Beyond Roads and Bridges: Investing in Sikkim’s Greatest Resource- Its People

MANDA SADAMU

One of the most encouraging changes in Sikkim has been the way our young people have begun to imagine their future.

There was a time when the pool of locally available, highly qualified professionals was considerably smaller, and the state relied more heavily on expertise from outside in several specialised fields. Today, we see young people from Sikkim aspiring to become doctors, engineers, teachers, lawyers, researchers, administrators, pilots, chartered accountants and professionals in fields that earlier generations may have found difficult to access.

That change in aspiration is itself a form of development.

Over the years, Sikkim has witnessed a significant expansion in literacy and educational opportunity. But the real significance of this progress lies in what education has done to the aspirations of our young people. A child who once saw certain professions as belonging to “people elsewhere” can now see them as possibilities within their own reach.

This is where the importance of investing in human capital becomes clear.

The government’s efforts to support the educational and professional aspirations of young people deserve recognition. Financial assistance can make a meaningful difference to students for whom professional or specialised education might otherwise remain out of reach. A young woman from Sikkim recently completing her pilot training with government support is one such example. Such stories show how public investment can turn aspiration into opportunity.

But perhaps the more exciting question is: what can we build from here?

Helping a young person enter a professional course is an important beginning. The larger task is to create an environment in which that education can translate into confidence, meaningful work,   and contribution to society.

Our young people are preparing for NEET, JEE, UPSC, CLAT, NDA, CA, judicial services and many other competitive pathways. These journeys require determination, but also financial, emotional and social support. This makes career guidance, mentorship and mental well-being important parts of human development. If we want capable professionals, we must also nurture healthy, resilient and confident young people.

And once our young people become qualified, many will naturally look beyond Sikkim for higher education and employment.

That need not be viewed negatively.

A small state should not fear its children seeing the world. They need exposure to new institutions, technologies, ideas and professional environments. The more useful question is not simply how to bring everyone back, but how to keep their knowledge connected to Sikkim.

A doctor practising elsewhere can mentor a student here. A researcher can collaborate with institutions in the state. An entrepreneur can invest in a local enterprise. A professional working outside can bring back networks, ideas and opportunities.

Sikkim should be our children’s foundation, not their boundary.

Let them go. Let them learn. Let them compete with the best. But let us also create pathways through which what they learn can contribute to the place they come from.

This brings us to another important question: What kind of economy do we want to build for them?

As educational aspirations grow, Sikkim has an opportunity to move beyond simply producing qualified job-seekers and towards creating entrepreneurs, researchers, innovators, skilled professionals and employers.

Our agricultural products can generate greater value through local processing and branding. Tourism can continue to evolve towards higher-value and responsible experiences. Our ecological and cultural strengths can support new forms of enterprise. Technology can allow skilled professionals to work for markets far beyond Sikkim without necessarily having to leave the state permanently.

The question is not whether Sikkim should remain connected to the wider economy. It should. The question is what we can create and contribute within that larger economy.

That is where human capital can become the foundation of a more self-reliant Sikkim.

Self-reliance does not mean isolation. It means developing the knowledge, skills, institutions and enterprise necessary to create greater value from within while remaining connected to the rest of India and the world.

The next stage, therefore, is not simply about expanding educational access. It is about making sure that our investment in people produces lasting capacity.

Scholarships should open pathways. Training should create meaningful skills. Educational institutions should nurture curiosity and competence. Programmes should evolve with changing needs and be strengthened when they work.

In other words, the goal should not simply be to create opportunities for the present, but to build capabilities that continue creating opportunities in the future.

This is where appreciation and aspiration can work together. The progress we have made deserves recognition. But every achievement also creates a new possibility.

Sikkim can now think beyond how many young people we educate and ask what those young people can create-with their knowledge, skills, ideas and experiences.

The best return on an investment in a young person is not simply that one individual succeeds. It is when that success creates possibilities for others.

Sikkim has travelled a considerable distance. The aspirations of our young people are broader, the opportunities before them are greater, and public investment is helping more of them pursue paths that earlier generations may not have imagined.

The opportunity before us now is to build on that momentum because roads and bridges connect places, but people create the future of a place.

If we invest wisely in our young people today, their knowledge, skills and aspirations can become one of Sikkim’s greatest strengths tomorrow.

And perhaps that is the most meaningful measure of development- not only what we build around us, but what we enable our people to become.

(Views are personal. Email: marinalepcha1987@gmail.com)