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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SHA-SIV |
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SIKKIM , called by Tibetans Dejong (" the rice country "), a protected state of India, situated in the eastern Himalaya, between 27 5' and 28 9' N. and between 87 59' and 88 56' E. It comprises an area of 2818 sq. m. of what may be briefly described as the catchment basin of the headwaters of the rivers Tista and Rangit. On the S. and S.E., branches of these rivers form the boundary between Sikkim and British India, while on the W., N. and N.E. Sikkim is separated from Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan by the range of lofty mountains which culminate in Kinchinjunga and form a kind of horse-shoe, whence dependent spurs project southwards, gradually contracting and lessening in height until they reach the junction of the Rangit and the Tista. Thus the country is split up into a succession of deep valleys surmounted by open plateaus cut off from one another by high and steep ridges, and lies at a very considerable elevation
Physical Features.Small though the country is, a wide variation of climate makes it peculiarly interesting. From a naturalist's point of view it can be divided into three zones. The lowest, stretching from woo to 5000 ft. above sea-level, may be called the tropical zone; thence to 13,000 ft., the upper limit of tree vegetation, the temperate; and above, to the line of perpetual snow, the alpine. Down to about 188o Sikkim was covered with dense forests, only interrupted where village
bear (Aelurus fulgens), the musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) and two species of goat antelope (Nemorhaedus bubalinus and Cemas goral). Copper and lime are the chief
Government and Population.The population is essentially agricultural, each family living in a house
The seat of government, or in other words the palace of the raja, was formerly situated at Rubdentze; but when that place was taken and destroyed by the Gurkhas, a new palace was built at Tumlong, close to the eastern and Tibetan boundary, while a subsidiary summer residence was erected on the other side of the Chola range at Chumbi, in the Am-mochu valley. At the present time the raja and his court remain in the more open country at Gangtok, where the British political officer and a small detachment of native troops are also stationed. The first regular census of Sikkim, in 1901, returned the population at 59,014, showing an apparent increase of nearly twofold in the decade. Of the total, 65% were Hindus and 35% Buddhists. The Lepchas, supposed to be the original
The state religion is Buddhism as practised in Tibet, but is not confined to one particular sect ; while among the heterogeneous population of Sikkim all manner of religious cults can be found. Education is at a low ebb, though the monasteries are supposed to maintain schools, and missionary enterprise has established others. The revenue of Sikkim has increased under British guidance from Rs. 20,000 a year to nearly Rs. 1,60,000, derived chiefly from a land and poll tax, excise, and sale of timber; the chief
walla. the maintenance of the state, which practically means the raja's family, and on the improvement of communications. The country has a complete system of mountain roads, bridged and open to animal (but not cart) traffic. British trade with Central Tibet is carried over the Jelep route, on the south-eastern border of Sikkim. History.The earliest inhabitants of Sikkim were the Rong-pa (ravine folk), better known as Lepchas, probably a tribe of Indo-Chinese origin; but when or how they migrated to Sikkim is unknown. The reigning family, however, is Tibetan, and claims descent from one of the Gyalpos or princelings of eastern Chinese Tibet; their ancestors in course of several generations found their way westwards to Lhasa and Sakya, and thence down the Am-mochu valley; finally, about the year 1604, Penchoo Namyge was born at Gangtok, and in 1641, with the aid of Lha-tsan Lama and two other priests of the Duk-pa or Red-hat sect of Tibet, overcame the Lepcha chiefs, who had been warring among themselves, established a firm government and introduced Buddhist Lamaism as a state religion. His son, Tensung Namyge, very largely extended his kingdom, but much of it was lost in the succeeding reign of Chak-dor Namyge (1700-1717), who is credited with having designed the alphabet now in use among the Lepchas. In the beginning of the 18th century Bhutan appropriated a large tract of country on the east
resident
governor of Bengal, have been in the hands of the Viceroy.Rajas of Sikkim (Dejong-Gyalpo) : Penchoo Namgye (1641-1670), Tensung Namgye (1670-1700), Chak-dor Namgye (1700-1717), Gyur-me Namgye (1717-1734), Penchoo Namgye (1734-178o), Tenzing Namgye (1780-1790), Cho-phoe Namg (1e (1790186), Sikhyong Namgye (:861-1874), Tho-tub Namgye 874), the maharaja, whose son has been educated at Oxford. End of Article: SIKKIM If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/SHA_SIV/SIKKIM.html"> SIKKIM </a> |
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