Kingdom of Sikkim

Kingdom of Sikkim
Protectorate of the British Empire in India (1861–1947) Protectorate of India (1947-1975)
1642–1975
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Sikkim
Capital		Yuksom Gangtok
Languages		Sikkimese, Nepali
Religion		Buddhism
Government		Monarchy
History
•	Established	1642
•	Phuntsog Namgyal ascended the throne	1642
•	Palden Thondup Namgyal forced to abdicate	1975
•	Disestablished	16 May 1975
Succeeded by Sikkim
Today part of		India

The Kingdom of Sikkim was a hereditary monarchy from 1642 to 16 May 1975 in the Eastern Himalayas. It was ruled by a hereditary Chogyal (Kings). In the mid-18th century, Sikkim was invaded by Nepal (then the Gorkha Kingdom) and was under the Gorkha rule for more than 25 years. Between 1785 and 1815, almost 100,000 ethnic Nepali people from Eastern and Central Nepal migrated to Sikkim and settled down after pledging allegiance to the Chogyal. However, with the arrival of the British in neighbouring India, Sikkim allied itself with them as they had a common enemy – Nepal. The infuriated Nepalese attacked Sikkim with vengeance, overrunning most of the region including the Terai. This prompted the British East India Company to attack Nepal resulting in the Gurkha War in 1814. The Sugauli Treaty between Britain and Nepal and the Treaty of Titalia between Sikkim and British India returned territory annexed by the Nepalese to Sikkim in 1817. Under the 1861 Treaty of Tumlong it became a British protectorate, then an Indian protectorate in 1950. Sikkim was formally annexed by India in 1975 and it became one of the states of India. In culture and religion, it was linked closely with Tibet, from which its first king migrated, and Bhutan, with which it shares borders. The presence of a large ethnic Nepali population, mainly from the Eastern and Central Nepal, also leads to cultural linkages with Nepal.

List of Chogyals of Sikkim (1642–1975)

Royal Flag of Sikkim (1877–1975)

Flag of Sikkim (1877–1914; 1962–1967)

Flag of Sikkim (1914–1962)

Flag of Sikkim (1967–1975)

#	Reign	Portrait	Ruler	Events during reign
1	1642–1670		Phuntsog Namgyal	Ascended the throne and was consecrated as the first Chogyal of Sikkim. Made Yuksom the capital.
2	1670–1700		Tensung Namgyal	Shifted capital to Rabdentse from Yuksom.
3	1700–1717		Chakdor Namgyal	His half-sister Pendiongmu tried to dethrone Chakdor, who fled to Lhasa, but was reinstated as king with the help of Tibetans.
4	1717–1733		Gyurmed Namgyal	Sikkim was attacked by Nepal.
5	1733–1780		Phuntsog Namgyal II	Nepalese raided Rabdentse, the then capital of Sikkim.
6	1780–1793		Tenzing Namgyal	Chogyal fled to Tibet, and later died there in exile.
7	1793–1863		Tshudpud Namgyal	The longest-reigning Chogyal of Sikkim. Shifted the capital from Rabdentse to Tumlong. The 1817 Treaty of Titalia between Sikkim and British India was signed under which territories lost to Nepal were returned to Sikkim. Darjeeling was gifted to British India in 1835. Two Britons, Dr. Arthur Campbell and Dr. Joseph Hooker were captured by the Sikkimese in 1849. Hostilities between British India and Sikkim continued and led to a treaty signed, in which Darjeeling was ceded to British India.
8	1863–1874		Sidkeong Namgyal
9	1874–1914		Thutob Namgyal	John Claude White appointed as the first political officer of Sikkim in 1889. Capital shifted from Tumlong to Gangtok in 1894.
10	1914		Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal	The shortest-reigning Chogyal of Sikkim, ruled from 10 February to 5 December 1914. Died of heart failure, aged 35, in suspicious circumstances.
11	1914–1963		Tashi Namgyal	Treaty between India and Sikkim was signed in 1950, giving India suzerainty over Sikkim.
12	1963–1975		Palden Thondup Namgyal	The 12th Chogyal, Indian sovereignty post plebiscite.

The son from the first marriage of Palden Thondup Namgyal, Wangchuk Namgyal, was named the 13th Chogyal after his father's death on 29 January 1982, but the position no longer confers any official authority.

See also

• Sikkim State of India
• History of Sikkim

External links

• "Buddhist Monasteries of Sikkim". Sikkim.nic.in.
• Kingdom of Sikkim at DMOZ
• Climbing the clouds to Sikkim
• Kings Of Sikkim
• The Sikkim saga, through an American lens
• Sikkim kingdom 1962 - 1967.The last flag of independent Sikkim - Youtube