Skip to main content

The last Chogyal (King) of Sikkim

By himalayanreview
BY SHITAL PRADHAN

I was not born when Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union, and the only information I have about the political identity of my Sikkim comes from literary knowledge and conversations with elderly people. I personally believe that no nation can develop unless its history, culture, and heritage are preserved. Sikkim, though now part of India, bears the responsibility of every Sikkimese to safeguard its past glory.

Interestingly, a few days ago, my college-going nephew surprised me when he mentioned that a man named STNM could be the last Chogyal, while one of my colleagues added that TNA and TNSSS also bear the name of the last Chogyal. Well, is this the future of Sikkim? If we cannot enable the younger generation to connect with the facts and authenticity of Sikkim, the state will surely lose its vivacious historical pages.

Twenty-five long years have passed since the passing away of the last Chogyal of Sikkim, Late Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal. Apart from a memorial park (rather a love nest where couples meet) and a prominent statue at Deorali, we hear very little about our last King.

Born as the second son to Late Chogyal Sir Tashi Namgyal on May 22, 1923, Palden Thondup Namgyal became the twelfth consecrated ruler of Sikkim on April 4, 1965, at the Royal Palace. He studied monkhood between 1931-1934 under his uncle, Lhatsun Rimpoche, and was recognized as the spiritual leader of Phodong and Rumtek monasteries, succeeding Chogyal Sidkeong.

He received education at St Joseph Convent (Kalimpong), St Joseph Academy (Darjeeling), Bishop Cotton School (Simla), and the ICS Training camp at Dehradun. He was appointed heir to the throne after the sudden death of his elder brother in a plane crash during World War II.

The Chogyal was associated with numerous cultural and academic organizations in Sikkim, India, and abroad. He served as the President of the Mahabodhi Delegation to the Sixth Buddhist Council held in Burma in 1954. He participated in the 2,500 Buddha Jayanthi Celebrations in India in 1956 and represented Sikkim at the Sixth World Fellowship of Buddhist Conference in Cambodia in 1961.

In 1958, he established a center for Mahayana and Tibetan studies, now known as the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology. He headed the Sikkim delegation to the World Anti-tuberculosis Conference in Istanbul and was a founding member of the Mountaineering Institute at Darjeeling.

Married to Sangey Deki and later to a US-born Hope Cooke in 1963, he received several of the nation's highest awards, including the Order of the British Empire in 1947, the Padma Vibushan in 1954, the Commander De L'ordre de L'étoile Noire in France in 1956, and the Order of the Jewel of Sikkim in 1973.

Unfortunately for the Chogyal, serious differences arose with the demand for a repoll in one booth by Kazi Lhendup Dorji and Mr. Krishna Chandra Pradhan, which led to the people's agitation in 1973, 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, eventually resulted in Sikkim.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History on Easter Sunday and Padari Ganga Prasad Pradhan

By himalayanreview
By Seira Tamang As noted by various scholars, Hinduism, the Nepali language, the monarchy and a rastriya itihas (a chronicle of progress in which the dark era of Rana rule is contrasted with the enlightened, progressive and modern period of Panchayat rule) formed the core of the Panchayat regime’s national culture. The formation and consolidation of this national culture have required the expunging of uncomfortable facts and stories that might raise ambiguities and questions. While the selection of what and who is and is not acknowledged to exist (or at least exist in historically important ways) in official Nepali history is complex, social scientists have begun to provide more comprehensive historical accounts of the past through oral histories and re-readings of historical documents. Such accounts reveal how ordinary people lived in the past, and offer ways to think through how ‘history’ is crafted, shaped and managed in order to reflect ‘the reality’ best suited to the status quo, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shapi of Sikkim: Our legacy -iii

By himalayanreview
A Sikkimese with a Shapi The two previous articles I wrote in my earlier edition on Shapi were wonderful to read for people around, and appreciation had been received from different corners of the state. I am thankful and find pleasure in people finding joy in my findings and research work. It was a bit surprising that very few had heard about Shapi, our rare legacy.  Nevertheless, I am happy to be part of history for re-introducing Shapi to those sections of my readers who had never heard about this old and sacred mountain mammal, a native of Sikkim. I dedicate my writing on Shapi to Ongden Daju (RO), who has been very supportive of me ever since I first published its first part a few months back. It was he who wanted me to continue with the third part of Shapi since more findings were evolving after my two writings. I shall always remain grateful to JR Subba, Jt Director from the Forest Department, for providing me with a valuable census report of Shapi done by the Department...
2 comments
Read more

Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, with his mother Queen Mother Denzong Lhayumkusho and Prince Wangchuk of Sikkim

By himalayanreview
The late Jungkyang Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, seated with his mother Queen Mother Denzong Lhayumkusho, daughter of Rakasha family of Tibet, and Prince Wangchuk whose late mother hails from the Samdrup Phodrang family of Tibet. Standing next to Denzong Queen Mother is the senior Rakasha Lhachamkusho, daughter of Raja Tsodrak Namgyal Taring of Sikkim, the eldest son of Chogyal Thutop Namgyal, who gave up the Sikkimese throne to his younger brother Sir Chogyal Tashi Namgyal in favour of staying in Tibet.  The Taring family of Tibet enabled into Tibetan high society by the great 13th Dalai Lama, is legitimately the unbroken elder line of the Royal Namgyal lineage of Sikkim, since Raja Tsodrak Namgyal was the Crown Prince of Sikkim, and his sons and grandsons today go by the Taring family name. Standing in the picture is also Princess Kukula, sister of the Chogyal married to the Phuenkhang family of Tibet.  Rakasha Tsetop, Rakasha Tseten, Yap Dr. Paljor, Soden Wangdi, Chimi ...
Post a Comment
Read more