Word: sikkim
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...Chinese have also attempted repeatedly to make inroads in the Himalayan border states of Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, whose people are of Tibetan extraction, claiming that these are Chinese-dependent states taken from their motherland by the imperialists who divided China early in this century. In addition, India's Northeast Frontier Agency is claimed by China as part of its former dependencies. In 1962, the Chinese moved 30,000 troops into the territory--where the inhabitants are predominantly Tibeto-Burmese of Mongolian origin--and laid claim...
...When Sikkim's benign and enlightened King Palden Thondup Namgyal was crowned eight years ago in Gang-tok, he offered this pledge for himself and his queen, former New York Debutante Hope Cooke: "Together may we make Sikkim a paradise on earth." Today, Indian troops patrol his capital and his dreams of paradise look dark...
...Sikkim's precarious position on the Tibetan frontier has long worried India, which is responsible for the Himalayan protectorate's foreign relations and defense and keeps a careful eye on domestic affairs as well. The immediate cause for the disturbances, however, is a controversy over Sikkim's bewildering electoral system, which is artfully arranged to keep opposition politicians in a minority in the 24-member legislature. When the ballots were counted after the most recent elections, in late March, the King's Sikkim National Party emerged with eleven seats and the two opposition parties with seven...
Thousands of angry demonstrators stormed into Gangtok to lay siege to the King's palace. They demanded his removal, as well as a written constitution and various administrative reforms. Though Indian officials in Sikkim barred foreign reporters from the country, a few details of the fighting filtered out. In a telephone interview from Gangtok, 20-year-old Crown Prince Tenzing Namgyal made a series of oblique references to "the element outside us that has been causing problems ... we have several times been approached by the political officer to hand over all power to the government of ....," at which point...
...Sikkim quieted down, more charges of Indian intrigue were heard. Interviewed in Hong Kong, the King's sister, Princess Pema Tsedeun Yapshi-Pheunkhang, charged that Indian intelligence agents were behind the troubles. "The powers of intelligence must be curbed," she added, warning that India is "making trouble for itself" in taking over full control. Late in the week, however, there were reports from New Delhi quoting the King as saying that he and the Indians had come to a "close and confident" understanding to grant the opposition "most of their political demands." As for how this would work...