Social Change in Sikkim in its Historical Context

Abstract

Sikkim is a land of myths, who has lost the pre-historic written documents but has left with the remarkable mystery of the country. Sikkim was sparsely populated and rich in natural resources including a large number of flora and fauna. There are three major ethnic communities, Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepalis inhabiting in the country. In the early period, Sikkim had a gigantic physical structure from the Himalayas to the plains. Earlier, the Tibetan called the territory of Sikkim as “Denjong, Demojong, and Deoshong, which have the same meaning as “Valley of Rice”. There is another myth, that, the first Tibetan king had made a palace in Rabdenchi, at that period of time the Limbo community people called the palace as “SU- HIM” which meaning as “New Home”. Another myth tells that in early days the Lepcha head married a Limbo girl from Limbuwan, and when she went to her father’s house, she told the people of the village that she had came from ‘Su Him’ or ‘New Home’. Later on, the Nepalese called it as ‘Su Khim’ instead of ‘Su Him’ but the advent of British in India, who could not pronounce the word  ‘Su Khim’ and called it as ‘Sikkim’. That was the last change in the name of the nation for forever.