History of Sikkim

Actually little is known about the history & origin of Sikkim, however, this article aims to capture the gist of the times gone by. It is said that 'Lepchas' arrived on the domain of Sikkim first. Soon after, they got engrossed with other communities. In the 9th century, Guru Rinpoche, who was a Buddhist saint, happened to pass through the region. The monk consecrated the terrain, introduced the religion of Buddhism to Sikkim and also predicted that in the later centuries, the county would be reigned by the crowned heads.

In the 13th century, Guru Tashi, a prince of Mi-nyak House in Kham of Eastern Tibet, came to the Chumbi Valley and snuggled down in the region. The Sikkim Coronation Bank portrays Guru Tashi as the 'first ruler of Sikkim who made way for a usual monarchy'. His descendents soon got accustomed to the local culture and actually, made good relations with the 'Lepchas'. Resultantly, the grandson of Guru Tashi became the chieftain of Sikkim.

The beginning of the 17th century saw arrival of the Tibetans, who enforced the 'lepchas' to leave Sikkim. Meanwhile, a struggle started in Tibet, involving the supporters of the 'Yellow Hats' and the 'Red Hats'. However, the followers of the 'Red Hats' were enforced to look for shelter in Sikkim. In 1642, Phuntsog Namgyal, the fifth generation descendant of Guru Tashi, was selected as the first Denjong Gyalpo or the Chogyal (king) of Sikkim by the three Lama migrants. Before long, Phuntsog Namgyal relocated his capital to Yuksam and created a centralized government.

In 1670, Tensung Namgyal, who was the son of Phuntsog, got hold of the throne and shifted the capital to Rabdentse. During the entire ruling period, Sikkim went through various reforms. The arrival of Tenzing Namgyal marked the end of monarch rule in the state. On the arrival of the British in India, Sikkim developed into a puppet state. When the colonists were moved out, Sikkim emerged as an independent country. After remaining in controversies and disputes for long, Sikkim was formally announced as the 22nd Indian state in 1975.