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Sikkim
was inhabited in pre-historic times by three tribes namely Naong, Chang
and the Mon. The Lepcha who entered Sikkim sometimes later absorbed them
completely. The Lepchas were a very peace loving people, deeply religious
and shy, which characteristics they still have retained. They were in
fact the children of nature, and worshipped nature or spirits of nature.These
Lepcha lived quite close to the nature by way of leading sustenance. Some
of them practiced shifting cultivation and raised grains like maize and
millets. They led a tribal life at the beck and call of their tribal leader.
The
credit of organizing them into some sort of a society goes to a person
called Tur ve pa no. He was eventually elected leader of king called "Punu"
sometimes in A. D. 1400. He was killed in a battle and was succeeded by
three Kings - Tur Song Pa No, Tur Aeng Pa No and Tur Alu Pa No. The monarchy
came to an end with the death of the last king. After that the Lepchas
followed the practice to elect their own leader .
Somewhere
in the Thirteenth century a prince named Guru Tashi of Minyang dynasty
in Tibet had a divine vision that he should go south to seek his fortune
in "Denzong- the valley of rice".
As directed
by the divine vision he along with his family, which included five sons,
headed in the southern direction. The family during their wandering came
across the Sakya Kingdom in which a monastery was being built at that
time. The workers had not been successful in erecting pillars for the
monastery. The elder son of Guru Tashi raised the pillar single handedly
and thereby came to be known as "Kheye Bumsa" meaning the superior
of ten thousand heroes.
After
this Kheye Bumsa married Sakya king's daughter .Thekong Tek , who
was a religious leader blessed Kheye Bumsa with three sons and prophesied
that his successors would rule Sikkim .Guru Tashi , grandson of
Thekong Tek , later became ruler of Sikkim . Guru Tashi was succedded
by his son Jowo Nagpo followed by Jowo Apha and then Guru Tenzig , who
pursued the policy of having amicable relations with Lepchas.
The
Tibetan migration in early 17th century led the Rongs to shift their habitats
so as to avoid conflict. Meanwhile the struggle and conflicts among the
followers of the "Yellow hats" and the "Red hats" in Tibet forced the
latter to seek refuge in Sikkim, where they attained the status of aristocracy
.They were popularly called as 'Bhutias' , and they tried to convert
the Lepchas to Buddhism . After much confusion of the "actual"
ruler of Sikkim ,they chose Phuntsok Namgyal , as the spiritual
leader of Sikkim .
Phuntsok
Namgyal , who was the great grandson of Guru Tashi and son of Guru Tenzing
, ruled on a vast territory , much bigger than the present day Sikkim
.His kingdom touched Thang La in the Tibet in the north, Tagong La near
Paro in Bhutan in the east and the Titalia on the borders of West Bengal
and Bihar in the south .
He
commanded favor from Dalai Lama of Tibet and along with his three faithful
saints converted Lepchas to Budhism .
Phuntsok was succeded by his son Tensung Namgyal followed by his
son Chador Namgyal , who was a scholar at Lahasa and the Sixth
Dalai Lama bestowed high honors and titles on the young king. Chador was
killed by his own sister ,Pedi , in a conspiracy .Gyurmed Namgyal
succeded his father Chador and this era of Namgyal Dynasty continued
till 1972 , 332 years after it's founder Phuntsok Namgyal , founded
it in 1640 .
Phuntsok
Namgyal II suceeded Gyurmed Namgyal in 1780 . During his rein , Napalies
often attacked Sikkim and had captured large areas of Sikkim .The Napalies
also attacked areas of British India . A war broke out between British
India and Napali Gorkhas in 1814 and ended in 1816 with the defeat of
the Gurkhas . The Britisher signed a treaty with the Sikkim rulers in
1817 known as the Treaty of Titalia
in which former territories, which the Nepalis captured, were restored
to Sikkim.
