A book review
King Thondup Namgyal mostly referred as ‘Chogyal of Sikkim’
was the 12th and the last Chogyal of the Kingdom of Sikkim and his
beautiful American Queen Hope Cooke the last queen of Sikkim. Chogyal Thondup’s
like for alcohol was well known among his people. Andrew Duff through his
extensively researched book goes into the details of the situation and
annexation of Sikkim. Sikkim being faced threats from China after the annexation
of Tibet by the Chinese, the Chogyal Thondup developed good relation with
Indira Gandhi, then the prime minister of India and signed a treaty between the
two countries. Sikkim then had been the protectorate of India, especially with
the dealings of foreign affairs.
The book points out the troubles and efforts the
Chogyal has put to ensure Sikkim’s identity as an independent and sovereign country
reaching out internationally. Thondup through his various connections with
India, US embassy and other countries had always tried to be a member of the
United Nations, unfortunately Sikkim has not been able to obtain a membership
in the United Nations. Thondup wanted the similar status of Bhutan as an
independent country, since Bhutan had already became a member of the United
Nations.
Due to geopolitical problems and the pressure from China in the
north, India was concerned about the situation of Sikkim, since China seemed
interested in Sikkim and other parts of country. India gradually got involved
in the internal politics of Sikkim and constitutional democracy was enforced, in
which the Kazi and Kazini, pro-Indian politicians gradually was gaining
political power with the backup from India. Despite having treaty between the
India and Sikkim, Indian involvement in Sikkim kept on increasing with the
appointment of a political officer and increasing the presence of Indian military.
Thondup’s power kept on diminishing and his hope for an independent nation
seemed to fade away and in addition his wife the queen Hope Cooke has returned
to New York. Hope Cooke also did try to help Thondup to strengthen the status
of Sikkim, she also founded the Friends of Sikkim in America and also consulted
many officials from the United Nations for the membership but in vain.
Soon, Sikkim got gradually flooded with immigration of
Nepalese and Indian population, which made Thondup even more worried that his
ethnic might turn into a minority. With the constitutional democracy in place,
Kazi and the Indian appointed political officer with the help of India conducted
election in Sikkim to merge Sikkim with India as an associate state. This book
describes in great detail of the status of the Chogyal and the electoral processes.
Majority of votes favored Sikkim to be an associate state of India and the
position of Chogyal was eventually removed. Thousands of Indian military were present
in Sikkim, public demonstrations were evident and the Chogyal’s palace was also
surrounded the Indian armies. In 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state
of India despite having strong opposition from China.
This book reminds me of how fragile the smaller countries
are especially when its neighbors are large and powerful. As a Bhutanese, I am
very much thankful to our brave and farsighted kings.
