“History will look back to this era and recall this period as Sikkim’s ‘finest hour’ ”

WE STAND TALL TODAY BECAUSE THEY STOOD UP FOR US YESTERDAY

Hold on to Beyul Demajong: Capt. Yongda

   The results of Sikkim’s last elections to the State Council in the former Kingdom of Sikkim, held in January 1973, was a rude shock to New Delhi. The Sikkim National Party (SNP), one of Sikkim’s oldest political parties, which demanded revision of the 1950 Indo-Sikkim Treaty and Sikkim’s membership in the United Nations, won 11 of the 18 elective seats in the Council.

   The Sikkim National Congress (SNC) and Sikkim Janata Congress (SJC) led by LD Kazi and KC Pradhan respectively won 7 seats (SNC – 5 and SJC – 2). While Kazi’s SNC wanted a “written constitution” and “closer ties” with India, the SJC, under Pradhan, demanded greater political rights for the majority Nepalese while accepting the Chogyal as a constitutional head.

   The outcome of the 1973 State Council polls was an ideal political climate for Sikkim to wean away from India and become more like Nepal and Bhutan, two sovereign countries having good relations with its southern neighbour.

   However, this was not to be. Nothing came out of SNP’s historic victory in the 1973 elections to the State Council as outside forces – with ulterior motive – incited communal politics, leading to mass agitation that finally culminated in the fake Sikkim Legislative Assembly elections in early 1974 that gave an upper hand to Kazi’s Sikkim Congress party, which engineered Sikkim’s ‘merger’ with the Indian Union in April-May 1975.

   One prominent Sikkimese leader who won from the SNP ticket in the 1973 Council polls was Ugen Paljor Gyaltsen of Yangang, South Sikkim. He polled the second highest votes in his party, second only to the SNP President, Netuk (Lama) Tsering. 

   Unfortunately, the SNP was never allowed to form the government as the virus of communalism spread everywhere, creating a perfect situation for outside intervention. The Indian takeover of the administration in Sikkim, which began in the spring of 1973, made way for pro-merger forces in Sikkim to gain the upper hand in the former kingdom’s social and political set-up.

  During the 7-year-long (1973-1979) struggle between pro and anti-merger forces in Sikkim, Ugen Paljor sided with Nar Bahadur Bhandari, a fiery teacher-turned-politician from the majority Nepalese community, who voiced nationalistic sentiments and opposed Sikkim’s takeover by its protecting power, India. They fought against great odds. The might of the Indian Government led by Indira Gandhi, the Congress-dominated Parliament, the Indian media, the Indian police forces and finally the Indian Army was no match to the Bhandari-led pro-Sikkim and anti-merger forces in Sikkim. And yet they won!

   Bhandari’s Sikkim Parishad party, which had the backing of the Chogyal of Sikkim and the Sikkimese people, defeated all pro-merger forces led by Kazi Lhendup Dorji Khangsarpa, a Lepcha aristocrat and chief architect of the ‘merger’, in the first elections to the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, held four years after the takeover, and formed the government on October 18, 1979.

   In my monthly newsmagazine, 'Spotlight on Sikkim', published in June 1984, I wrote: “Perhaps history will look back to this era and recall this period as Sikkim’s ‘finest hour’. Bhandari then will not be remembered for the wrongs he has done but for the things he hoped to do and for the dreams that he set out to fulfil.”

   Two renowned Sikkimese nationalist leaders who passed away this month (September 2025) were Ugen Paljor Gyaltsen and Athup Lepcha, both hailing from the minority Bhutia-Lepcha communities. Athup, who was Parishad’s candidate from the Bhutia-Lepcha-dominated district of North Sikkim, defeated LD Kazi from the remote Dzongu constituency and put a final end to Kazi’s political activities in Sikkim.

   “Athup Lepcha was a mere employee in the State forest department when Sikkimese nationalist leaders approached him to take on the merger architect – Kazi Lhendup Dorji Khangsarpa – in the 1979 Assembly elections from the Lepcha reserve of Dzongu in North Sikkim. Kazi – a Lepcha – thought Dzongu would be the safest constituency to return to the Assembly. But the Lepchas of Dzongu voted for Athup and gave a befitting send-off to the man who ‘sold’ Sikkim to its protecting power. Kazi bit the dust, settled in neighbouring Kalimpong after the humiliating defeat and finally died a lonely death.” ('Sons of Sikkim', published in 2020 and authored by Jigme N. Kazi.)

  Gyaltsen, Bhandari’s close confidante and a very resourceful person who had connections all over Sikkim, focused on party organization with other Parishad leaders. The Parishad, under Bhandari’s leadership and with the backing of the Chogyal, not only fully exposed New Delhi’s conspiracy but proved to the international community that the Sikkimese people never wanted merger and were determined to safeguard their distinct identity and protect Sikkim’s unique international status.

   In the spring of 2026, Sikkim lost the one and only notable Pawo of Beyul Demajong.  Capt. Sonam Yongda of the Sikkim Guards of the Chogyal era, described in my book (“Sons of Sikkim”) as “one of the Chogyal’s most loyal and trusted lieutenants, whose patriotism to Demajong and loyalty to throne was unquestionable”, was the first Sikkimese nationalist leader to incur the wrath of New Delhi for his patriotism.  He was arrested and virtually imprisoned on April 7, 1975, three days before  the Sikkim Lesiglative Assembly abolished the institution of the Chogyal and declared Sikkim to be a constituent unit of India. 

   A rare and unique individual, whose faith and loyalty to Sikkim was deeply rooted in Sikkim’s history and Sikkimese Buddhism, Capt. Yongda will always be an inspiration to all true sons and daughters of Sikkim. While others rushed to enjoy the “fruits of democracy”, Yapo Yongda remained aloof from the powers-that-be and maintained his dignity and integrity. I had the great privilege and honour to converse with him for a long time on several occasions prior to his passing away on April 4, 2026. His last benediction to me, pronounced on two occasions recently, was: “Let go of Sikkim; hold on to Beyul Demajong.”

   Paying rich tribute to the Chogyal in 1982, the Sikkim Legislative Assembly hailed Palden Thondup Namgyal, the 12th Chogyal (king) of Sikkim, as a ‘martyr’ and stated: “…when ‘little men’ who rule the roost in Sikkim will have been consigned to dust, posterity will look back with awe and respect upon the last representative of the House of Namgyal on the throne of Sikkim… And his descendants will be able to walk with their heads held high whatever their circumstances in life happen to be.”

   This words are also a befitting tribute to men like Nar Bahadur Bhandari, Athup Lepcha, Ugen Paljor Gyaltsen and Capt. Sonam Yongda – representing the three ethnic communities of Sikkim (Nepalese, Lepchas and Bhutias) – and many unsung heroes of the merger era. Because of them and their selfless contribution, the Sikkimese people will be able to walk with their heads held high in the land of their origin no matter what the future holds for them.

 

(Ref: Blog: jigmenkazisikkim.blogspot.com)