Kingdom without a king

30 years ago in India Today

Our jeep jolted to a halt before the border town of Rangpo. The Nepalese driver leapt out to survey the scene and said, “We will cross into Sikkim now. All this was India.” “But Sikkim is a part of India,” we said. “That is what they say,” he replied. It was under the shrewd gaze of New Delhi thousands of miles away that Sikkim changed governments.

In April 1975, the Government of India introduced the 36th Amendment Act making Sikkim the 22nd state of the Indian Union. The Sikkim issue, which had earlier developed into a national debate a year ago, never got complete hearing due to the declaration of Emergency.

In Gangtok, the deposed Chogyal’s eldest son’s death has caused a sudden tightening of political reflexes all around. The Sikkimese continue to recognise Chogyal as the divine defender of their faith. — Sunil Sethi

http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_registration&task=home_30yearsinit&issueid=46&assignedid=5&home=1

Comments

JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT

This was a national song of Sikkim sung in the Nepali language during the monarchy system. During the merger with India, the song got banned and later re-released. Two words on the 8th para, which earlier said 'Rajah rah Rani,' were replaced with "Janmah bhumi." This song was dedicated to the King and Queen of Sikkim. The song lyrics were penned by Sanu Lama, and the music was composed by Dushyant Lama. The song was first sung on the birth anniversary of Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal on April 4, 1970, at Gangtok by Aruna Lama, Dawa Lama, and Manikamal Chettri. JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT, JAHAN KANCHENDZONGA SEER YEHI HO HAMRO DHANA KO DESH, TAPAWAN HO PYARO SIKKIM INTERLUDE PHULCHAN YEHA AANGANAI MAA, CHAAP , GURAS, SUNAKHARI SWARGASARI SUNDAR DESH KO HAMRO PYARO PYARO JANMAHBHUMI JANHA BAGCHA…… BATASHLE BOKCHAA YAHA, TATHAGAT KO AAMAR WAANI ...

The legend of April "73" Agitation in Sikkim

I was not born when Sikkim got merged with the mighty Indian Union, but being a student of Sikkim History, all that is available to me is a rack of books by different authors and those old folks who had been part of that historical “April ‘73’ Agitation”. When I go through the history of Sikkim, April ‘73 Agitation holds an important role, mostly as the turning point of the Independent Sikkim and the Sikkim State. The mass demonstrations against the Chogyal rule shocked the 300-year-old monarchy system and ushered in democratic rule in Sikkim. The agitation was a result “due to big differences which ensued with the demand of repoll in one booth by Kazi Lhendup Dorji and Mr. Krishna Chandra Pradhan, as such the Chogyal had to face the people’s agitation launched by the Joint Action Committee with the tacit blessings of the Government of India. This people’s political movement spearheaded by Kazi Lhendup Dorji finally resulted in Sikkim joining the mainstream as the 22nd State...

CBSE: ARUNACHAL PRADESH AND SIKKIM, PUSHED GUWAHATI TO FLOOR

Guwahati, June 1: When students in Delhi were flashing their 90 per cents and doing their high-fives, the Central Board of Secondary Education was looking for reasons for the below-par performance of students in the Guwahati region, comprising the seven states of the Northeast and Sikkim. Among the six regions where the board conducts Standard X examinations, Guwahati region has the lowest pass percentage - a mere 56 per cent. Ajmer region registered a staggering 93.87 pass per cent, the highest. A post-result analysis by the board revealed that poor performance by government schools in two states, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, pushed Guwahati to the bottom in the list. K.K. Choudhury, the regional officer of CBSE (Guwahati), said the two states pulled down the pass percentage of the entire region. "We have four categories of schools - government schools, independent (private) schools, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas. The pass percentage of independent schools,...

Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

Search This Blog