplese began to settle in western, and southern Sikkim and south western Bhutan. In the year 1867, two Newar brothers, Laxmidas and Chandrabir Maksey, were granted deeds for settling Nepalese on wasteland and uninhabitedareas in East and South Sikkim, mining copper and minting coins.The lease was granted for a period of 20 years at an annual rate of Rs. 500 to theking and Rs. 700 to Phodang Lama and Khansa Dewan. They opened the virginareas to the colonizers, brought in skilled labour for mining and minting,organized forests, constructed link roads and bridged some of the steams for roadtraffic. They ultimately developed about 20 estates and within two decades thedemographic picture of Sikkim was changed by turning the west and south districts into predominantly Nepalese habitations. This was not to the liking of theBhotia pastoralists, who desired extensive land for grazing their cattle, leading toarmed conflicts between the two sides. Thutub Namgyal (1874-1914) succeeded his half brother to the throne of Sikkimin 1874 and married his widow. He appears to be obstinate in temperament, indecisive in state matters and partisan to a faction of the couriers. Unfortunatefor him, his coming to power in Sikkim coincided with an aggressive policy topush to the Himalayas by the British. Sikkim rulers had extensive estate inChumbi valley and they used to reside at Phari specially during the winter months and some members of the family used to stay there regularly and visit royalpersonae in Sikkim frequently. Herdsmen grazing royal cattle on northernpastureland across the Himalayan divide used to descend to low laying Chumbi valley during the freezing winter months. Northern Sikkim commanded ideal andextensive pasture -land in which Tibetan and Sikkimese cattle used to graze as per the demand of the season.The herdsmen traded butter, cheese. wool, yak tails, leather and hide, preciousstone, horses, dogs and other light but precious commodities. By tradition everyBhotia inclusive of monks are entitled to trade. Their normal orientation was naturally north to Tibet, to which they visited on pilgrimage, trading and evencontracting marital alliances. The Namgyal court was equally divided in tofactions. At least the one of such factions, to which the British termed as the pro-Tibetan, was aggressively antagonistic to Nepalese settlement, and not without reasons, on alleged British instigation.Thutub was ordered to secure Tibetan compliance on the British demands to opentheir marts for British goods and to receive the British representatives for politicaland commercial negotiations, to which he was not temperamentally suited. Having failed to accomplish the expected demands, the royal couple wasimprisoned at Kurseong, Darjeeling and Kalimpong on nominal maintenanceallowance. The King was asked to re-call his son, Tchoda Namgyal, the crownprince known as Tarings, to Sikkim for getting him educated. The royal couplesaw through the façade and decided to send the contrary message to the Prince. Having exhausted their patience in securing the Prince back to Sikkim, the Britishat last refused his claim to the throne and decided to groom Sidkeong Tulku as thefuture king. Sikkim and Bengal All through second part of 19thcentury, Sikkim was treated as if it was part ofBengal Presidency. In fact, it was the Deputy Commissioner of Darjeeling andCommissioner of Rajshahi Division, of Bengal , who were controlling the affairs of the state. By 1888, the British had decided to take over the administration byappointing a resident Political Officer, John Claude White, who had experienced the Nepalese perseverance in the past and was steeped in the British desire topush to the Himalayas to the maximum. He began to structure the Sikkimeseeconomy “Chaos reigned everywhere, no revenue system, the Maharaja takingwhat he required, as he wanted it from the people, those nearest the capital havingto contribute to the larger share, while those more remote had toll taken fromthem by the local officials in the name the raja, though little found its way to him;no court of justice, no police, no public works, no education for younger generation. The task before me was a difficult one, but fascinating; the countrywas a new one and every thing was in my hands”(White 1971).In such a situation, there was no surprise that the coffers of the state were empty; he appointed an advisory council; surveyed the different districts and within a period of five years, a system taxation and revenue was established. Further more, he found “the country sparsely populated, and in order to bring more land under cultivation, it was necessary to encourage immigration, and this was done by giving land on favourable terms to Nepalese, who, as soon as they knew it was tobe had, came freely in”. The British took the