There were six elections held for the council between 1953 and 1974. In 1975, after a referendum to abolish the monarchy, and the passing of the 36th amendment to the Indian constitution, the monarchy was abolished, along with the State Council. The territory of the kingdom was merged with India, becoming its 22nd state. The members of the State Council at the time, were deemed to be the Legislative Assembly of the newly formed state.
Structure
The council was composed of some elected members and some nominated by the Chogyal. After the 1973 election, the composition was changed and the appointments by the Chogyal were eliminated, while at the same time the number of seats in the council was increased.[1]
Executive Council
From among the State Council members, an Executive Council (equivalent to a cabinet of ministers) was chosen by the Chogyal. The Executive Council was presided over by the Dewan of Sikkim,[2] and each member within it was given individual government responsibilities.[3]
History
The State Council of Sikkim existed since at least the late 19th century.[4] It was an advisory and executive body, and was presided by the Chogyal (King). After the Independence of neighbouring India in August 1947, various political bodies in Sikkim began to demand greater say in the kingdom's administration.[5] In 1952, the Chogyal conceded and announced new constituencies, for an election in 1953.[2][6]
The Chogyal agreed to have 12 (out of 18) seats on the council, be electable. The other six were appointed by the Chogyal. Under a parity formula agreed upon by the political groups, six of the electable seats were to be for the Sikkim Nepalis and the other six for the Bhutia-Lepcha (BL) people. There were four constituencies drawn up of the kingdom, and elections were to be held in 1953.[2] In the 1953 election, all the Nepali-reserved seats were won by the Sikkim National Party, while the BL-reserved seats were won by the Sikkim State Congress.[7][8]
Chogyal Tashi Namgyal initiated proceedings for the first election to the Council, in 1953
Although the term of the Council was set as three years, the Chogyal decided to extend the term of the first Council, until 1958.[9] Due to requests from the monastery associations, and other groups, the number of electable seats on the council was increased by two: one for the Sangha, to be voted on by the monks, and one seat that was not reserved for any particular group.[10][11] In the elections of 1958, the Sikkim State Congress won an additional seat, while the unreserved seat was won by an Independent.[6]
The second council's term was due to end in 1961, but the outbreak of the Sino-Indian war led to the extension of its term till 1967. Before the 1967 election, the constituencies were redrawn and increased to five, and four more electable seats were added to the council: one each for the Sikkim Nepalis and the Bhutia-Lepcha, one for the Tsong, and one for people of the Scheduled Castes.[10][12]
After the 1973 elections, the Sikkim National Congress and Sikkim Janata Congress claimed that vote rigging took place in the South Sikkim constituency.[13] They demanded that officials involved be arrested, but these demands were not met, leading to protests.[6] The unrest led to the signing of a tripartite agreement, on 8 May, between the Choygal, Sikkimese political parties, and the government of India. The agreement led to the establishment of a government, supervised by a Chief Executive, who was nominated by the Indian government.[8] It also necessitated another delimitation exercise, where the Chogyal-appointed seats in the council were abolished, the State Council was renamed to the Sikkim Assembly, and thirty-one new constituencies were drawn, along with one constituency for the monasteries (Sangha). Keeping to the parity formula of 1952, 15 of the constituencies were reserved for the Bhutia-Lepcha, and 15 for the Sikkim-Nepalis. The other remaining constituency was for the Scheduled Castes. The principle of "one-man one-vote" was applied.[1] In the 1974 election, the Sikkim National Congress (which was in favour of Sikkim's merger with India), won an absolute majority with 31 of the 32 seats.[14]
Final years (1974–75)
Kazi Lhendup Dorjee was the last head of the Council. On 16 May 1975, he was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of the new Legislative Assembly of Sikkim.
In May 1974, the council passed the Government of Sikkim Act, which provided for responsible government, and furthering relations with India.[15] This was followed, in July, by them adopting a new constitution that provided for the country becoming a state of India. The Chogyal signed this constitution under pressure from the Indian government.[16] The Lok Sabha then voted in favour of making Sikkim an "associate" state. The Rajya Sabha voted for an amendment on 8 September, giving it a status equal to that of other states, and absorbing it in the Indian Union.[17][18] On 8 September, the Chogyal cited "widespread Sikkimese misgivings over the bill", and called for a free and fair referendum. The Sikkimese Students Association echoed his call for a referendum.[19]
In March 1975, the Sikkim National Congress repeated its calls for integration into India, while the Chogyal again called for a referendum.[16] On 9 April 1975, Indian troops entered the country, disarmed the palace guard (killing one of them, and injuring four others)[20] and surrounded the palace,[21] putting the king under house arrest.[22] The next day, the Council passed a Bill, declaring the office of the Chogyal as abolished, and called for a referendum on this issue, which was scheduled to be held four days later.[23] On 14 April, the referendum took place, resulting in more than 97% of the votes in favor of abolishing the monarchy.[16] On 26 April the Indian parliament passed the 36th amendment to the constitution, which transformed Sikkim from an Indian protectorate to a new state within the Indian union.[24][25][26]
On 15 May, the Indian PresidentFakhruddin Ali Ahmed ratified the constitutional amendment (36th) that made Sikkim the 22nd state of India, and abolished the position of the Chogyal.[27] The State Council was considered to be dissolved, and its members were deemed to be the new Legislative Assembly of Sikkim.[28] Following this, B. B. Lal took charge as the Governor of the state on 16 May.[29]
Palden Thondup Namgyal was the 12th and last Chogyal (king) of the Kingdom of Sikkim.
