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General Information
Capital- Gangtok
Largest city- Gangtok
Population (2001)- 540,493
Density- 76.17 sq km
Area- 7,096 sq km
Districts - 4
Sikkim (also Sikhim) is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas. It is the least populous state in India and the third smallest in area after Delhi and Goa.
Sikkim was an independent state ruled by the Namgyal monarchy until 1975, when a referendum was held and the population voted to join India as its twenty second state. The thumb shaped state borders Nepal in the west, Tibet (China) to the north and east, and Bhutan in the south east. The Indian state of West Bengal borders Sikkim to its south.
The official languages are English, Bhutia, Nepali, Lepcha, Limbu and Hindi. It must be noted though that almost all written transactions are in English. The predominant religions are Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism.
Despite its tiny size Sikkim is geographically diverse due to its location on the Himalayas. The climate ranges from subtropical to high alpine. Kanchenjunga, the worlds third highest peak is located in Sikkim, straddling its northern border with Nepal.
Today the majority of Sikkims residents are of Nepali origin. They settled here in the 19th century. The native Sikkimese consist of the Bhutias who migrated from the Kham district of Tibet in the 14th Century, and the Lepchas who are believed to have migrated from the far east.
Tibetans reside mostly in the northern and eastern reaches of the state. Immigrant resident communities not native to the state include the Marwaris, who own most of the shops in South Sikkim and Gangtok; Biharis and Bengalis.
Hinduism and Buddhism are the religions professed by most Sikkimese. Sikkim also has a small Christian population converted by British missionaries in the late 19th century. It also has minisculeMuslim population. |
