Sikkim: From Autocracy to Half Democracy

Sikkim was the last country to join India and thereby making India redraw its map in 1975 after the merger (or annexation as some call). Stories have been written by journalists, bureaucrats, part-time scholars, IB and R&AW officers. Some looked like commissioned projects and others tried to assert the Indian supremacy in the battle of wits. What have been comfortably left out are stories on the ground or from the ground. Why did people struggle for democracy and what happened during those times? Starting from 1972, what led to the eventual merger of Sikkim with India in 1975? Nar Bahadur Khatiwada is a much misunderstood man who stood with Kazi Lhendup Dorji Khangsarpa as a grassroot organizer of the revolution from 1972. He was also his adopted son (who was barely 23 then). In this book Khatiwada narrates this story of the merger (or acquisition) in his own words bringing about a fresh perspective in understanding the muted voices from the ground. Even after 48 years of Sikkim becoming the 22nd State of India, the murmurs still continue in closed quarters. This book recreates those times and unravels many of the unknown facts that have been missed out from the annals of history and issues which still plague Sikkim making it a ‘Half-Democracy’.