Sikkim

Upland state of northeast India, bounded by Nepal to the west, Bhutan to the east, Tibet (China) to the north and West Bengal state to the south; area 7,299 sq km/2,818 sq mi; population (2001 est) 540,500. The capital is Gangtok. Industries include carpets, textiles, cigarettes, and food processing, but the state is largely dependent on agriculture. Cardamom, tea, maize, rice, wheat, fruit, ginger, and soybeans are grown, and the livestock raised includes cattle and buffalo in the humid subtropical area, and yaks and sheep on the plateaus and lower slopes of the Himalayas.

Formerly a protected state, Sikkim was absorbed by India in 1975, the monarchy being abolished. China does not recognize India's sovereignty.

Features include Mount Kanchenjunga (8,586 m/28,210 ft), the third highest in the world; wildlife, including birds, butterflies, and orchids; and the River Tista, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, joined by the rivers Rangit and Rangpo. There are mineral deposits of copper, lead, zinc, coal, iron ore, garnet, graphite, pyrites, marble, gold, and silver.

The main languages are Bhutia, Lepecha, and Khaskura (Nepalese) – all official. Principal Religions are Mahāyāna Buddhism and Hinduism.

The Lepchas are regarded as the indigenous inhabitants of the region. Sikkim was ruled by the Namgyol dynasty from the 14th century to 1975, when the last chogyal, or king, was deposed. Allied to Britain in 1886, Sikkim became a protectorate of India in 1950 and a state of India in 1975. The border with Tibet was closed at the outbreak of hostilities between India and China in 1961.