Gyalshing district | |
---|---|
District | |
Geyzing district | |
Coordinates: 27°17′N88°15′E / 27.283°N 88.250°E | |
Country | India |
State | Sikkim |
Headquarters | Gyalshing or Geyzing |
Government | |
• District Collector (DC) | Smt Yishey D. Yongda [1] |
Population (2011) [2] | |
• Total | 71,675 |
Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) |
ISO 3166 code | IN-SK |
Vehicle registration | SK-02, SK-06 |
Website | gyalshing |
Gyalshing District or Geyzing District [3] is a district of the Indian state of Sikkim. Its headquarter is Geyzing, also known as Gyalshing. The district is a favourite with trekkers due to the high elevations. Other important towns include Pelling and Yuksom. Local people also call it as Pallo-Sikkim and Sano-Sikkim commonly.
Gyalshing district is the site of the ancient state capital Yuksom. It served as Sikkim's capital beginning in 1642 for almost 50 years until it was shifted to Rabdentse. The district was under the occupation of the Nepalese for 30 years in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. After Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–16), the district was returned to Sikkim.
Gyalshing district covers an area of 1,166 square kilometres (450 sq mi). Attractions include the Khecheopalri Lake, where, according to legend, not a leaf is allowed to fall on the surface of the lake and the Dubdi Monastery, the first monastery of the state.
The district was previously divided into 5 assembly constituencies.
The economy is mainly agrarian, despite most of the land being unfit for cultivation owing to the precipitous and rocky slopes.
Roads are in poor condition owing to the frequent landslides.
According to the 2011 census Gyalshing district has a population of 136,435, [2] roughly equal to the nation of Grenada. [4] This gives it a ranking of 608th in India (out of a total of 640). [2] The district has a population density of 117 inhabitants per square kilometre (300/sq mi) . [2] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 10.58%. [2] It has a sex ratio of 941 females for every 1000 males, [2] and a literacy rate of 78.69%. [2]
After bifurcation the district had a population of 71,675. 5.60% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 3,391 (4.73%) and 31,847 (44.43%) of the population respectively. [2] : 59
The people are mainly of Limbu descent. Other ethnic groups include the Lepcha and Bhutia communities. Nepali is the most widely spoken language in the district.
Hinduism is followed by majority of the people in the district. Buddhism followed by a considerable population. [6]
The Kirateshwar Mahadev Temple, a major Hindu pilgrimage centre in Sikkim, is situated in Legship in the district. [7]
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 51.85% of the population in the district spoke Nepali, 22.61% Limbu, 8.68% Lepcha, 7.05% Bhotia, 2.69% Sherpa, 1.55% Rai and 1.48% Hindi as their first language. [8]
Gyalshing district houses a great diversity of flora and fauna, many of which are used by Indigenous and local communities. [9] Since most of the district is hilly it enjoys a temperate climate. Above 3,800 m (12,000 ft) the slopes are full of rhododendron forests.
In 1977, the district became home to Khangchendzonga National Park, which has an area of 1,784 km2 (688.8 sq mi). [10] It shares the park with North Sikkim district. [11]
Gyalshing district is divided into two sub-divisions: [12]
Name | Headquarters | Number of villages [13] | Location |
Gyalshing | Gyalshing | ||
Soreng | Soreng |
Sikkim is a state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siliguri Corridor, which borders Bangladesh. Sikkim is the least populous and second-smallest among the Indian states. Situated in 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 Khangchendzonga National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Pelling is a hill station in Gyalshing district of Sikkim, India. Pelling is nestled at an altitude of 2,150 m (7,050 ft). The town is located at a distance of 10 km from Gyalshing city, the district headquarters and 131 km from Gangtok. A regular bus service connects the two towns. However, with the influx of tourists, the region is undergoing a metamorphosis, with the roads being repaired and hotels being set up.
Gangtok District is an administrative district of the Indian state of Sikkim. It was renamed in 2021 as a result of administrative reorganisation of the state, which also saw three subdivisions of the East Sikkim district spawned off as a separate Pakyong district.
Gyalshing is a city, located in Gyalshing district, in the Indian state of Sikkim. It is administrative headquarter of district. The town is connected to the capital Gangtok by a metalled road. Geyzing is also connected to the West Bengal towns of Darjeeling and Kalimpong via Jorethang. A few kilometres north is the town of Pelling. The town has a large Nepali population, and the Nepali language is the predominant language of the region. The town is situated at an altitude of about 6,500 feet (1,900 m). The town enjoys a temperate climate for most of the year and snow sometimes falls in the vicinity.
The history of Sikkim begins with the indigenous Lepcha's contact with early Tibetan settlers. Historically, Sikkim was a sovereign Monarchical State in the eastern Himalayas. Later a protectorate of India followed by a merger with India and official recognition as a state of India. Lepchas were the main inhabitants as well as the Rulers of the land up to 1641. Lepchas are generally considered to be the first people, Indigenous to Sikkim also includes Darjeeling.
North Sikkim is a district of the Indian state of Sikkim. Its district headquarters is Mangan. It is the seventh least populous district in the country.
Namchi District is a district of the Indian state of Sikkim. Its headquarters is at Namchi.
West Champaran is an administrative district in the state of Bihar in India, located just 60 km (37 mi) west of Birgunj. It is the largest district in Bihar with an area of 5,228 km2(2,019sq mi). It is a part of Tirhut Division. The district headquarters are located in Bettiah. The district is known for its open border with Nepal. One of the major location in West Champaran is Kumar Bagh for SAIL Special Processing Unit and Bhitiharwa where Mahatma Gandhi started Satyagrah Aandolan.
