The Sikkim State Congress, or ''SSC'', was an

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

ist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

in the Kingdom of Sikkim. It was founded in 1947 and worked closely with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

(INC) to successfully achieve the annexation of Sikkim to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Other parties established by the INC to serve India's interests in its near abroad included the Nepal State Congress Party and the Bhutan State Congress Party.

History

Sikkim State Congress was formed on 7th December 1947 after localised organisations Praja Sudharak Samaj, Praja Sammelan and Praja Mandal jointly decided to form a unified party. Tashi Tshering was the President of the newly formed party. The SSC's main constituents were Nepalese, while its opponent, the Sikkim National Party, had support among the

Bhutia The Bhutias (exonym; Nepali: भुटिया, "People from Tibet") or Drejongpas (endonym; , THL: dre-jong pa, "People of the Rice Valley") are a Tibetan ethnic group native to the Indian state of Sikkim who speak Drejongke, a Tibetic ...

and

Lepcha people The Lepcha (; also called Rongkup ( Lepcha: , ''Mútuncí Róngkup Rumkup'', "beloved children of the Róng and of God") and Rongpa ( Sikkimese: )) are among the indigenous people of the Indian state of Sikkim and Nepal, and number around 80,00 ...

. It campaigned to change the election system from a

confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall where the priest from some Christian denominations sits to hear the confessions of a penitent's sins. It is the traditional venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Luther ...

system to a "

one man, one vote "One man, one vote" or "one vote, one value" is a slogan used to advocate for the principle of equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of democracy and political equality, especially with regard to electoral reforms like ...

" system. When that reform happened in 1974, the numerically superior Nepalese made the Congress Sikkim's dominant political party. Some anti-clerical and other modernizing elites within the Bhutia-Lepcha community joined the Sikkim State Congress, because of its desire to abolish landlordism. Kazi Lhendup Dorjee, one of these, was president of the party between 1953 and 1958. Tashi Tshering, Gobardhan Pradhan, DB Tiwari, CD Rai, DS Lepcha, Sonam Tshering, LD Kazi, Roy Choudhary and Helen Lepcha are among the founder members of the party. Tashi Tshering, Kashiraj Pradhan, Nahakul Pradhan and Chandra Das Rai were other prominent leaders who have led the party before the merger with India. After the formation of the Congress, Tshering organised its first public meeting in 7 December 1947 at Gangtok demanding abolishing landlordism, forming an interim government and accession to

. The Congress started fresh agitation in February,1949 demanding the formation of an interim government and democratic reforms following which Chandra Das Rai and five others were arrested. This was followed by Congress supporters encircling the Palace on 1 May, 1949. On 8 May 1949,

Chogyal The Chogyal ("Dharma Kings", ) were the monarchs of the former Kingdom of Sikkim, which belonged to the Namgyal dynasty, . The Chogyal was the absolute monarch of Sikkim from 1642 to 1973, and the constitutional monarch from 1973 to 1975, wh ...

appointed Sikkim's first interim government led by Chief Minister Tashi Tshering and his popular ministry. However the government was dismissed within 29 days by the Indian Political Officer Harishwar Dayal. By late 1950s to the 1970s the party was led by Kashiraj Pradhan and his nephew Nahakul Pradhan, both serving as President of the party in different decades. Under their leadership the party greatly moderated it’s anti-

stand and participated in the Royal Sikkimese administration through subsequent wins in elections to the State Council. By the early 1970s, Nahakul Pradhan led party demanded for a responsible government under the

opposing the demands of Kazi Lhendup Dorjee led Sikkim National Congress. The party was part of Sikkimese administration throughout the pre merger period with subsequent wins in all elections to the State council. Later SSC merged with Sikkim Janata Party in 1972, forming the Sikkim Janata Congress.

Electoral history

References

{{reflist Defunct political parties in Sikkim 1947 establishments in Sikkim Political parties established in 1947 Political parties disestablished in 1972

History

Electoral history

See also

References