Celebrating 50 Years of Statehood in Sikkim: Challenges and Future Nostalgia

Dr. NANUMA SUBBA

16 May 2025 marks fifty years of Sikkim’s merger with the Union of India. These fifty years hold an important transition in the history and politics of Sikkim while tracing significant steps in its making, from being a theocratic kingdom to the 22^nd state of India. With Article 371F flagging the foundation of democracy, it also added constitutional guarantees to the people with critical legal interventions in the form of the Sikkim Subject,which also guaranteed Sikkim’s special position.

Although history recalls tumultuous times in 1975 for Sikkim, as has been recorded and interpreted by various academicians, journalists and nationalists. It is important to note that diverse interventions frequently converge on certain common questions, such as what might have been the values envisaged for a democratic Sikkim? Or were there any? Even though the transition was not as dramatic as many others around the world, yet, some how,Sikkim had reached the limits of monarchical politics. This shift in the politics of Sikkim and other parallel geopolitical arrangements that went hand-in-hand was at the time heavily influenced by India. Although the strategic importance of Sikkim lying at the border of three neighbouring countries remains irrefutable, the optimistic fervour towards democracy may have been as reflected in the words of Jawaharlal Nehru at the cusp of India’s independence: “We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again.”May be it was time for Sikkim to discover herself again.

Since spearheading as an organic state in 2003, Sikkim has officially declared itself as the world’s first 100 per cent organic state in 2016.  In 2004, Sikkim joined the neighbouring seven states collectively called the Northeast, becoming the eighth northeastern state of India. Sikkim coincidentally also became a part of the Northeast Industrial Investment Policy (NEIIPP) and now, along with the other seven north-eastern states,are producing almost 40 per cent (according to the North East Electric Power Corporation Limited, NEEPCL) of the total hydropower potential in the country. Unfortunately, over the years, we have seen governments struggling to strike a balance between democracy and development. Major policy interventions for the region have been in the form of financial investments and grants that have, in most parts sporadic and inconsistent. Such inadequacies of cognitive policy regimes across local-central axes have rendered emerging questions on the developmental aspects of the state.

However, an emerging sector has been the tourism industry. A significant rise in tourism, with a special focus on eco-tourism and homestays in particular, has attracted an average of 460,564 persons in 1997-2021 (according to the CEIC data)to Sikkim. India Tourism Statistics, 2019, gathers this exponential rise in the number of tourist visits with a growth rate of 3.65 for domestic and 44.92 for international tourists in the year 2017-2018.This sector seems to have shown some potential, by way of incorporating local interests as well as industry needs, for homestays have provided people a somewhat subsistent income in the backdrop of a declining agricultural climate and farming activities.

While North Bengal and Sikkim are known for their tourist attractions, including well-known hill stations and hilly-mountainous landscapes. They also form one of the largest Nepali-speaking regions in the country, the lingua franca of Sikkim is little known in India, and racist comments often want to send us back to Nepal. The Sikkim Official Language Act 1977 recognised Nepali as one of the official languages of the state. Also, Article 344(1) of the Constitution of India provided for the inclusion of the Nepali language in the Eighth Schedule on 20^th August 1992 and mandated its promotion and development. Unfortunately, more unknown then becomes native languages, such as Bhutia, Lepcha and Limboo that are taught extensively at the secondary, senior secondary and university levels across Sikkim. Recent developments in the state proceed to ensure that ‘12 left-out communities’ from the larger Nepali-speaking community seek their own ethnic identities in a mesh of interrelated cultural and tribal aspirations.

Social issues in the state are rife, with Sikkim recording the highest rate of suicide at 43.1 per cent, with 293 cases in 2022, as per the NCRB data. Gender disparities emanate from a low female sex ratio of 890, which is below the national average of 940 (Census 2011). Indicators on ‘married women in decision making’ show a decline from 95.3 per cent in 2015-16 to 89.7 per cent in 2019-20 and ‘women ever experienced spouse violence’ increased from 2.6 per cent in 2015-15 to 12.1 per cent in 2019-20, according to the National Family Health Survey data.As we struggle to make significant improvements in these specific areas, we have to consistently ensure the safety and security of women and youth in Sikkim.

Before we make amends, we should be aware. Therefore, when I look at these issues in the state, I do so as an active member of society and as a citizen of a democratic country,facing these very challenges for the lack of significant policy interventions. As we move forward to hopefully address these issues in the near future, I am equally aware of the climate realities that living under the Himalayas produces.This then leaves the GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) of October 2023 as an indelible reminder of the climate catastrophes that await this part of the world. Yet, I hope for a Sikkim who renews herself despite all her issues and realities. At this particular juncture of completing 50 years of democratic change, I hope for a future that sees the state making confident strides towards equality, progress and welfare for all, its land and people.

(The writer is an independent academic from Sikkim. All views are personal. Email: nanumasubba@gmail.com