Did you know that Sikkim became part of India only as late as 1975. When India became independent Sikkim became a protectorate under India. The Sikkim state congress wanted a democratic setup and join the Indian Union. The ruler Tashi Namgyal died in 1963 and was succeeded by his son Palden Thondup Namgyal. By 1970 people wanted an end to monarchy and an agitattion started. Indian Govt appointed a Chief Administrator and in 1973 Sikkim became an associate state. Then in 1975 the constitution was amended and Sikkim became a state in the Indian Union.
Think that’s bad? A lot of young people don’t know that there was an Emergency. They don’t know how fragile our liberty really is and how close we came to losing it. It’s only those of us who’ve read our Kuldip Nayar who know. It’s nowhere to be seen in our school history books, the only history that the average Indian reads. Neither are the circumstances of Kashmir and Hyderabad’s accession, or the circumstances which led to the liberation of Bangladesh or the IPKF fiasco. All these, I would say are necessary to make sense of the world we now live in, but are not taught to students at all. The education minister should stop fixing ancient history and focus on the recent past, where the INC has succesfully kept its misdeeds out of history books.
Think that’s bad? A lot of young people don’t know that there was an Emergency. They don’t know how fragile our liberty really is and how close we came to losing it. It’s only those of us who’ve read our Kuldip Nayar who know. It’s nowhere to be seen in our school history books, the only history that the average Indian reads. Neither are the circumstances of Kashmir and Hyderabad’s accession, or the circumstances which led to the liberation of Bangladesh or the IPKF fiasco. All these, I would say are necessary to make sense of the world we now live in, but are not taught to students at all. The education minister should stop fixing ancient history and focus on the recent past, where the INC has succesfully kept its misdeeds out of history books.
Hey Kinglsey maybe you would like to add some comments to my South Asia briefing over at Windsofchange.net
http://windsofchange.net/archives/003872.html