steps to introduce a system of periodic land lease, in whichcultivable areas were divided in to Ellakas. The entire such land was divided into: land lease to the Lessees on periodic auction, private estates, and Ellakas under the five/ six monasteries. Land revenue was to be deposited on the fixed dates by the lease holders to the State bankers. Revenue from the private estateswas also to be deposited to the State Bankers, M/S Jethraj Bhojmull on stateaccount. And the monasteries held their estates rent -free and spend the revenueon upkeep of their establishments and other ecclesiastic purposes.However, all three types of land holdings were extremely oppressive to the cultivators (bustiwalas). There was a series of unpaid labour practices employedby all the Ellaka-holders. Then there were Newar Thekodars, who were allotted land on contract (thika) way back in 1877 for mining, settlements, and forestmanagement. The State was happy to collect its revenue on fixed dates and forgetabout the fate of the cultivators most of time. Most of these landlords held judicial and policing powers as well, which made thelife of cultivators all the more difficult. The last lease of land ended in 1935,which was extended to the time it was finally abolished under popular demand after Indian independence. 3. Sikkim and India By the 1940s, the Political Officer in Gangtok had developed a new foundsympathy for the Bhotia ruler. It appears that the common Nepalese inkingtowards democratic movements warned them to side with the Bhotias againsttheir one time favourite, the Nepalese. AJ Hopekinson, the last British PoliticalOfficer, advised the rulers of Sikkim and Bhutan to send their delegation alongwith their memoranda to wait on the Cabinet Mission sent by Britain to negotiatewith the Indians for transfer of power. The Sikkimese delegation went to Delhi,but failed to meet the Mission. However, Foreign and Political Department, Government of India prepared a route for the Cabinet Mission on August10, 1946, which provided the guidelines for future to the Indian Union:“In practice, it may well prove difficult to secure a tidy solution to the future ofNepal, Sikkim and Bhutan and even to the Eastern marches of Kashmir, Ladakh.This will largely depend on future policy and fate of China and hence of Tibet.The Government of the (Indian) Union must be prepared for complication onNorth East Frontier (NEFA) and evolve a policy to meet them. This may wellhave to be that of maintaining all principalities in virtual independence of India,but as buffer and, as far as possible, client states. There may be greater advantagein according Sikkim a more independent status than in seeking to absorb Bhutan as well Sikkim in the Indian Union, adding to the communal problem of Buddhism to those of Islam and Hinduism…the Government would be welladvised to avoid entering in to fresh commitments with any one of those frontierstates or seeking to redefine their status. Their importance is strategic in directrelation to Tibet and China and indirectly to Russia. Such adjustment of theirrelations with the (Indian) Union as can usefully be affected by …those politicalstrategic considerations … account of which it is hoped that the Treaty will takerather than the Constitutional niceties, which do not help defence policy” .State PoliticsAgainst the above imperial advice, which the newly independent Indian Unionseems to have followed, the masses of three Himalayan kingdoms identifiedthemselves with Indian aspirations and shared their perception of change and identified their feudal rulers with archaic colonial privileges. Many of leaders of the Nepali Congress, Sikkim State Congress and Bhutan State Congress weremembers of the Indian National Congress and at least some of them, identified themselves with the demands for responsible government, abolition of the feudal rights and introduction of land reforms by abolishing landed gentry. Similarly, the oppressed of Sikkim, before they organized themselves into SikkimState Congress, had limited and localized organizations such as Praja Sudharak Samaj, Gangtok, led by Tashi Tshering; Praja Samelan, Temi Tarku, led by D B Tewari and Gobardhan Pradhan; and Praja Mandal, Chakhung, led by LhendupDorji Kazi. The indomitable Tashi Tshering called for a public meeting of like-minded groups on December 7, 1947 at Polo Ground, Gangtok and invited other two fora to join his efforts. He had prepared a document, “A Few Facts About Sikkim” in English, which was translated in to Nepali by Chandra Das Rai and itscyclo-styled copies were distributed among the masses. There were star leaderssuch as Tshering himself, Sonam Tshering, L D Kazi, Roy Chaudhury, Mrs.Helen Lepch , but the thunder was stolen by 24 year old C.D Rai, whose eloquentNepali speech was a novel experience