I have been to another hidden kingdom of SIKKIM, A land of Prayer Flags, Amazing Festivals and Rinpoche ..
Sikkim is also known as land of Orchid and Cardamom.. in Sikkim you can find almost 600+ type of Orchid ..
Sikkim was inhabited in pre-historic times by three tribes namely Naong, Chang and the Mon.The origin of Lepchas is shrouded in mistery but it seems that they belonged to the clan of the Nagas of the Mikir, Garo and Khasia hills which lie to the south of the Bramaputra valley. The Lepchas were a very peace loving people, deeply religious and shy, which characteristics they still have retained. They were in fact the children of nature, and worshipped nature or spirits of nature.
Somewhere in the Thirteenth century a prince named Guru Tashi of Minyang dynasty in Tibet had a divine vision that he should go south to seek his fortune in "Denzong- the valley of rice". As directed by the divine vision he along with his family, which included five sons, headed in the southern direction. The family during their wandering came across the Sakya Kingdom in which a monastery was being built at that time. The workers had not been successful in erecting pillars for the monastery. The elder son of Guru Tashi raised the pillar single handedly and thereby came to be known as "Kheye Bumsa" meaning the superior of ten thousand heroes.
Sikkim resorted to making attacks into British territories and it was in November 1860 that the British sent an expeditionary force to Sikkim. This force was driven back from Rinchenpong in Sikkim. A stronger force was sent in 1861 that resulted in the capture of the capital Tumlong and the signing of a Treaty between the British and Sikkimese the same year.
His son Sidekeong Namgyal succeeded Tsugphud Namgyal in 1863. The British Government started the payment of annual subsidy of Rs. 6000/- in 1850 for Darjeeling. In an attempt to keep good relation with Sikkim, the British enhanced the subsidy to Rs. 12000/- per annum.
Chogyal Sidekong Namgyal defied in 1874 issueless and was succeeded by his half brother Thutob Namgyal. There were serious difference between the Nepalese settlers and the original inhabitants of Sikkim and this led to British intervention. The settlement went in favour of the Nepali settlers and made Thutob Namgyal have ill feeling for the British. He retreated to Chumbi and became more aligned towards the Tibetans.
The Britishers started building of roads in Sikkim. This was viewed with suspicion by Tibet and in 1886, some Tibetan militia occupied Lingtu in sikkim near Jelepla pass. In May 1888, the Tibetans attacked Gnathang below Jelepla but were driven away. In September of the same year the British called for reinforcements and the Tibetans were pushed back from Lingtu. A memorial was built at Gnathang for the few British soldiers who died in the engagement.
The Britishers appointed Claude White as the first political officer in Sikkim in 1889 and Chogyal Thutob Namgyal was virtually under his supervision. Thutob Namgyal shifted the capital from Tumlong to Gangtok in 1894. The Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial (STNM) Hospital built in 1917 is named in the memory of Thutob Namgyal who died in 1914.
In 1947 when India became independent, Tashi Namgyal was successful in getting a special status of protectorate for Sikkim. This was in face of stiff resistance from local parties like Sikkim State Congress who wanted a democratic setup and accession of Sikkim to the Union of India.
Events leading to the confrontation between the Chogyal and the popular Government caused Sikkim to become a full-fledged 22nd state of the Indian Union on 16th may 1975. The institution of Chogyal was subsequently abolished