Editing Sikkim (section)

=== Indian protectorate ===
Prior to [[Partition of India|Indian independence]], [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], as the Vice-President of the Executive Council, pushed through a resolution in the [[Constituent Assembly of India|Indian Constituent Assembly]] to the effect that Sikkim and Bhutan, as Himalayan states, were not 'Indian states' and their future should be negotiated separately.{{sfn|Duff, Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom|2015|p=41}} A standstill agreement was signed in February 1948.{{sfn|Duff, Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom|2015|p=45}}

Meanwhile, Indian independence and its move to democracy spurred a fledgling political movement in Sikkim, giving rise to the formation of [[Sikkim State Congress]] (SSC), a pro-accession political party. The party sent a plate of demands to the palace, including a demand for accession to India. The palace attempted to defuse the movement by appointing three secretaries from the SSC to the government and sponsoring a counter-movement in the name of [[Sikkim National Party]], which opposed accession to India.{{sfn|Duff, Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom|2015|pp=44–45}}

The demand for responsible government continued, and the SSC launched a civil disobedience movement. The Chogyal [[Palden Thondup Namgyal]] asked India for help in quelling the movement, which was offered in the form of a small military police force and an Indian [[Dewan]]. In 1950, a treaty was agreed between India and Sikkim which gave Sikkim the status of an Indian [[protectorate]]. Sikkim came under the [[suzerainty]] of India, which controlled its external affairs, defence, diplomacy and communications.<ref>{{citation |first=Werner |last=Levi |title=Bhutan and Sikkim: Two Buffer States |journal=The World Today |volume=15 |pages=492–500 |number=2 |date=December 1959 |jstor=40393115}}</ref> In other respects, Sikkim retained administrative autonomy.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

A state council was established in 1953 to allow for constitutional government under the Chogyal. Chogyal [[Palden Thondup Namgyal]] was able to preserve autonomy and shape a "model Asian state" where the [[literacy rate]] and [[per capita income]] were twice as high as neighbouring [[Nepal]], [[Bhutan]] and India.<ref name="duPlessixGray">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/08/books/the-fairy-tale-that-turned-nightmare.html |title=The Fairy Tale That Turned Nightmare? |date=8 March 1981 |first=Francine |last=du Plessix Gray |author-link=Francine du Plessix Gray |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=3 July 2017 |postscript=; |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617055430/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/08/books/the-fairy-tale-that-turned-nightmare.html |archive-date=17 June 2017 |url-status=live}} and [https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/08/books/the-fairy-tale-that-turned-nightmare.html?pagewanted=2 page 2] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815024722/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/08/books/the-fairy-tale-that-turned-nightmare.html?pagewanted=2 |date=15 August 2017 }}</ref> Meanwhile, the [[Sikkim National Congress]] demanded fresh elections and greater representation for Nepalis in Sikkim. People marched on the palace against the monarchy.<ref name="duPlessixGray"/> In 1973, anti-royalist agitations took place, which needed to be quelled using Indian security forces.{{sfn|Gupta|1975|p=790}}