The
British became interested in Darjeeling both as a hill resort and an outpost
from where Tibet and Sikkim would be easily accessible. Following a lot
of pressure from the British, Sikkim finally gifted Darjeeling to British
India on the understanding that a certain amount would be paid as annual
subsidy to Sikkim. The gift deed was signed by the Chogyal Tsudphud
Namgyal in 1835. When the British went back on their word , the relations
between Sikkim and Britishers soared which led to few battles and then
in 1861 the Britishers signed another treaty with the Sikkimese , according
to which they would pay Rs. 12000/- per annum to the ruler of Sikkim ,
Sidekeong Namgyal , who was the son of Chogyal.
Chogyal
Sidekong Namgyal defied in 1874 issueless and was succeeded by his half
brother Thutob Namgyal. There were serious difference between the
Nepalese settlers and the original inhabitants of Sikkim and this led
to British intervention. The settlement went in favour of the Nepali settlers
and made Thutob Namgyal have ill feeling for the British. He retreated
to Chumbi and became more aligned towards the Tibetans.
The
British meanwhile were making concerted efforts to establish a trade links
with Tibet and also imposed their influence. A delegation led by Colman
Macaulay, Financial Secretary to the Bengal Government of British
India was sent to Sikkim in 1884 to explore the possibility of establishing
a trade route with Tibet through the Lachen Valley. This delegation visited
Tumlong the capital where it met the Maharaja.
The
Britishers started building of roads in Sikkim. This was viewed with suspicion
by Tibet and in 1886, some Tibetan militia occupied Lingtu in sikkim near
Jelepla pass. In May 1888, the Tibetans attacked Gnathang below Jelepla
but were driven away. In September of the same year the British called
for reinforcements and the Tibetans were pushed back from Lingtu. A memorial
was built at Gnathang for the few British soldiers who died in the engagement.
The Britishers appointed Claude White as the first political officer
in Sikkim in 1889 and Chogyal Thutob Namgyal was virtually under
his supervision. Thutob Namgyal shifted the capital from Tumlong to Gangtok
in 1894. The Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial (STNM) Hospital built in 1917
is named in the memory of Thutob Namgyal who died in 1914.
Alarmed
by the growing Russian influence in Tibet and also to assert itself, the
British sent an expedition led by Col. Younghusband to Lhasa via
Jelepla in 1904. The expedition met with resistance from the Tibetan army,
which was defeated, and a treaty was dictated by Younghusband on Tibet.
The Treaty secured monopoly-trading privileges in Tibet for the British.
Thutob Namgyal was succeeded by his son Sidekong Tulku in 1914.
Unfortunately he did not live long and died in the same year. He was succeeded
by his half brother Tashi Namgyal who promulgated many reforms
in the state.
In 1947
when India became independent, Tashi Namgyal was successful in getting
a special status of protectorate for Sikkim. This was in face of stiff
resistance from local parties like Sikkim State Congress who wanted a
democratic setup and accession of Sikkim to the Union of India. The treaty
signed between India and Sikkim ratified the status of Sikkim as a protectorate
with Chogyal as the Monarch. Tashi Namgyal died in 1963 and was succeeded
by his son Palden Thondup Namgyal.
By
the beginning of 1970 there were rumbling in the political ranks and file
of the State, which demanded the removal of Monarchy and the establishment
of a democratic setup. This finally culminated in wide spread agitation
against Sikkim Durbar in 1973.There was a complete collapse in the administration.
The Indian Government tried to The Chogyal with the Indian P.M. Jawaharlal
Nehru bring about a semblence of order in the state by appointing a Chief
administrator Mr. B. S. Das. Further events and election led to Sikkim
becoming transformed from a protectorate to an associate State. On 4th
September 1974, the leader of Sikkim Congress, Kazi Lendup Dorji
was elected as the Chief Minister of the state. The Chogyal however still
remained as the constitutional figure head monarch in the new setup. Mr.
B. B. Lal was the first Governor of Sikkim. Events leading to the
confrontation between the Chogyal and the popular Government caused Sikkim
to become a full-fledged 22nd state of the Indian Union on 16th may
1975. The institution of Chogyal was subsequently abolished.
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History