to politically indolent Sikkim. Sensing the public mood, the three above organizations decided jointly to formSikkim State Congress on that very day and chalked out to meet the ruler with athree point demand: (a) abolition of landlordism; (b) formation of an interimgovernment and (c) accession of Sikkim to India. The State Congress leaders met the ruler on 9thDecember, 1947 with their above charter of demands.The Maharaja was advised to go with the changing time and concede the populardemands of the common man. Some land reforms were immediately introducedsuch as abolition of lessee system; end of various forms of un-paid labour; restructuring of judicial system. As negotiation was on between the SikkimDurbar and the Government of India, it was decided to keep in abeyance thedemand for Sikkim’s merger with India. Without working out modalities of itsfunctioning, its power and legal implications, it was agreed to install a popularinterim government with five members; two nominees of the king and three fromthe State Congress. The indolent Maharaja had almost surrendered all his political and administrativefunctions in favour of his son, Palden Thondup, in whose scheme of thingsSikkim stood for only Bhotia, Lepchs and Tchongs. Sensing the mood of time, even the prince was forced to go to the people. Hegot his courtiers, aristocrats, monks and sycophants organized into the SikkimNational Party, “an anti-thesis of the State Congress” on April 30, 1948 to opposeall the steps, resolutions and personnel of the State Congress and back all themoves on the part of palace for the continuation of its anachronism. The popular leaders waited for about a year and saw that the palace instead of agreeing to their demands was busy consolidating itself. The Congress went on agitation to press for its demands in February, 1949, in which popular leaders such as C D Rai and other five were arrested. Thistriggered a spate of resentment against the palace and more than ten thousand followers of the Congress gheraoed the palace on May 1, 1949. The Maharaja had taken shelter in the Residency and the administration had stopped functioning. Onthe advice of the Political Officer, Harishwer Dayal, I C S to Maharaja was forced to install at long last a popular ministry on May 1949 with Tashi Tshering as theChief Minister, D S Lepcha, and C D Rai from the State Congress and D Dahduland R PAlley, two nominees of the ruler.This was the high point of the achievements of the Sikkim Congress, which normally assumed that it had the mandate from the people to rule the country asper its party programme. On the other hand, the palace felt that it had placated thepopulists and it would choose their own time and action to mould the emergentsituation. In such a situation, there was little chance that this half way democraticexperiment would succeed. Having read the writings on the walls, Tashi Tshering,the Chief Minister realized that the formation of the ministry had been agreed toby the Durbar more with a view to discrediting the Congress leaders thanallowing them to carry out the people’s mandate. Disgusted with scheming of theCrown Prince, the Chief Minister threatened to resign and assumed agitation(satyagraha or peaceful protests). Alarmed by these developments, New Delhi decided to send its Deputy Minister for External Affairs to Gangtok. The minister stayed in Sikkim for four days, met with the ministers twice, the Maharaja, Maharajkumar, even the ‘leaders’ of Sikkim National Party and came back to Delhi without resolving the problem. It is alleged that ‘the Sikkim Durbar went all out to dazzle the Minister with Sikkim’s royal hospitality and loaded him with costly gifts’. It appears that thepalace had been able to impress upon the visitor that New Delhi would find theDurbar more dependable than that of the popular public leaders. This became clear on June 6, 1949, when Political Officer, Harishwer Dayal, I C S, summoned the Sikkim cabinet to his office and informed them that they had been dismissedby him in the name of the Government of India and he had taken over theadministration of Sikkim himself. The leaders, who had all along had faith in good office of the ruling Indianleaders, were stunned by this course of action. The public was demoralized andthe palace heaved a sigh of relief. The Government of India asked the Durbar toappoint a senior administrator as the Dewan of Sikkim, who would over-see the social reforms, economic development and governance of the state Ethnic Balancing ActJ S Lall of the Indian Civil Service (ICS) took over as the Dewan of Sikkim onAugust 11,1949 and tried to streamline the administration in view of the populardemands for land reforms, forced labour and feudal privileges. To the disappointment of State Congress, the Indo-Sikkimese Treaty was