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

Botanists Frank Ludlow and George Sherriff with Frederick Williamson in-front of Residency (Now Raj Bhawan) in Gangtok (1933). The botanist duo had visited Sikkim and Tibet in 30s and early 40s for specimen collection.  (Photo Source: Wikipedia)

JC White had a significant influence on Sikkim. In his popular blog, Rajen Upadhaya, History Lecturer, Namchi Govt. College writes, “With the appointment of J C White as the Political Officer in 1889, Sikkim witnessed his self-styled Zamindari System. Several Lessee Landlords were created throughout Sikkim with untold powers to mortgage or confiscate the lands of innocent peasants, further, with the help of his Sikkimese protégés Claude White board upon a policy of obliterating the ancient economy of Sikkim. This paved the way for the birth of Kaziism, the Thikadari system, and all the other forced labors like Kuruwa, Kalobhari, Jharlangi, Theki-Bethi, Ghar-Lauri, etc.”. In 1889, JC White conducted a land survey, according to which each piece of land was leased to the interested landowners at various rates. A Labour tax of two rupees for every household was charged, along with an excise charge of two rupees for brewing grain alcohol. Auctions for the license to weigh and ta...

I had heard from old folks that there used to be a statue of JC White at the exact place where Jawaharlal Nehru's statue is today at Ridge Park near White Hall, Gangtok. Later on, during the early 70s, the statue was removed and replaced with the statue of the first Prime Minister of India. JC White's statue had gone missing until it was again found and kept at Smile Land near Ranipool. My fantasy about JC White grew with each passing day and I just wanted to know more about his persona.  John Claude White, a British engineer, was sent to Sikkim in 1887, and he peacefully handled the situation at the Sikkim–Tibet front. A year later, he was again sent to Sikkim as an Assistant Political Officer with the British Expeditionary Force. With the defeat of the Tibetans during the 1888-89 conflicts, the power of control over the small Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim came under British rule.  A new post as Political Officer of Sikkim was created, thus making John Claude White an a...

25 Srang Note from Tibet

  These newspaper cuttings belong from the personal collection of Late Pem Tshering and are now under her daughter Sabnam Lama. Late Pem Tshering had done marvelous work in putting off the newspaper cuttings that hit the headlines all over the world regarding the political turnover at Tibet in 1959 through the newspaper of Amrita Bazar Patrika, he passed away in 1975 and he was Inspector of Police, Frontier Check Post posted at Kalimpong.

This newspaper cuttings belongs from the personal collection of Late Pem Tshring and now under her daughter Sabnam Lama. Late Pem Tshering had done a marvelous work in putting off the newspaper cuttings that hit  the headlines all over the world regarding the  political  turnover at Tibet in 1959 through the newspaper of Amrita Bazar Patrika, he passed away in 1975 and he was Inspector of Police, Frontier Check Post posted at Kalimpong.

This newspaper cuttings belongs from the personal collection of Late Pem Tshring and now under her daughter Sabnam Lama. Late Pem Tshering had done a marvelous work in putting off the newspaper cuttings that hit  the headlines all over the world regarding the  political  turnover at Tibet in 1959 through the newspaper of Amrita Bazar Patrika, he passed away in 1975 and he was Inspector of Police, Frontier Check Post posted at Kalimpong.

Very little is known about the four unknown burial that were found at Aritar. According to the oral documentation from the elderly local people of this region, the burials of four dead bodies are believed to be of soldiers of the British contingent representing the “1904 British expedition to Tibet” led by Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband that entered Tibet via Aritar (Old Silk Route). It is believed that the four soldiers were injured during the massacre and brought to the Health Camp at Aritar Dak Bungalow, where they latter died. A century later, the present burial site was re-constructed into cemetery by the Aritar Panchayat in due honour to those four unknown Britishers. 

Sourced from: Shaw, F. Becker. 1897. Missionary Map of Tibet (dotted lines indicate trade routes) / The Scandinavian Alliance Mission has also Tibetan Missionaries in Ghoom, India, in Baksadnar, Bhutan, and in Guntak, Sikkim.

Gyallu is the national anthem of Tibet. The anthem focuses on the radiance of Buddha. The words were written by Trijang Rinpoche around 1950 but it is unclear exactly when Tibet's anthem was first used, either while the country was still under the control of the Dalai Lama's administration or first adopted by the government in exile after the invasion by China. The earliest report of an anthem (presumably this one) is from the period of 1949 to 1950 (when the country was already facing the threat of a Chinese invasion), introduced under reforms set in place to strengthen patriotic feelings of the Tibetan people. Another report states that the anthem was presented to the 14th Dalai Lama in 1960, after he went into exile. Regardless of the adoption date, the melody is said to be based on a very old piece of Tibetan sacred music, and the lyrics by the Dalai Lama's tutor, Trijang Rinpoche. It has been used by Tibetans in exile ever since the introduction of the...

