History of Sikkim

Sikkim lies in the Eastern Himalayas. Owing to its location and climate conditions, human inhabitation was sparse. The original inhabitants were the Lepchas or the �raven folks� who came to the area from Assam and Burma. From the 1200�s the Bhutias or the Tibetan people moved into Sikkim. They included the Namgyal clan who arrived in the 1400�s and gradually won political control over Sikkim. In 1642,Phintsok Namgyal (1604-1670) became the first Chogyal (King). He presided over a social system based on Tibetan Lamaistic Buddhism. His descendents ruled Sikkim for more than 330 years. During the 1700�s Sikkim suffered massive invasion from Nepal and Bhutan and lost much territory as a result. The Nepalese also migrated to Sikkim and settled as farmers. By 1800, Sikkim�s population was very mixed, and internal conflict resulted. Sikkim assisted the British in a successful war against Nepal in the year 1814-1815 and won back some of its land. The British India Company purchased the health resort of Darjeeling from Sikkim. During the mid 1800�s, Sikkim violently resisted attempts to bring it under British Rule, but in 1861 it finally became a protectorate. The British had access to Tibet through Sikkim, and Sikkim�s independent status was recognized. The Indian government took responsibility of Sikkim�s external affairs, defense and communication of Sikkim in the year 1950. In 1973, India took Sikkim into the union as an associate member. In 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of India.