signed atGangtok by Political Officer, Harishwer Dayal and the Maharaja of Sikkim, TashiNamgyal on December 5, 1950. It stipulated that Sikkim would be an Indianprotectorate. The Government of India was to retain defence, external affairs, custom andcommunication. India agreed to provide Rs. three lakh per annum to Sikkim as long as the Government of Sikkim duly observed the terms of Treaty.Furthermore, the Supreme Court of India would be the last arbitrator in case ofany dispute in interpretation of the provisions of Treaty. The Maharaja issued a Proclamation proposing an election for the State Council with 12 elected members, five nominated members and a President to be nominated by the king.More sinister for democratic forces was the introduction of the evil of notorious ‘parity system’, by which about 25 percent Lepcha- Bhotias on six elective seatswere equated with 75 percent Sikkimese of Nepalese extraction on another sixsuch seats in the Council. Needless to add that this formula was further extendedto all walks of life I Sikkimese administration causing strong resentment amongthe sufferers. Similarly, the electoral process, voting procedure, counting systemand even election tribunals were skewed in such a way that the Nepalese ingeneral and democratic forces in particular were at a disadvantage.The first election to the State Council was held in the middle of June 1953. The results confirmed the expected electoral behaviour by choosing six Nepalesebelonging to State Congress on Nepali seats and six Lepcha- Bhotias aligned toSikkim National Party on Lepcha- Bhotia seats. The number of seats in the State Council kept on changing from 17 in 1953 to 20 in 1958 ( One, more to king’s nominees + one to the Monks—Sangha + one, the General Seat running for entire state), and 24 in 1966 ( King’s nominees-6+Lepcha-Bhotia-7 + Nepalese-7+Sangha- 1 + General –1 + Tchongs-1 + Scheduled Castes- 1). In practice 18 elective seats in State Council were divided between Nepalese andLepcha- Bhotias. While two ethnic Lepchas and Bhotias were shown together for distribution of loafs and bread, numerically large Nepalese common wealthinvariably shown as fragmented. While Sikkim National Party, a beneficiary tothese scheming was more than willing to welcome such a fraud, t he StateCongress and its off-shoots invariably protested, which was brushed aside by the palace. The State Council and Executive Council Proclamation, 1953 claimed “to associating people more and more closely with the governance of the State’, butin reality it created an intricate arrangement of electoral process with a limited, complex, controversial and purposive political participation. The ExecutiveCouncil with its limited power was used as a leverage to cause defection fromdemocratic parties and legislative wing of these parties were not given their rightto choose their representatives to it. All along, efforts were made on the part of the Durbar to polarize the political parties along its ‘cherished ethnic divide’. This becomes clear, when one casts a glance on electoral results of political partiesduring the five elections held for the State Council from 1953 to 1973:Table 1Electoral results of the political parties in Sikkim from 1953 to 1973. S.N Political Parties19531958196719701973Total 1. Sikkim State Congress68242222. Sikkim National Party 66 5 7 9 333. Sikkim National Congress ....855184, Unattached Independents ....32207Elective Seats in Council121418181880One learns certain lessons from the above table. Firstly, with active support and connivance of the Durbar, the Sikkim National Party increased its representation in the Council continuously from 1958 to 1973, when its rigged support basecolapsed once the massed decided not to take the farce any more. Secondly,affairs of Sikkim State Congress were similarly on the decline, as its leadersproved more vulnerable to the poaching from others susceptible to the loaves andfishes from power to be. Thirdly, Sikkim National Congress under the leadershipof Lhendup Dorji Kazi continued to be persecuted and its functionaries wereinvariably harassed to the extent that all its General Secretaries were made toleave the party. Chandra D Rai, Bhim B Gurung, Lal B Basnet, Santosh K Rai, Chatur Singh Rai and Nand Lal Thapa were made to leave the party because of various cases filed by the State or agencies. The Indian Hand Rigging and other electoral malpractices became blatant by the time elections to the State Council were held in 1973. A small controversy with reference to thecounting centre at Gangtok ignited and within no time political parties organizeddemonstrations against the Government. Police force was used to control theagitation, which added fuel to fire. Sikkim National Congress and Sikkim State Congress demanded countermanding of