Guru Tashi (Tibetan : གུ་རུ་བཀྲ་ཤིས, Wylie : gu ru bkra shis) was a 13th-century prince from the Minyak House of the Kham region of Eastern Tibet. According to legend, he had a divine revelation one night instructing him to travel south to seek his fortunes.
He travelled south to the present day Indian state of Sikkim. His descendants, beginning with Phuntsog Namgyal, were later to form the royal family of the Kingdom of Sikkim, known as the Chogyal Monarchy, which ruled from 1642 to 1975. [1]
Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, is the third highest mountain in the world. It rises with an elevation of 8,586 m (28,169 ft) in a section of the Himalayas called Kangchenjunga Himal delimited in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak Chu and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. It lies between India and Nepal, with three of the five peaks, namely Main, Central and South, directly on the border, and the peaks West and Kangbachen in Nepal's Taplejung District.
Sikkim is a state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to India's Siliguri Corridor near Bangladesh. Sikkim is the least populous and second smallest among the Indian states. A part of the Eastern Himalaya, Sikkim is notable for its biodiversity, including alpine and subtropical climates, as well as being a host to Kangchenjunga, the highest peak in India and third highest on Earth. Sikkim's capital and largest city is Gangtok. Almost 35% of the state is covered by the Khangchendzonga National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Palden Thondup Namgyal was the 12th and last Chogyal (king) of the Kingdom of Sikkim.
Gangtok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the Gangtok District. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayan range, at an elevation of 1,650 m (5,410 ft). The city's population of 100,000 are from different ethnicities such as Bhutia, Lepchas, Kiratis and Gorkhas. Within the higher peaks of the Himalaya and with a year-round mild temperate climate, Gangtok is at the centre of Sikkim's tourism industry.
The Chogyal were the monarchs of the former Kingdom of Sikkim, which belonged to the Namgyal dynasty. The Chogyal was the absolute monarch of Sikkim from 1642 to 1975, when the monarchy was abolished and its people voted in a referendum to make Sikkim the 22nd state of India.
The history of Sikkim, begins with indigenous Lepchas contact with early Tibetan settlers . The establishment of Buddhist kingdom under the Chogyal in the 17th century followed by British rule in Sikkim and thereafter inclusion in India as an official state of the nation post independence. Sikkim emerged as a polity in its own right against a backdrop of incursions from Tibet and Bhutan, during which the kingdom enjoyed varying degrees of independence. In the early 18th century, the British Empire sought to establish trade routes with Tibet, leading Sikkim to fall under British suzerainty until independence in 1947. Initially, Sikkim remained an independent country, until it merged with India in 1975 after a decisive referendum. Many provisions of the Indian constitution had to be altered to accommodate the international treaties and between Sikkim and India.
Pawan Kumar Chamling is an Indian politician and the former Chief Minister of Sikkim. Chamling is the Founder and President of the Sikkim Democratic Front, which governed the state for five successive terms since 1994.
Rabdentse was the second capital of the former Kingdom of Sikkim from 1670 to 1814. The capital city was destroyed by the invading Gurkha army and only the ruins of the palace and the chortens are seen here now. However, the ruins of this city are seen close to Pelling and in West Sikkim district in the Northeastern Indian state of present-day Sikkim; Pemayangtse Monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Sikkim which is close to the ruins. From the vantage point of this former capital, superb views of the Khanchendzonga ranges can be witnessed. This monument has been declared as of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India. It was first established in 1670 by the 2nd Chogyal Tensung Namgyal son of the 1st Chogyal Phuntsog Namgyal by shifting from the first capital of Yuksom that was consecrated in 1642.
Phuntsog Namgyal (1604–1670) was the first chogyal (monarch) of Sikkim, now an Indian state. He consecrated in 1642 at the age of 38. Phuntsog was a fifth generation descendant of Khye Bumsa, a 13th-century prince from the Mi-nyak House in Kham in Eastern Tibet. According to legend, Guru Rinpoche, a 9th-century Buddhist saint had foretold the event that a Phuntsog from the east would be the next chogyal of Sikkim. In 1642, three lamas, from the north, west, and south went in search for the chosen person. Near present-day Gangtok, they found a man churning milk. He offered them some refreshments and gave them shelter. So impressed were they by his deeds that they realised that he was a chosen one and immediately crowned him king. The crowning took place Norbughang near Yuksom on a stone slab in a pine covered hill, and he was anointed by sprinkling water from a sacred urn.
Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world and in India, at an elevation of 5,430 m (17,800 ft) according to the Government of Sikkim. It is located in the Great Himalayas in the Indian state of Sikkim, and considered sacred by Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus. The lake is named after Guru Padmasambhava—also known as Guru Rinpoche—founder of Tibetan Buddhism, who visited in the 8th century.
Kazi Lhendup Dorjee, also spelled Lhendup Dorji or Lhendup Dorji Khangsarpa, was the first chief minister of Sikkim from 1975 to 1979 after its union with India.
Nirmal Chettri is an Indian footballer who plays mainly as a defender and last played for RG Punjab in the I-League.
The Sikkim expedition was an 1888 British military expedition to expel Tibetan forces from Sikkim in present-day northeast India. The roots of the conflict lay in British-Tibetan competition for suzerainty over Sikkim.
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha is a political party in the Indian state of Sikkim which was the ruling party of Sikkim in 2020.
Kedar Nath Gurung is an Indian educationist and writer of Nepalese literature, known for his satirical expressions. He was honored by the Government of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Gadul Singh Lama, popularly known as Sanu Lama, is an Indian fiction writer, poet and translator of Nepali literature. An engineer by profession, he has published three short story anthologies and his stories have been translated into English, Hindi, Urdu, Assamese and Oriya languages. He is a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award (1993), apart from other awards such as Sikkim Bhanu Puraskar, Dr. Shova Kanti Thegim Smrithi Puraskar and Madan Byakhanmala Puraskar. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2005, for his contributions to literature.
Tulsiram Sharma 'Kashyap' was an Indian writer and politician in the Nepali language from Sikkim, India. He is a recipient of Sahitya Academy Award in Nepali for his 'Aama' (poetry) in 1990. He is the second generation writers of modern era of Nepali literature who has contributed to all genres of literature.
Prem Singh Tamang, better known as Golay Daju, is an Indian politician and the current Chief Minister of Sikkim and leader and founder of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM). Prior to forming the party, he was a key member of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) Party.
Sonam Gyatso (1923–1968) was an Indian mountaineer. He was the second Indian man, the seventeenth man in world and the first person from Sikkim to summit Mount Everest the highest peak in the world, He was one of the 9 summiters of the first successful Indian Everest Expeditions that climbed Mount Everest on May 1965 led by Captain M S Kohli,. On 22 May -1965 first time that the Oldest Sonam Gyatso at 42 and the Youngest Sonam Wangyal at 23 climbed Everest together. He became the oldest person to scale the peak in 1965 and when he spent 50 minutes at the peak, he set a world record for spending the longest time at the highest point on Earth. The Government of India awarded him the third highest honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1965, for his contributions to the sport of mountaineering.
Hamro Sikkim Party is a regional political party in the Indian state of Sikkim. Incumbent president of this party is Bina Basnett. Its election symbol is a Whistle.