SIKKIM

one of the smallest states of India. Located in the eastern Himalayan Mountains, it is bounded by the independent Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal to the west and Bhutan to the east; by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north and northeast; and, in India, by West Bengal state to the south. Because of its sensitive location, Sikkim possesses a strategic and political importance out of all proportion to its size. Three tribesthe Naong, Chang, and Monare believed to have inhabited Sikkim in prehistoric times. Other tribes may have entered from the trans-Himalayas during that period, followed by numerous others during historic times. The largest migration took place between the mid-18th and the 19th century, principally from northern and eastern Nepal. As a small but independent country, Sikkim had to fight to maintain its territorial integrity. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it fought prolonged wars with Bhutan and Nepal. Sikkim first came under British influence in 1817. Although the British later acquired territory and political control over the region, Sikkim remained an independent buffer between British India and Tibet. The period following Indian independence was one of political turmoil in Sikkim. By the terms of a 1950 treaty, Sikkim was deemed to be an Indian protectorate. In 1975, however, more than 97 percent of the electorate voted for the merger of Sikkim with India, and a month later Sikkim became a state of India. Sikkim stretches about 70 miles (113 km) from north to south and about 40 miles (64 km) from east to west. Its horseshoe-shaped mountain ranges offer no sizable level areas, and about two-thirds of the total territory of the state consists of perpetually snow-covered mountains without year-round human habitation. The major mountain group is that dominated by Kanchenjunga, which at 28,169 feet (8,586 m) above sea level is the highest mountain peak in India and the third loftiest in the world. Within the mountain ranges on the east and west are deep valleys, of which the Tista River valley is the largest. Only in the south is the state not separated from its neighbours by a mountain wall, though a number of passes connect Sikkim with neighbouring areas. Much of the state forms the drainage basin of the Tista River, which drops from its source near the Chinese border about 15,700 feet (4,800 m) within its 65-mile (105-kilometre) course to Rongphu (Rangpo). The climate varies with elevation and ranges from tropical in the low valley bottoms to Arctic-like conditions of perpetual snow and ice in the higher reaches. Depending on elevation and aspect, annual rainfall varies from 50 to 200 inches (1,270 to 5,080 mm), and snow in the upper levels often accumulates to a thickness of 100 feet (30 m). Sikkim is one of the most humid regions in the Himalayas, with most of its annual rainfall coming during the months of May through October. Most of Sikkim's peoplepredominantly Hindus and Buddhistslive in villages in the central, western, and southern parts of the state. The land is uninhabitable in the far north. The villages consist of many hamlets of small homesteads scattered over the slopes of the hills. Until 1951 there were no urban areas. At that time Gangtok, the capital, was accorded urban status. Although other towns have since been designated urban centres, the greater part of Sikkim's urban population lives in Gangtok. Agriculture is the basis of the Sikkim economy. On terraced slopes farmers grow corn (maize), paddy rice, buckwheat, wheat, and barley. Sikkim is one of the world's main producers of cardamom, and the region has also become an exporter of mandarin oranges, apples, and potatoes. Beans, cabbage, ginger, cauliflower, peas, and tomatoes are also grown. Domesticated animalsbuffalo, yaks, sheep, goats, pigs, mules, ponies, and poultryprovide for a crude mixed farming that sustains a large number of people. Sikkim is rich in mineral wealth. Copper, lead, zinc, coal, iron ore, garnet, graphite, pyrites, marble, and steatite have been found in the state. Forests, which cover about one-third of Sikkim's area, have great economic value in sawn timber and wood pulp. Sikkim has a scattering of light and consumer-goods industries. The Sikkimese are noted for their cotton and wool weaving, carpets, rugs, blankets, and bamboo work. The Cottage Industries Institute offers instruction in these crafts, as well as in doll making, embroidery, ceramics, traditional scroll painting, handmade-paper preparation, and other arts. Although road transport is the primary mode of travel, Sikkim has only about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of roads. Gangtok is nearly 75 miles (120 km) from the nearest airport at Baghdogra in West Bengal, while Siliguri70 miles (110 km) away in West Bengalis the nearest railway station to Gangtok. The state's cultural life is related to Tibetan religious and aesthetic traditions. The cultural climax of the year comes with the two-day Phanglhapsol festival, when masked dances are performed in honour of Kanchenjunga, the presiding deity and the mountain. There are also many secular folk dances. The Namgyal Institute of Tibetology has the largest collection of Tibetan books in the world outside the libraries of Saint Petersburg and Peking. Many Buddhist monasteries are repositories of artistic treasures, including wall paintings, tankas (religious paintings mounted on brocade), and bronze images. Literacy in Sikkim is low, although primary and secondary education in the state is free. Sikkim's only university college, affiliated with the University of North Bengal at Darjeeling, is located at Gangtok. Area 2,740 square miles (7,096 square km). Pop. (1991 prelim.) 