the election and ordering a fresh poll. The Durbar adopted its old dual policy of repression and causing dissension in itspolitical rivals. But this time it did not work. Demonstrators began to attack andtake over the police stations in the interior. The two political parties decided toboycott and disturb ruler’s birthday celebration on April 4, 1974 in spite ofappeals made on the contrary. The situation was grim and a pitched battle wasfought between the demonstrators and the police. . The place was obdurate andwent ahead with the birthday celebrations, which angered the masses even more. The administration collapsed and the ruler was forced to request the PoliticalOfficer to take over the administration, as his father had done 24 years back. The Political Officer took over the administration for time being, but the political stalemate continued. The Government of India encouraged the Durbar andpolitical leaders to negotiate an agreement and establish normalcy in the State, butstands on both sides were hardening. At last, a tripartite agreement between the ruler, political leaders and India was reached on May 8, 1973. Unlike in 1949, the Government of India had decided to discard the unsolicitedcolonial advice this time and took a clear stand on democratic principles. Thefamous tripartite agreement envisaged ruler to be a constitutional head,establishment of a responsible government with democratic rights, rule of law,fundamental rights, independent judiciary, adult franchise and executive andlegislative powers to the people’s representatives. Article 5 of the Agreement envisages: “The system of election shall be so organized as to make the (State)Assembly adequately representative of the various sections of the population. Thesize and the composition of the Assembly and of the Executive Council shall besuch as may be prescribed from time to time, care being taken to ensure that nosingle section of the population acquires a dominating position due mainly to itsethnic origin, and that the rights and interests of the Sikkimese Bhotia- Lepchaorigin and of Sikkimese Nepali, which includes Tsongs and scheduled castesorigin, are fully protected”. According to the provisions of the Agreement, a State Legislative Assembly of 32 members (Lepcha- Bhotia 15 + one seat to the monks + Nepalese 15 + one seat to the Scheduled Castes among the Nepalese untouchables), a Chief Minister,and a Council of Ministers responsible to the Assembly to be elected onuniversal adult franchise was envisaged. With a view to carrying out specialprovisions of the Indo-Sikkimese Treaty, an Office of the Chief Executive to bemanned by an Indian functionary was created between the two and a deference of opinion between him the ruler was to be referred to the Political Officer atGangtok, whose opinion would be binding. The political atmosphere in Sikkimsurcharged with and in such excitements, election to the State Assembly were held in April, 1974. With exception of one Lepcha- Bhotia seat to a nominee ofSikkim National Party, the remaining 31 seats were captured by the newly formedSikkim Congress. Lhendup Dorji Kazi, the leader of Sikkim Congress LegislatureParty, was sworn as the first duly elected Chief Minster of Sikkim. These andother developments were seen as evidence of dilution of “Sikkim’s InternationalStatus” by the Ruler, which may be seen as a conflict between the head of the state and his people.Merger of Sikkim The State Assembly met in an emergency season and passed this resolution: “ Theinstitution of Chogyal (the head of the state) is hereby abolished and Sikkim shallhence forth be a constituent unit of India”. While the ruler went on asking forright of self determination to Sikkim, this Resolution of the Assembly was put tothe electorate and 97 percent favoured it. This led to the Indian Parliament passing the 38thConstitutional Amendment Bill on April 26, 1975. Thus, Sikkimceased to exist as an Indian protectorate and became the 22ndstate of the IndianUnion. Accordingly, the office of the Chogyal stood abolished and provisions ofthe Indo-Sikkimese Treaty, Tripartite Agreement and the Government of IndiaACT, 1974 were made inoperative. Lhendup Dorji Kazi (LD Kazi), the ChiefMinster, emerged as the central figure after these epoch making developments. His style of functioning was that of an old -world patriarch, addicted to advicefrom all corners, but too old to learn anything afresh.As the Chief Minister of Sikkim, he changed political affiliation five times between December 1975 to January 1980 as per the change of ruling parties in the Central Government in Delhi. For New Delhi, the Kazi had replaced the old Chogyal and old policies continued to be pursued. In such a situation, thebureaucrats from the Central Government turned out to be friends, philosophersand