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

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi walks with Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal near Denzong Cinema Hall in Gangtok during a visit in 1968. Source: I love Siliguri facebook

01.10.1975 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Singtam for the inauguration of the foundation stone program for the establishment of the hospital .

Silver Oak Tree planted by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 I  am sure many of us have seen this Silver Oak tree at  Amdo Golai, near Tadong opposite the traffic point that leads to Indira Bye Pass. More than a decade back there used to be a foundation stone that had words inscribed -  Planted by Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India in 1984 . Today I look at this heritage tree and feel sad it seems to have lost its glory and its history. I am sure in the near future the concerned department will surely look into this matter. 22.11.23 : Even after ten years of this post, the tree is strong and beautiful. I am sure someday this tree will have her moment and will be declared a national heritage. 

The letter Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal wrote to Indira Gandhi when Sikkim Royal Palace was attacked by the Indian Army I believe this piece of the article was more of a documentary as the title suggests "The Story of Sikkim". A part of many stories in opinions24x7 blog. The article gives a simple narration about Sikkim in brief. What I liked the most was the annexation part and as in my part what I see I share. So this interesting piece of the  extract is provided here which did touch my heart, especially the "letter" sent by our Chogyal (King) to Indira Gandhi when Sikkim Royal Palace was attacked by the Indian Army. What actually happened with Priyanka Tiwari, air hostess at Kingfisher Airline in Kolkata ?     High profile case better you don’t speak was told on the phone- Father Sikkim Rock Star keeps promises; send two to Kolkata auditions Sikkim Rock Star, a dance and singing-based musical show keeping up its promises has sent two of its part...

Gangtok, 1st October, 1968 Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Princess Sangay Dekila, Sir Tashi Namgyal, Shrimati Indira Gandhi [in kho (Bhutia Dress)], Princess Pema Tsedeun and Ashi Tashi Dorji of Bhutan. Information provided: Tenzin Chukie Tashi

Extracted from Pakistan Defence India’s “Chief Executive” in Gangtok wrote: “Sikkim’s merger was necessary for Indian national interest. And we worked to that end. Maybe if the Chogyal had been smarter and played his cards better, it wouldn’t have turned out the way it did.” It is also said that the real battle was not between the Chogyal and Kazi Lendup Dorji but between their wives. On one side was Queen Hope Cook, the American wife of the Chogyal and on the other was the Belgian wife of the Kazi, Elisa-Maria Standford. “This was a proxy war between the American and the Belgian,” says former chief minister BB Gurung. But there was a third woman involved: Indira Gandhi in New Delhi. Chogyal Palden met the 24-year-old New Yorker Hope Cook in Darjeeling in 1963 and married her. For Cook, this was a dream come true: to become the queen of an independent kingdom in Shangrila. She started taking the message of Sikkimese independence to the youth, and the allegations started flying thic...

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...

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...

Elisa Maria, wife of the first Chief Minister of Sikkim, L D. Kazi with former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi Photo shared by Binoy, Singtam

Former Prime Minister of India Late Indira Gandhi in Bakku (Bhutia) Dress during her visit to Sikkim . (1984) shared by Binoy, Singtam