405,505. Market in Gangtok, Sikkim. state of India. It is located in the northeastern part of the country. It is the second smallest state in India, covering an area of 2,740 square miles (7,096 square kilometres). It is bordered by the kingdoms of Nepal to the west and Bhutan to the east, the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north and northeast, and the state of West Bengal to the south. Gangtok is the capital. Long a sovereign state, Sikkim became a protectorate of India in 1950 and a state in 1975. Because of its location, it has a political and strategic importance out of proportion to its size. Additional reading Physical and human geography are covered in P.N. Chopra, Sikkim (1979). Other general works include V.H. Coelho, Sikkim and Bhutan (1970); Alice S. Kandell and Charlotte Y. Salisbury, Mountaintop Kingdom: Sikkim (1971); and George Kotturan, The Himalayan Gateway: History and Culture of Sikkim (1983). Economic development is the focus of Pradyumna P. Karan, Sikkim Himalaya (1984). Sikkim's political history and the merger with India are discussed in P. Raghunadha Rao, India and Sikkim, 18141970 (1972), and Sikkim: The Story of Its Integration with India (1978); Lal Bahadur Basnet, Sikkim (1974); Satyendra R. Shukla, Sikkim: The Story of Integration (1976); Awadhesh Coomar Sinha, Politics of Sikkim (1975); B.S. Das, The Sikkim Saga (1983); and Shankar Kumar Jha and Satya Narain Mishra, Sikkim (1984). See also Sunil C. Roy, Sikkim (1980); and Nari Rustomji, Sikkim: A Himalayan Tragedy (1987). History Little is known of Sikkim's history prior to the 17th century. The state's name is derived from the Limbu words su him, meaning new house. The Lepcha were early inhabitants of the region, apparently assimilating the Naong, Chang, Mon, and other tribes. The Bhutia began entering the area from Tibet in the 14th century. When the kingdom of Sikkim was established in 1642, Phuntsog Namgyal, the first chogyal (temporal and spiritual king), came from this community. The Namgyal dynasty ruled Sikkim until 1975. Sikkim fought a series of territorial wars with both Bhutan and Nepal beginning in the mid-18th century, and Nepal subsequently came to occupy parts of western Sikkim and the submontane Tarai. It was during this period that the largest migration of Nepalese to Sikkim began. In 1816 these territories were restored to Sikkim by the British in return for its support during the Anglo-Nepalese War (181416), but by 1817 Sikkim had become a de facto protectorate of Britain. The British East India Company obtained Darjiling from Sikkim in 1835. Incidents between the British and Sikkim led to the annexation in 1849 of the submontane regions and the subsequent military defeat of Sikkim, culminating in the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861. The treaty established Sikkim as a princely state under British paramountcy (though leaving the issue of sovereignty undefined), and the British were given rights of free trade and of road making through Sikkim to Tibet. In 1890 an agreement was concluded between the British and the Tibetans that defined the border between Sikkim and Tibet. Tibet also acknowledged the special relationship of British India with the kingdom of Sikkim. A British political officer was subsequently appointed to assist the chogyal in the administration of Sikkim's domestic and foreign affairs and, in effect, became the virtual ruler of the state. In 1950, three years after India attained independence from Britain, a treaty was signed between Sikkim and India that made Sikkim an Indian protectorate. India assumed responsibility for the external relations, defense, and strategic communications of Sikkim. After 1947 political parties began to be formed in Sikkim for the first time. Among their aims were the abolition of feudalism, the establishment of popularly elected government, and accession of Sikkim to Indiaall demands resisted by the chogyal and his supporters. The terms of the 1950 Indo-Sikkimese treaty, however, included increased popular participation in government, and five general elections based on adult suffrage were held between 1952 and 1974. In the last of these elections, two rival parties merged to form the Sikkim Congress, which swept the polls. The party launched a campaign to obtain greater political liberties and rights that the chogyal attempted to suppress. With the situation getting out of control, the chogyal asked the government of India to take over the administration. India prepared a constitution for Sikkim that was approved by its national assembly in 1974. In a 1975 special referendum, more than 97 percent of the electorate voted for the merger of Sikkim with India. Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union on May 15, 1975. Sukhdev Singh Chib Deryck O. Lodrick