Sikkim Dawn of Democracy: The Truth Behind the Merger with India is a first-hand account of the events that led to the Chogyal’s ouster. The book outlines the Intelligence Agency’s strategy to achieve the objectives formulated at the highest level of the Indian government and is an insider’s account of how this plan was executed. The book also tracks the reasons behind New Delhi’s shift from a long-standing pro-Chogyal stance to a pro-democracy position, maps the political alignments on the ground in Sikkim and outlines the interplay of personalities—Mrs Gandhi, the Chogyal, Tashi Tshering, Kazi and the Indian officials and intelligence agencies-- in the unfolding chain of events that ultimately resulted in the creation of a truly democratic Sikkim and its merger with the Union of India.
The discussion will centre around some key issues like the status of Sikkim during the British rule in India; the existence of pre-accession and pro-merger popular political parties in Sikkim on the eve of India’s independence; reasons for the turnaround in GOI’s policy of appeasement towards the Chogyal; essential ingredients of the RAW’s Top Secret operation to facilitate merger of Sikkim with India; did Kazi Lhendup Dorji really ‘sell’ Sikkim; and reasons for Kazi’s bitterness against the attitude of the GOI and its agencies in the post-merger period.
G.B.S. Sidhu is a retired special Secretary, Research and Analysis Wing. Sidhu had joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1964. Allotted to the Uttar Pradesh cadre of the IPS, he served in various capacities including Superintendent of Police Barabanki for two years. He joined India’s external intelligence agency, the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) of the Cabinet Secretariat, in February 1972. During his 26 years stint in R&AW, he handled a number of sensitive desks and assignments until he retired as Special Secretary in April 1998. GBS Sidhu was appointed as head of its Gangtok (Sikkim) station in 1973 and had an insider view of events that led to the Chogyal’s ouster. He was one of the key Indian officers involved in the merger of the princely state of Sikkim within the Indian Republic in 1975.
Britta Petersen, Senior Fellow, ORF
Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow, ORF
Vikram Sood, Advisor, ORF
The event will be from 14:00-16:00 hours
