SOUL OF SIKKIM: Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal (1923-1982)

A LONELY STRUGGLE

Nearly ten years after he took over the Sikkim administration as the Chief Executive, B.S. Das, advised the late Chogual to join the Indian mainstream. The Chogyal, who all his life fought for preservation of the kingdom’s distinct international status, reacted this way: “I am a Sikkimese and belong to this place. How can I leave my people and my country.”

   Although Das’ takeover of the administration in early 1973 paved way for the gradual absorption of the kingdom into the Indian Union two years later, he, nevertheless, was kind and realistic in his assessment of Palden Thondup Namgyal, the former Chogyal who died in I982. In his book, Sikkim Saga, published in 1983, Das in the last chapter has this to say about the Chogyal: “A lone and forgotten man who lost his kingdom, his wife and everything that he stood for, stuck to his Palace, his people, his Sikkim till he breathed his last. Unbending in his misfortune, he dreamt of someone, someday appreciating the righteousness of his cause and placing him in history as a true nationalist who fought singlehanded against all odds for what he believed in.

   His silvery grey hair and the small wrinkles on the face alone spoke of the strain of the past years but they made him look even handsomer than he was. Yet, he showed no rancour, no bitterness and held his head high. To leave his people and Sikkim was totally unacceptable to him.”

   Das then makes a personal admission, “As a person, I hold Palden Thondup Namgyal in great esteem. I have met few personalities in my long career who could stand up and fight for a cause. For him, more than his personal gains, Sikkim’s identity was a cause. That he fought using all means available to him does credit to him. His battle was one sided and against all odds. That did not deter him as it was a question of his faith in the righteousness of his cause.”

   I had a feeling that the late Nari Rustomji was preparing a book on the Chogyal while I was studying law in Bombay in the early ’80s. Upon my enquiry Rustomji told me that the book would be called…I forget the real name but it definitely had the word “Prince”. I told Rustomji that this was not right as “our King” was not a mere “Prince” but the Chogyal. He was quite sympathetic to my suggestion but said referring to the Chogyal as a Prince gave him more prominence. I wasn’t too convinced about his justification but didn’t say much on the subject.

   Of Rustomji’s four books, which dealt with Sikkim, Bhutan and the North-East, the last one was exclusively on Sikkim. It was called “Sikkim: A Himalayan Tragedy”. While he referred to the Chogyal as ‘prince’ the name of the book was different. Maybe he had some rethinking after I put forward my suggestion about the title. May be not. The book was published in 1987 and in the same year Rustomji came to Sikkim for a visit.

   Rustomji personally handed a hardbound copy of his book to me with his signature and a short note which read: “For my friend, Jigme, who will, no doubt, critically review! In trepidation.” The book was devoted:

“To the memory of Palden Thondup Namgyal: 

“A moment, and time will forget

Our failure and our name

But not the common thought

That linked us in a dream.”

 

   Rustomji, who had known the Chogyal ever since their days in the ICS in Dehra Dun in 1942, had this to say about his life-long friend in the book, which was actually an extract from his article in Indian Express (dated Feb 14, 1982) entitled: “The King must die”:

   “It was his misfortune that, try as he might, he could not get people to understand that small can be beautiful. Nor could he allow himself to be convinced that others did not see Sikkim as he saw her, that Sikkim’s existence was, for the rest of the world, a non-event. His principles might have been unrealistic and all wrong, but he was not prepared, to the very last, to compromise with them. He was intoxicated by his passion for his land and people.”

   One of the first things that I wanted to do after my own book, “Inside Sikkim: Against the Tide”, was published in December 1993, was to fly down to Bombay and handover my book to Rustomji. But I was deprived of this privilege. I came to learn that time that Rustomji had passed away in October 1993, just two months before my book was published.

  Till this moment I have not written anything on Rustomji nor have I reviewed his book. But when I do something for him it’ll then be my turn to dedicate it to him and say:

 

“A moment, and time will forget

Our failure and our name

But not the common thought

That linked us in a dream.”

 

   Today, this dream is shared by many Sikkimese. In an article entitled, “Soul of Sikkim, Soul on Fire”, carried in the annual college magazine (of Sikkim Students Association, Bombay. I was the President of the Association and editor of the magazine), Lukshyama, in 1982 I wrote: “A king must die, but his people live on and his hopes continue…the 19^th of February 1982 will go down in the history of Sikkim. It was not a funeral day of the late Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal of Sikkim; it was the day of resurrection of the Sikkimese people whose long-suppressed spirit found utterance…The forces that work against its people cannot ignore the impact of the day. What they heard cannot be forgotten. For on that day the people spoke. Their silent speeches and their silken scarves will forever be recorded in the minds of those who witnessed the greatness of that day. The very fragrance of the day will last for eternity.”

   I was aware of the pressure exerted on me at that time for this piece and I paid the price. I particularly remember a comment made by someone in my own village who had read my piece. He said, “The Sikkimese people will understand what you have written only after twenty years.” This was in 1982.

   It has taken 18 years for the Sikkimese people to acknowledge the greatness of the Chogyal. Recently, the Chamling Government decided to install a statue of the Chogyal in the capital. The Governor, New Delhi’s highest representative in the State, while laying down the foundation stone of the Chogyal’s statue, showered praises for the Chogyal and called him “The Soul of Sikkim”.

   History is witness to the fact that true leaders of any country are much ahead of their peers and people. The Sikkimese people are now beginning to understand and appreciate the heroic deeds of the last monarch of the Namgyal Dynasty. To those who are prepared to fight for preservation of Sikkim’s distinct identity within the framework of the Constitution they must first, like the late Chogyal, be intoxicated by a passion that lasts and inspires others to fight for a cause against all odds.

 

(Ref: Sikkim Observer, July 17-23, 1999.)