guides to the Kazi. The Governor to the State, B B Lal, ICS and Kazi’sconsort, Kazani Eliza Maria Dorji, basically ran the state. The Kazi was effective for politically placid Sikkimese scenario, but he was not cut for the complexIndian political reality. He could neither restrain his younger colleagues such asNar Bhadur Khatiwara, Ram Chandra Poudyal, nor could he satisfy the seniorcolleagues like Chatur Singh Rai or Bhim B. Gurung. Very soon, the party became faction ridden; serious charges of corruption werelevelled against functionaries. The governor, the Kazani and higher bureaucrats,all began to assert in day to day administration on the name of “the popular government”. Kazi was still basking in the ‘glory of the merger (of Sikkim to India)’ when the first election to the State Assembly was announced. Prior to thatOrdinance 7, 1979 was issued by the Government of India, by which 12 seatswere reserved for the indigenous tribes like Lepchas and Bhotias, two to thescheduled castes and one to the monks and rest of 17 seats in Assembly were declared as ‘general’, which means they were open to any Indian to contest, provided that person was a bona fide voter in Sikkim. Elections to State Assembly were conducted at the end of 1979. The Kazi’s partywas soundly beaten and he too lost. An upstart, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, who had mounted an aggressive compaign against “Kazi and Co.” and termed them ‘des bechwas’ (those, who had sold the country, Sikkim), secured the maximum seats in the Assembly. And in the subsequent elections, in 1984 and 1989, it was Bhandari, who swept the polls winning almost all the seats in Assembly. He wasinvited to form the government. Bhandari’s long regime of 15 years was notoriousfor charges of corruption, inefficiency, and high- handedness.This schoolteacher turned Chief Minister was later charged for possessingproperty disproportionate to his known sources of income. Bhandari became so autocratic that no body could oppose him for his lapses and survive politically.That also included his wife, who was elected as the member of the IndianParliament from Sikkim. However, he kept on raising the issue of reserving seatsin the State Assembly for the Nepamul, the Indians of Nepalese origin, the constitutional recognition of Nepali las an Indian language nd granting citizenship to the remaining Nepamul in Sikkim. But, once the Government of Indiaimplemented the Mandal Commission Reports, there was a type of upsurge among the Nepamul Bharatiyas. Leaders of communities, listed as the ‘Other Backward Castes’ by the Mandal Commission, raised the flag of revolt against Bhandari charging that he stood forthe hegomony of the higher castes among the Nepamul. A little- known former police constable turned politician, Pawan Singh Chamlin, upset Bhandari’s applecart, by forming a new political party, Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) and posinga serious challenge to his leadership. The elections to the State Assembly 1994,1999 and 2004 proved that Bhandari’s style of politics was not appreciated anymore by the Sikkimese electorate and Chamling carried home in these polls. 4. Sikkim and its Immediate Region Sikkim is a Himalayan State. Its history, culture, society, economy, resources andover-all world -view is intricately routed in its neighbourhood and is shared withthe communities across political boundaries. Bhotia, Lamaism (MahayanBuddhism), traditional north ward trading across the Himalayas will not beunderstood without reference to Sherpas, Tibetans and Bhutanese in general and Chumbi Valley in particular. Similarly, highlanders’ pastoral economy will bebetter appreciated and its relevance understood in terms of its linkages with NorthDistrict beyond Nothu-la pass and seasonal cycle of human and cattle movements across the Himalayan divide. Lepcha and Linbu traditions in themselves willremain relevant largely to the ethnographic interest, but if an effort is made to seethe phenomenon in its terms of ‘kirati culture’ and ‘janajati movement in eastern Nepal, a new vista will open to appreciate the nuances of ethnicity.Only then, can a holistic image of Sikkimese society emerge. How can oneimagine high altitude eco-tourism in Sikkim without reference to Eastern Nepal,Chumbi valley in Tibet, Ha Valley of Bhutan and Darjeeling? Even if we agree toinsulate Sikkimese Nepamul from Nepal for the sake of argument, the Nepamul scenario of Sikkim will always be incomplete without reference to Darjeeling. And the river Teesta, which is backbone of Lepcha and Sikkimese lifeline,equally inseparable from every day life of the common people of North Bengal.Any talk of electric generation, industrial enterprise, irrigation system,horticultural efforts in Sikkim without reference to West Bengal