Tashi Namgyal was the ruling Chogyal (King) of Sikkim from 1914 to 1963. He was the son of Thutob Namgyal. He was the first independent king of Sikkim.
Events in the year 1975 in the Republic of India.
The Sikkim State Congress, or SSC, was an annexationist political party in the Kingdom of Sikkim. It was founded in 1947 and worked closely with the Indian National Congress (INC) to successfully achieve the annexation of Sikkim to India. Other parties established by the INC to serve India's interests in its near abroad included the Nepal State Congress Party and the Bhutan State Congress Party.
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 1973, and the constitutional monarch from 1973 to 1975, when the monarchy was abolished and the Sikkimese people voted in a referendum to make Sikkim the 22nd state of India.
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 Ruler of the land up to 1641. Lepchas are generally considered to be the first people, indigenous to Sikkim also includes Darjeeling.
Kazi Lhendup Dorjee, also spelled Lhendup Dorji or Lhendup Dorji Khangsarpa was an Indian politician who was the first chief minister of Sikkim from 1975 to 1979 after its union with India. He was the first Prime Minister of Sikkim from 1974 to 1975. He also served as the Executive Council of Sikkim from 1967 to 1970. He was a member of INC after 1975 and Sikkim National Congress before 1975.
The Kingdom of Sikkim, officially Dremoshong until the 1800s, was a hereditary monarchy in the Eastern Himalayas which existed from 1642 to 16 May 1975, when it was annexed by India. It was ruled by Chogyals of the Namgyal dynasty.
The Sikkim Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Sikkim state in north-eastern India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Gangtok, the capital of the Sikkim state.
A referendum on abolishing the monarchy was held in the Kingdom of Sikkim on 14 April 1975. Official results stated the proposal was approved by 97.55% of voters with a turnout of about 63%, and resulted in the country becoming an Indian state.
General elections were held in Sikkim in May 1953. The Sikkim National Party and the Sikkim State Congress both won six seats. Voter turnout was less than 30%.
General elections were held in Sikkim in 1958. The Sikkim State Congress emerged as the largest party, winning seven of the 20 seats. Voter turnout was around 35%.
Bhim Bahadur Gurung was the third Chief Minister of Sikkim. He held office from 11 May until 24 May 1984, the shortest term in the history of Sikkim.
Nar Bahadur Khatiwada is a politician and lawyer from Sikkim.
General elections were held in Sikkim in January 1973. The Sikkim National Party emerged as the largest party, winning nine of the 18 elected seats.
General elections were held in Sikkim on 13 April 1974. They were the first elections in Sikkim to be held on the basis of universal suffrage, and also the last prior to Indian annexation. The result was a victory for the Sikkim National Congress, which won 31 of the 32 seats in the State Council. Kazi Lhendup Dorjee subsequently became Chief Minister. In May 1975 Sikkim became a state of India, at which point the State Council became the Sikkim Legislative Assembly.
Sangha Assembly constituency is one of the 32 assembly constituencies of Sikkim, a state in the Northeast region of India. It is a part of the Sikkim Lok Sabha constituency. As of 2019, Sonam Lama is the holder of this seat. His current term is expected to end by 2024.
Nahakul Pradhan also known as Nakul Pradhan was a Sikkimese pre-merger politician, pro-democracy leader, a member of the Sikkim State Council and Executive Council of Sikkim serving multiple terms. He was the President of the Sikkim State Congress party and the Editor of Sikkim’s first news magazine Kanchenjunga.
Jahan Bagcha Teesta Rangeet is a song that serves as the de facto state song for Sikkim, India.
↑ "Proclamation of Tashi Namgyal". Sikkim Darbar Gazette (1). 1956.
1 2 A. C. Sinha (February 2005). "Sikkim"(PDF). Sub-Regional Relations in the Eastern South Asia: With Special Focus on India's North Eastern Region. 113. Archived(PDF) from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
↑ Shanker Sharma (8 May 2021). "The 8th May Agreement". Sikkim Express. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021. The defeated parties alleged polling in Rabong, in South Sikkim, was rigged in the favour of the SNP candidate
↑ "Sikkim Legislative Assembly". Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2022. The First Sikkim Assembly formed through the election held in 1974 with 32 members is deemed to be the First Legislative Assembly of Sikkim ... Sikkim Congress led by Kazi Lhendup Dorjee won 31 seats and one seat went in favour of Sikkim National Party.
↑ "The Constitution (Thirty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1975". india.gov.in. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021. ... the Assembly for Sikkim formed as a result of the elections held in Sikkim in April, 1974 ... shall be deemed to be the Legislative Assembly of the State of Sikkim
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