The Old Tibet national anthem was created in the eighteenth century. According to eminent Tibetan scholar Tashi Tsering, it was composed by Pholanas in 1745/46, at the time of the 7th Dalai Lama. Sir Charles Bell described it as Tibet's "national hymn". Ghang ri rawe kor we shingkham di Phen thang dewa ma loe jungwae ne Chenrezig wa Tenzin Gyatso yin Shelpal se thae bhardu Ten gyur chik English Translation:  Circled by ramparts of snow-mountains, This sacred realm, This wellspring of all benefits and happiness Tenzin Gyatso, bodhisattva of Compassion. May his reign endure Till the end of all existence Audio clip of namthar (opera aria) of National Hymn sung by Techung. Courtesy of Chaksampa. Download MP3 (6Mb) The eminent Tibetan scholar, Tashi Tsering citing the historical work Bka’ blon rtogs brjod , says that this verse was composed by the Tibetan ruler, Phola lha nas, (in 1745/46) in praise of the 7th Dalai Lama. “Reflections on Than...

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 ...

This postage stamp from the country of Bhutan issued in late 70s is probably the only postage stamps in the world of philately that showed Sikkim as an Independent Country. You can closely see an Independent Sikkim, below it India while East Pakistan now Bangladesh just beneath it. Bhutan is right to Sikkim in white while Tibet on its top.

Here i am sharing few photographs related to Royal family of Sikkim from the collection of a gentleman from Australia named Harold. He was kind enough to let me share his collection that also includes letters send by Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal. He writes for his blog Radical Royalist, that speaks of the volumes of his love for Royal Monarchies across the globe. To speak off he does have a nice collection of write ups and photographs of monarchies that have lost to the wheel of clock. To start with, below is the photograph of Crown Prince Tenzing of Sikkim, son of the 12th Chogyal and Sangey Deki, daughter of Yapshi Samdu Phodrang of Tibet. The Crown Prince died in a car accident on 11th March 1978.

I have been writing about Sikkim, but I am sorry I never talked about its physical features. Once a Himalayan kingdom until 1975 and now part of a mighty Indian Union, the small state of Sikkim has seen many changes over the last 50 years. Jawaharlal Nehru and Chogyal Tashi Namgyal, the king of Sikkim, had a very warm relationship.  It was even said that Nehru wanted to spend his retired life in Sikkim, but that could not happen due to his sudden death in 1964. After Nehru's death, some of his ashes were brought to Sikkim and thrown over the sky of Gangtok, Kanchenjunga Range, and other places.  Even Chogyal Tashi Namgyal presented his paintings to Nehru, which is said to be at Anand Bhawan, the ancestral home of the Nehru family at Allahabad. But it was under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, that Sikkim was merged with India just 10 years after Nehru died.     Sikkim shares an interesting geographical boundary. Three countries...

by Nakul Chettri With a large number of ethnic societies having their own social, economic and cultural attributes living in a highly heterogeneous mountain environment, any developmental initiative in the Himalayas has to be based upon a value system that they understand, practice and is sustainable. The Himalayas are characterised by highly complex socioecological systems, with rich cultural diversity linked with equally rich biological diversity. However, it is a paradox that the majority of people living in this biologically rich region are among the poorest in the world. Agriculture, being the most dependable livelihood option available to these people has evolved significantly over the centuries to cater to their subsistence needs. Based on the agro-climatic zones and farming practices, the Himalayas can be broadly categorised into five major systems. Each of these systems can be characterised by i) specialised pastoralism (purely livestock based, a high altitude transhuman subs...

An envelope posted to Tibet from Sikkim (1961)

At Kavi BY SHITAL PRADHAN Last month I was on a visit to the ruins of Tumlong, the third capital of Sikkim and the view to that site and the half done repairing work made me feel are we, I hear say are we Sikkimese really concern about our prime past. When I was going through the different pages of Sikkim's history, I believe there are many things we still do not know about Sikkim, or I can say we know very little about it. The time has come for the account of Sikkim's history to be re-written from its initial stages, though we know that we have limited resources along with us. I am sorry to say that I find many things missing and vacant spaces that need to be filled up. Just to say that we know little of Sikkim's prime is more of a layman's excuse. If the effort is made, we can make the most of it. Until recently, we have looked back at Sikkim's earliest record dating back to the 9th century when Guru Padmasambhava had mystically flown to Tibet via Sikkim. Well...

SANJAY AGARWAL RANGPO, March 23: Some 300 activists from the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) on a peace march from Siliguri in West Bengal to the Nathula Border, in an attempt to join the protest movement in Tibet reached the Tar Khola, 10th Mile area yesterday. The marchers are planning to cover some 170 kilometers in eight days before reaching Nathula. The protesters are just 7 km from Rangpo on the West Bengal side. They will attempt to enter Sikkim at the Rangpo Check Post tomorrow at 10.30 am, the protestors said. However, the Sikkim government has already announced plans to stop the march from entering the State. Security at the border check Post here has been beefed up after the protestors started their march. Since yesterday, every passenger has to pass heavy security checks before entering the State. East District, SP Dr. MS Tuli, who was at Rangpo to oversee the security arrang...