will simply beimpractical and futile. Border TradeUp to 1962 there was a thriving Indo-Tibetan trade across the border through theNathu-la Pass, Gangtok, Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Calcutta. This trade was carried with the help of coolies , ponies, yaks, and other animals acrossHimalayan divides through road less terrain. Tibetan aristocrats, lamas, commoners, Sikkimese Kazis, Newar traders, Ladakhachi caravan pliers, and Marwari merchants all had their establishments at the above towns. So much sothat even cars used to be dismantled in parts and carried to the Tibetan plateau on the back of humans and animals. And there was an intricate net work to supply commodities from Calcutta to Lhasa in Tibet and likewise Tibetan wool, gold, precious gems, borax, dogs, yak tails and other light and luxury items werebrought to Indian markets. The British had an eye on the Tibetan tea market and had even planned a hundredyears back to stretch the Indian railways from Siliguri to Chumbi valley tofacilitate this border trade. There were occasions on these days, when Chinese travelers from Tibetan locations to China and Tibetan dignitaries going back toTibet from China were facilitated through this route. Kalimpong, located on anodal point, was closest to Chumbi Valley, Bhutan, Gangtok and Darjeeling, and thus it developed in to an ideal border trading mart. The border dispute between India and China led to discontinuation of this regional lifeline in 1962. It is gratifying that once more Sino-Indian friendship is growing and it is hoped that border trade across Nathu-la pass will begin verysoon. There is some teething problem in it at the local level. Nathu-la falls under exclusive Bhotia region, where non- tribal cannot own land as per existinglaw of the land. But not only all ethnic groups of Sikkim, but even traders fromout side Sikkim see opening of the border trade as a new opportunity for them tojoin in. There is already a clamour in favour or against the existing land laws in theregion. In fact, the governments of Sikkim and West Bengal are coordinating theirefforts to remove bottlenecks, and creating warehousing, custom clearancefacilities, space for the traders, market, transportation, electric power transmission,residential, banking and other administrative amenities in consultation with the Central Government. Caution has to be sounded in this regard. Traditionalpatterns of trading is on the mind of the Indian stake-holders, in which human and animal power was used for transportation on the mule tracks; limited andrelatively light commodities were traded; and informal banking facilities based onkinship or friendly ties were utilized. Since then the world has undergone amassive change.Local and regional Bhotia and Tibetan traders will now have to compete with the most articulate, experienced and enterprising younger generation of new traderscoming from all over the region and beyond. In case this route does meet withtheir expectations of the stake holders, it will be a big setback to similar initiatives elsewhere. Expectations are high from this trade route and if it is opened, it hasthe potential to provide a new corridor to Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal fromTibet besides boosting the regional economy of Sikkim and Darjeeling. 5. Eco-Tourism, Mountain TourismApart from trading, this region has other potential: eco-tourism and mountaintourism and horticultural innovations. Darjeeling has been a centre ofmountaineering to high Himalayan peaks for decades. Darjeeling has the worldheritage toy train, a narrow gauge train built at the time of the British and which is a major tourist attraction. High altitude mountain trekking and climbing,pilgrimages to hill top monasteries across Eastern Nepal, Darjeeling, Sikkim, Chumbi Valley and western Bhutan are enormous draws. It is time to think alongthese lines and plan for the infrastructure to turn potential into reality. Sikkim, Darjeeling and Western Bhutan are endowed with some of the rare varieties oforchids, flowers, fruits, rhododendrons, butterflies as well as the rarely-sightedsnow leopard, bears and many birds species. These are rarely exposed on eco-tourism, which will also be linked with high altitude sports. More than 82 percent of the total area of the State is classified as forestland. Out of which 42.46 percent area is under the National Parks and Sanctuaries, whereflora and fauna are protected. In this context it may be mentioned that 1, 785 sq.km. Khangchendzonga National Park is proposed to increase to 2,600 sq. km. More than one- third of the 5,000 flowering plants found in the country, arelocated in Sikkim. Similarly, almost fifty percent of 1400 butterflies, recorded in Indian sub-continent, have been identified in the State (Department of