China and India shared a long border, sectioned into three stretches by Nepal, Sikkim ( then an independent kingdom ), and Bhutan, which follows the Himalayas between Burma and what was then West Pakistan.

After leaving New York, the Roerichs – together with their son George and six friends – went on the five-year long ' Roerich Asian Expedition ' that, in Roerich's own words: " started from Sikkim through Punjab, Kashmir, Ladakh, the Karakoram Mountains, Khotan, Kashgar, Qara Shar, Urumchi, Irtysh, the Altai Mountains, the Oryot region of Mongolia, the Central Gobi, Kansu, Tsaidam, and Tibet " with a detour through Siberia to Moscow in 1926.

The LAC is 4, 057-km long and traverses three areas of northern Indian states: western ( Ladakh, Kashmir ), middle ( Uttarakhand, Himachal ) and eastern ( Sikkim, Arunachal ).

Regarding the origin of the term ' Lepcha ' writes Sailen Debnath " The word ' Lepcha ', most probably a geo-racial term, is phonetically an elongated and much evolved form of the Bhutanese Dzongkha word ( even might be of Chhokey origin ) “ La – chhu ” which the Drukpa Bhutanese might have used to geographically identify the early people of Sikkim and Kalimpong in the bygone ages of their long connection with Tibet via the Chumbey Valley since the time of Sabdrung Nagawang Namgyal, the founding father of Drug-Yul.

Another folk legend narrated ( a plaque erected at the entrance to the lake by the Department of Ecclesiastical Affairs, Government of Sikkim gives some details of the legend ) is that long time back this place used to be a grazing ground, troubled by nettle ( the native original tribal population make use of the barks of nettle for multipurpose uses ).

At the age of sixty-seven, in early 1959 with the Chinese Communist invasion of Tibet underway, he again became seriously ill. Prayers and rituals for his long life were performed day and night, by all the lineages in Sikkim.

When the British authorities learned of this — Sikkim was then a British protectorate — Alexandra and Aphur were forced to leave the country.

Palden Thondup Namgyal was widely unpopular among his people and the then democratically elected Prime Minister Lendup Dorji appealed to India to change the status of Sikkim from protectorate to statehood.

* Sikkim, where the Maharaja had been under a British protectorate ( 1861 – 15 August 1947 ; the crown representative was styled Political Agent ), became immediately afterwards a protectorate of newly independent India ( formally from 5 December 1950 ; in the meantime the Indian representative was again styled Political Agent, the first incumbent actually being the former British Political Agent — India was a dominion, still under the British crown, till 26 January 1950 ) until 16 May 1975, it was annexed as a constituent state of India.

Palden Thondup Namgyal was to be the last king of Sikkim as a protectorate state under India.

After India's independence in 1947, Sikkim, which was then a monarchy, agreed to a special protectorate status and gave India the status of a suzerain nation and its defence and foreign affairs were managed by India.

In 1947 and 1948, a popular vote for Sikkim to join newly independent India failed and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to a special protectorate status for Sikkim.

Sikkim agreed to be a protectorate nation and Indian troops were allowed to man its borders, including Nathu La.

A popular vote for Sikkim to join the Indian Union failed and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to a special protectorate status for Sikkim.

After his return from exile in India and Sikkim during January 1913, he assumed control of foreign relations and dealt directly with the Maharaja and the British Political officer in Sikkim and the king of Nepal rather than letting the Kashag or parliament do it.

Kangchenjunga, on the border between Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim, is the highest point in India at and the world's 3rd highest peak.

Kanchenjunga — on the Sikkim – Nepal border — is the highest point in the area administered by India.

* 1975 – India annexes Sikkim after the mountain state holds a referendum in which the popular vote is in favor of merging with India.

The Kingdom of Sikkim, which had already lost its Darjeeling region to British India in 1853, was annexed by the post-colonial Republic of India in April 1975 and, in the following month, Sikkim's people voted to join the Indian Union.

