Why India upgraded the status from protectorate to associate state?

• In 1974, elections were held, in which the Congress led by Kazi Lhendup Dorji emerged victorious over pro-independence parties.
• In the same year, a new constitution was adopted, which restricted the role of the Chogyal to a titular post.
• The Chogyal resented this, and refused to deliver the customary address to the elected Assembly.
• In the same year, India upgraded Sikkim’s status from protectorate to “associated state”, allotting to it one seat each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
• The Chogyal was unhappy with this move, and sought to internationalize the issue. This did not go down well with Sikkim’s elected leaders, and a referendum was held in 1975.
• A total 59,637 voted in favour of abolishing the monarchy and joining India, with only 1,496 voting against.
• Subsequently, India’s Parliament approved an amendment to make Sikkim a full state.

Historical Background

• The Kingdom of Sikkim was founded by the Namgyal dynasty in the 17th century. It was ruled by Buddhist priest-kings known as the Chogyal.
• It became a princely state of British India in 1890.
• In 1950, three years after India's independence, a treaty was signed between Sikkim and the Republic of India. Under which the former continued its status as a ‘protectorate' state within the Union of India.
• A protectorate state is a smaller country which is protected by a larger, sovereign nation. Such a state has autonomy over its internal affairs, while the larger country controls policies such as foreign affairs, defence, communications etc.
• In September 1974, the Chogyals, Sikkim’s ruler, called for a referendum, as demands, seeking the now-former kingdom's integration with India, had begun to rise.
• In April 1975, after an appeal by the Prime Minister of Sikkim, the Indian Army entered and took control of the kingdom.
• In the subsequent referendum, as many as 97.5 per cent of participants voted in favour of joining India, while 2.45 per cent voted against the proposal.
• On May 15, 1975, then-President of India, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, signed a constitutional amendment, and, a day later, Sikkim became the 22nd state of India; the position of the Chogyal was abolished as well.

When did Sikkim became the protectorate of India?

• Sikkim became a protectorate of India in 1950 following the Indo-Sikkimese Treaty, with India assuming responsibility for the external relations, defense and strategic communications of Sikkim.
• Sikkim became the 22nd state of India on 16th May 1975, following a statehood demand from the political leaders.
• The Namgyal dynasty ruled Sikkim until 1975.

Relation with British Empire

• The Sikkimese monarchy came into contact with the British rulers in early 19th century.
• Both the monarchy and the colonial state had certain vested interests in each other. For Sikkim, the British appeared as the best means of protection from the neighbouring kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan.
• For the British, Sikkim appeared to have a common enemy with them in the form of the Gorkha kingdom of Nepal.
• Further, an understanding with Sikkim would open up a prosperous trade route for them in the north eastern part of the state.
• Consequently, after the Anglo-Gorkha war of 1814-16, Sikkim got back a number of territories that Nepal had previously captured. At the same time they signed the treaty of Titaliya with the British in 1817.
• The treaty of Titaliya gave the British authorities a number of commercial and political advantages in Sikkim.
• However, it was also decided that the region would not directly come under the colonial governance and would be an independent entity.
• The status enjoyed by Sikkim under the British can best be termed as a “colonial periphery state”, which means that while it was not under colonial rule, the region was heavily controlled by the British.

• The Nepalese attacked Sikkim, overrunning most of the region including the Terai.
• This prompted the British East India Company to attack Nepal, resulting in the Gurkha War of 1814.
• Treaties signed between Sikkim and Nepal resulted in the return of the territory annexed by the Nepalese in 1817.
• However, ties between Sikkim and the British weakened when the latter began taxation of the Morang region.
• In 1849, two British physicians, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker and Dr. Archibald Campbell, the latter being in charge of relations between the British and Sikkimese governments, ventured into the mountains of Sikkim unannounced and unauthorised.
• The doctors were detained by the Sikkimese government, leading to a punitive British expedition against the kingdom, after which the Darjeeling district and Morang were annexed to British India in 1853.
• The Chogyal of Sikkim became a titular ruler under the directive of the British governor as a result of the invasion.
• Sikkim became a British protectorate in the later decades of the 19th century, formalised by a convention signed with China in 1890.
• Sikkim was gradually granted more sovereignty over the next three decades,and became a member of the Chamber of Princes, the assembly representing the rulers of the Indian princely states, in 1922.

