Highlight
• Sikkim became India’s 22nd state on May 16, 1975.
• It commemorates the occasion with a holiday and a series of events each year.
On Monday, May 16, Sikkim became an Indian state for the first time in 47 years. Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, Piyush Goyal, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Om Birla, and a slew of other leaders took
to twitter to congratulate the people of Sikkim on the occasion.
The following is how the Himalayan state became a member of the Indian Union
1.) In 1950, three years after India’s independence, Sikkim and the Republic of India signed a treaty. The former’s status as a ‘protectorate’ state within the Union of India was preserved under the agreement.
2.) A protectorate state is a smaller country that is guarded by a larger, sovereign country. The smaller country controls policies such as foreign affairs, defence, and communications, while the larger country controls internal affairs.
3.) By the 1970s, Sikkim’s ruling Chogyals had grown increasingly unpopular, prompting calls for the former kingdom’s integration with India.
4.) The Chogyals demanded a referendum in September 1974. The Indian Army entered Sikkim in April of the following year, following an appeal from the state’s Prime Minister.
5.) In the subsequent referendum, 97.5 percent of participants voted in favour of joining India, with only 2.45 percent voting against it.
6.) On May 15, 1975, then-Indian President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signed a constitutional amendment, and Sikkim became India’s 22nd state the next day; the Chogyal’s position was also abolished
7.) Sikkim now has a population of over 610,000 people, with Gangtok as its capital. It celebrates its statehood with a holiday and a series of events each year.