Information and Public Relations: 2003). The Sikkim is the State, whose Chief Minister wasadjudged as the most eco-friendly (the Greenest) head of the administrationamong the Indian States some year’s back. The State has identified DendrobiumNobile as the State Flower, rhododendron as the State Tree, red Panda as the StateAnimal and Blood Pheasant as the State Bird. As we have mentioned earlier that Sikkim is the land of Limbu-kirati culturalcontext with Buddhistic overtone, religious tourism may be another area where Sikkim may collaborate with its immediate neighbours to the north in Tibet, eastto Bhutan and south in Darjeeling in West Bengal. Sikkim has three dozensignificant monasteries besides famous Namgyal Institute of Technology atGangtok. The hydroelectric power is one area in which Sikkim has potential,because its snowfed perennial rivers pass through extremely undulatingtopography, ideal for such an enterprise. It goes without saying that Sikkim’s recent membership to North Eastern Councilis more in the domain of economic development of smaller mountainous andfrontier states on India’s north eastern frontiers. As soon as one crosses the RangitRiver at Rangpo, one finds evidence of new direction -- small-scale industrialunits, institutions of higher learning, hydropower generation projects. In view of ajournalist, Sikkim has limited industrial options, which are further complicated bythe absence of its own airport and railhead. It has, therefore, rightly focused onmicro industries. A current success is the processing of Dalley, the small red chilly that surprises every body by its volatile pungency (Rai, J : 2004). By and large, Sikkim is entirely engaged in primary sector of production:agriculture, horticulture, grazing, dairy production and mining. Among the industries, Sikkim Distillery, Sikkim Jewels, Sikkim Time Corporation are the ones, which are just visible. There are about a dozen cotton production-cum–training centres and another half a dozen centres for production of woollen cloth.All these together hardly employ less than 5, 000 persons. In the absence ofsufficient cultivable land in this mountainous state , it is industries, which holdsthe key for providing gainful employment to the Sikkimese. However, there are handicaps and constraints in this regard: (I) Lack of knowledge of the entrepreneur regarding manufacturing activities; (ii) Lack of raw material; ( iii)Absence of proper manpower; ( iv) Poor marketing network; (v) Inflexible landlaws and lack of enabling laws; (vi)Underdeveloped infrastructure facilities, and (vii) Shortage of credit and finance (Lama, M P : 2001). Sikkim has made progress during these last decades. For example, the infantmortality rate dropped from 60 in 1951 to 51 in the year 1997. Similarly, literacyrates went up from 7 percent in 1951 to 70 percent in 2001 and as much as 83percent children between the age group of 6 to 17 years attend schools. Nowschool exists within walking distance of each village. Women enjoy relativelygreater freedom in Sikkim compared to their sisters from other state of IndianUnion in a number of ways. Sikkim reported a per capita Net Domestic Product of Rs.. 9, 472 in 1995-1996. Only 23 percent children below the age of 3 yearswere found malnourished against an all India such statistics of 47 percent in the year 1998-99. Over 80 percent households have electricity; 85 percent of thehouseholds have piped or hand pump generated drinking water system and asmuch as 73 percent households have toilet or latrine facility as against 36 percent for India as a whole.As agriculture has a handicap and industries are yet to make a mark, Sikkim aswell joins her other sister states of North Eastern Council for solution to their similar problems. Once the trade route between Tibet and Sikkim at Nathula pass is formalized, an all weather multilane road running from Nathula to Gangtok, Rangpo, Kalimpong and Siliguri in the plains will change the economic scenarioof the region. Then possibly Sikkim will have to think of developing a drytransport depot at Rangpo. There is a lot of silent trade, which goes across borderswith Nepal and Bangladesh. This has to be formalized and made use of in apositive way. Sikkim is similar in some ways to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos,Kampuchea, Malaysia and Vietnam. Most of them are basically agriculturalcommunities with a fast growing rural population. They have their traditional skill of mountain agriculture, horticulture, and animal husbandry, fishing and hunting.What these hard working people require are modern technological expertise to getgainful employment in industries and service sectors.
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NOTE: Copyright of This Article is with A.C.SINHA on whose book it is based on.
