Sikkim
(2001 est. pop. 540,000). Sikkim (in Tibetan, Dejong, the rice country) is a small state with a total area of 7,100 square kilometers in northeastern India, lying east of Nepal, south of the Tibetan border, immediately west of the state of Bhutan, and north of Bangladesh. Sikkim is located on the southern slopes of the Himalaya Range. On its western border lies Kanchenjunga (8,598 meters), the third-highest mountain in the world, which the Sikkimese regard as a deity; Mount Everest is also visible beyond Kanchenjunga. Several passes lead through the mountains from Sikkim into Tibet. The land rises from about 350 meters elevation in the south to 6,000 meters in the north. Sikkim has steep valleys separated by high ridges and open plateaus; about one-third of the country is forested.
The capital of Sikkim is Gangtok. The state is governed by a legislative assembly of thirty-two members. Most of the population is Nepalese (who are Hindu), with minorities of Lepcha (probably Sikkim's original inhabitants, whose religion is a combination of animism and Buddhism) and Bhutia (Buddhists who originally came from Tibet). English is the official language, but the languages of the various ethnic groups—Lepcha, Bhutia, Nepali, and Limbu—are also spoken. Crops cultivated include maize, rice, wheat, potatoes, cardamom, ginger, oranges, and tea. The country's exports are mainly fruits and small plastic, electrical, or leather goods. Some copper is produced.
The kingdom of Sikkim was established in the seventeenth century. Coming under British influence early in the nineteenth century, Sikkim became a British protectorate in 1886, but remained an independent territory ruled by its own chogyal, or hereditary ruler. Sikkim elected to join the Indian Union in 1952 and was created a state of India in 1975, at which time its hereditary monarchy came to an end. Palden Thondup Namgyal (1923–1982), the last chogyal, died in New York. He is survived by his second wife, Hope Cooke, an American writer.
Further Reading
Gorer, Geoffrey. (1967) Himalayan Village: An Account of the Lepchas of Sikkim. 2d ed. New York: Basic Books.
Lama, Mahendra P., ed. (1994) Sikkim: Society, Polity, Economy, Environment. London: Thames & Hudson.
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