Its range includes southern Tibet, Sikkim and Assam in India, Bhutan, the northern mountains of Burma, and in southwestern China, in the Hengduan Mountains of Sichuan and the Gongshan Mountains in Yunnan.

* India has 20 protected areas with known or possible red panda populations in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal such as Khangchendzonga National Park, Namdapha National Park and Singalila National Park, and a coordinated conservation policy for the red panda.

The red panda was recognized as the state animal of Sikkim, India in the early 1990s, and was the mascot of the Darjeeling Tea Festival.

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India ( particularly in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Dharamsala, Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim ).

Buddhist monks play volleyball in the Himalaya n state of Sikkim, India.

** Sikkim accedes to India after a referendum.

A high Himalayan lake at an altitude of around 5, 000 metres Sikkim, India

Rhododendron niveum is the state tree of Sikkim in India.

His Holiness ' principal seat in exile is the Dharma Chakra Centre at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, India.

In India, it is one of the country's 23 official languages: Nepali has official language status in the formerly independent state of Sikkim and in West Bengal's Darjeeling district.

Peter Byrne reported finding a yeti footprint in 1948, in northern Sikkim, India near the Zemu Glacier, while on holiday from a Royal Air Force assignment in India.

He recognized Tibet, as a part of China, which was welcomed by the Chinese leadership, who in the following year, recognized Sikkim, as a part of India.

* Sikkim Democratic Front, a political party of India

They are almost restricted to the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, and Sichuan, with tiny populations in the Ladakh and Sikkim regions of India.

In 1903-1904, under orders from Curzon, Younghusband, jointly with John Claude White, the Political Officer for Sikkim, led a British expedition to Tibet, whose putative aim was to settle disputes over the Sikkim-Tibet border ; the expedition controversially became ( by exceeding instructions from London ) a de facto invasion of Tibet.

In the period 1914-1916 she lived in a cave in Sikkim, near the Tibetan border, learning spirituality, together with the young ( born 1899 ) Sikkimese monk Aphur Yongden, who became her lifelong traveling companion, and whom she would adopt later.

He became monarch of Sikkim nine months later but was deposed in 1975 and confined to his palace under house arrest.

While in India, the Dalai Lama became a close friend of Charles Alfred Bell, a British diplomatic officer stationed in Sikkim and a critic of Great Britain's policies in the region.

On the western front Garhwal and parts of Himachal Pradesh up to Punjab and on the eatern front the state of Sikkim up to Darjeeling became parts of Greater Nepal for a brief period until the British East India Company went on war with Nepal from 1814 to 1816.

After India gained its independence, he joined the Indian 11th Gorkha Rifles, retiring in 1968, when he became a farmer in Sikkim.

After the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950 and suppression of the Tibetan uprising in 1959, the passes into Sikkim became a conduit for refugees from Tibet before being closed by the Chinese.

Sikkim became a part of India in early 1975 following a referendum.

After the People's Republic of China took control of Tibet in 1950 and suppressed a Tibetan uprising in 1959, the passes into Sikkim became a conduit for refugees from Tibet.

In 1975, Sikkim acceded to India and Nathu La became part of Indian territory.

In 1975, the Sikkim formally became part of the Indian Union as India's 22nd state.

Sikkim had retained guarantees of independence from Britain when she became independent, and such guarantees were transferred to the Indian government when it gained independence in 1947.

His daughter Indira Gandhi, who became Prime Minister in 1966, would have little patience for maintaining an independent Sikkim or its monarchy.

Sikkim became the 22nd Indian State on April 26, 1975.

On May 16, 1975, Sikkim officially became a state of the Indian Union and Lhendup Dorji became head of State ( chief minister ).

In 1994, Assembly politician Pawan Kumar Chamling became the Chief Minister of Sikkim.

In 1987 South Sikkim district became home to the Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary, which has an area of.

Upon merger, Sikkim became the 22nd State of India.

Under Clause ( i ) of Article 371F, the High Court functioning immediately prior to the date of merger became the High Court for the State of Sikkim under the Constitution like any other High Court in the country.