Darjeeling District is the northernmost district of the state of West Bengal in eastern India in the foothills of the Himalayas. The district is famous for its hill station and Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling is the district headquarters. Kurseong, Siliguri and Mirik, three major towns in the district, are the subdivisional headquarters of the district. Kalimpong was one of the subdivisions but on 14 February 2017, it officially became a separate Kalimpong district.
Yuksom is a historical town, just 40 km north of Gyalshing city in the Gyalshing district in the Northeast Indian state of Sikkim. It was the first capital of Kingdom of Sikkim established in 1642 AD by Phuntsog Namgyal who was the first Chogyal of Sikkim. The coronation site of the first monarch of Sikkim is known as the "Throne of Norbugang". Yuksom is where there is the Norbugang Chorten near the Norbugang throne, the place Namgyal was crowned and several monasteries and a lake. The dynastic rule of the Chogyal lasted for 333 years.
Khangchendzonga National Park, also Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve, is a national park and a biosphere reserve located in Sikkim, India. It was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in July 2016, becoming the first "Mixed Heritage" site of India. It was included in the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. The park is named after the mountain Kangchenjunga, which is the third-highest peak in the world at 8,586 m (28,169 ft) tall. The total area of the park is 849.5 km2 (328.0 sq mi).
Nainital district is a district in Kumaon division which is a part of Uttarakhand state in India. The headquarters is at Nainital.
Darjeeling district's population today is constituted largely of the descendants of the indigenous and immigrant labourers that were employed in the original development of the town. Although their common language, the Nepali language, has been given official recognition at the state and federal levels in India, the recognition has brought little economic progress to the region, nor significant political autonomy. A culture of both pride and dependence has evolved in the tea plantations where jobs have levelled off but housing can be inherited by a worker within the family. The population of Darjeeling meanwhile has grown substantially over the years. Many young locals, educated in government schools, have taken to migrating out for the lack of employment matching their skills. Like out-migrants from other regions of northeastern India, they have been subjected to discrimination and racism in some Indian cities.
Sikkimese are Indians who inhabit the North-east state of Sikkim. The dominance ethnic diversity of Sikkim is represented by 'Lho-Mon-Tsong-Tsum' that identifies origin of three races since the seventeenth century. The term 'Lho' refers to Bhutias (Lhopo) means south who migrated from Southern Tibet, the term 'Mon' refers to Lepchas (Rong) lived in lower Eastern Himalayas and the term 'Tsong' refers to Limbus, another tribe of Sikkim. The pre-theocratic phase of Sikkim was inhabited by the Kiratis, “Sikkim is also known as the home of the Kirati tribesmen from the pre-historic times. Society in Sikkim is characterised by multiple ethnicity and possesses attributes of a plural society. The present population of Sikkim is composed of different races and ethnic groups, viz., the Lepchas, the Bhutias, the Nepali language speaking Indian Gorkhas and the Plainsmen, who came and settled in different phases of history. The historic 8 May agreement between Chogyal, the Government of India and political parties of Sikkim defines Sikkimese as Sikkimese of Bhutia-Lepcha origin or Sikkimese of Indian Gorkha origin including Tsongs and Schedule castes. The community in Sikkim is inclusive of three sub-cultural sectors: the Kiratis, the Newaris and the Nepali-Indian Gorkhas.
The indigenous people of Sikkim are the Lepchas and Limbus ; the naturalized ethnic populations of Bhutias, Kiratis, & Indian Gorkha of Nepalese descendants who have an enduring presence in shaping the history of modern Sikkim. The indigeneity criteria for including all peoples of Sikkim and Darjeeling hills is a misnomer as it is clearly known that Lepchas are the first people who trace their origin and culture of their ethnogenesis to the historical and somewhat political geography of Sikkim history as is well documented by colonial and immigrant settler history. However, many tribes preceded the migration of the colonial powers and can trace their migratory background as well as ancestral heritage and a well-formed history of civilization and cultural locus that is not inherently indigenous to Sikkim.
Legship is a small town in Gyalshing district of the Indian State of Sikkim. Legship is the gateway to Gyalshing City. It is located on the main road connecting Gyalshing with the rest of the state, on the banks of the river Rangit. The place is in fact a main crossing point of roads from Yuksam, Tashiding, Kewzing, Rabangla, Gangtok, Jorethang, Pelling, Gyalshing and other places.
Indian Gorkhas, also known as Nepali Indians, are people of Nepali origin who migrated from Nepal to India. They are an ethno-cultural group who speak Nepali as a common language. They inhabit mainly the states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Northeast India and Uttarakhand, including their diaspora elsewhere in India and abroad. The modern term "Indian Gorkha" is used to differentiate the Nepali language Speaking Indians from Nepalis.
Kalimpong district is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. In 2017, it was carved out as a separate district to become the 21st district of West Bengal. The district is headquartered at Kalimpong, which grew to prominence as a market town for Indo-Tibetan trade during the British period. It is bounded by Pakyong district of Sikkim in the north, Bhutan in the east, Darjeeling district in the west, and Jalpaiguri district in the south.
Bhuta-Lepcha is an ethnic grouping consisting of people of the Bhutia and Lepcha communities in Sikkim, India. Both these groups are listed as Scheduled Tribes by the Government of India.
Soreng district is a district in the Indian state of Sikkim, administered from Soreng. Soreng District was officially created from Gyalshing District in December 2021 by The Sikkim Act, 2021, hence becoming the sixth district of Sikkim. Its shares borders with Nepal on its west, Gyalshing district to north, Namchi district to east and Darjeeling district of West Bengal to the south.
Grenada 108,419 July 2011 est.