• Mount Kanchenjunga (India’s highest peak and the world’s third-highest mountain) is situated here.
• Kanchenjunga National Park (KNP) is India’s high-elevation conservation area.
• In 2016, UNESCO declared KNP as a World Heritage Site under the ‘mixed’ category (sites containing elements of both natural and cultural significance).
• Major Rivers: Teesta River and its tributaries such as the Rangit, Lhonak, Talung, and Lachung.
• Sikkim is the world's first 100 per cent organic state. The state also bagged the prestigious Future Policy Gold Award from the UN Food and Agriculture (FAO).

Who were considered the original inhabitants of Sikkim?

• The Lepchas are considered to be the earliest inhabitants of Sikkim.
• However the Limbus and the Magars also lived in the inaccessible parts of West and South districts as early as the Lepchas perhaps lived in the East and North districts.
• The Buddhist saint Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, is said to have passed through the land in the 8th century.
• The Guru is reported to have blessed the land, introduced Buddhism, and foretold the era of monarchy that would arrive in Sikkim centuries late.

Foundation of Monarchy

• According to legend, Khye Bumsa, a 14th-century prince from the Minyak House in Kham in eastern Tibet, received a divine revelation instructing him to travel south to seek his fortunes.
• A fifth-generation descendant of Khye Bumsa, Phuntsog Namgyal, became the founder of Sikkim's monarchy in 1642, when he was consecrated as the first Chogyal, or priest-king, of Sikkim by the three venerated lamas at Yuksom.
• Phuntsog Namgyal was succeeded in 1670 by his son, Tensung Namgyal, who moved the capital from Yuksom to Rabdentse (near modern Pelling).
• In 1700, Sikkim was invaded by the Bhutanese with the help of the half-sister of the Chogyal, who had been denied the throne.
• The Bhutanese were driven away by the Tibetan people, who restored the throne to the Chogyal ten years later. Between 1717 and 1733, the kingdom faced many raids by the Nepalese in the west and Bhutanese in the east, culminating with the destruction of the capital Rabdentse by the Nepalese.
• In 1791, China sent troops to support Sikkim and defend Tibet against the Gorkha Kingdom.
• Following the subsequent defeat of Gorkha, the Chinese Qing dynasty established control over Sikkim

• Beginning with Phuntsog Namgyal, the first chogyal (monarch), the Namgyal dynasty ruled Sikkim until 1975.
• In 1950, three years after India’s independence, a treaty was signed between Sikkim and the Republic of India. Under the agreement, the former continued its status as a ‘protectorate’ state within the Union of India.
• In September 1974, the Chogyals called for a referendum. In the subsequent referendum, as many as 97.5 percent participants voted in favour of joining India, while 2.45 percent voted against the proposal.
• On May 15, 1975, then-President of India, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, signed a constitutional amendment, and, a day later, Sikkim became the 22nd state of India; the position of the Chogyal was abolished as well.
• Since 1959, when the Sino-Indian border dispute first gained public attention, the Sikkimese demand for greater control over its security system acquired currency. This demand arose in the background of larger Indian military presence in the region during the war.
• Similar demands were raised again during the India-Pakistan war of 1965. After 1966 the Sikkimese demand for autonomy moved from the arena of defense to that of economic and trade interests.
• While on one hand a large section of Sikkim demanded autonomy during this period, on the other hand the internal political tensions had gone out of hand.
• In 1973 demonstrations took place in front of the palace of the last Chogyal of Sikkim, Palden Thondup Namgyal.
• In 1975, at the request of the prime minister of Sikkim, the Indian army took over the city of Gangtok and disbanded the monarch.
• A referendum held soon after led to a large majority voting against the monarchy, and accepting to be a part of the Indian union.

• In 1950, Sikkim became a protectorate of India through a treaty. A clause in the treaty read: “Sikkim shall continue to be a Protectorate of India and, subject to the provisions of this Treaty, shall enjoy autonomy in regard to its internal affairs.”
• Public discontent against monarchy: The period between the 1950s and the 1970s marked growing discontent in Sikkim.
• Anti-monarchy protests grew in 1973. Indian troops arrived after the monarch was left with no choice but to ask New Delhi to send assistance.
• Finally, a tripartite agreement was signed between the chogyal, the Indian government and three major political parties, so that major political reforms could be introduced.
• Attempts for constitutional development: In 1974, elections were held, where the Sikkim State Congress won defeating pro-independence parties. That year, a new constitution was adopted, which restricted the role of the monarch.
• In the same year, India upgraded Sikkim’s status from protectorate to “associated state”, allotting it one seat each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Accession into India

• A referendum was held in 1975 where an overwhelming majority voted in favor of abolishing the monarchy and joining India.
• Sikkim’s new parliament proposed a bill for Sikkim to become an Indian state which was accepted by the Indian government.