KATHMANDU, July 3 -- Nearly half-a-century after the overthrow of Palden Thondup Namgyal, the 12th and last Chogyal of Sikkim and India's formal annexation of the tiny kingdom, the ghost of Sikkim still haunts neighbouring Himalayan states.
Till today, there are frequent dark references by media commentators to New Delhi's plans for the 'Sikkimisation' of Nepal as well.
Sikkim was the smallest of the three Himalayan kingdoms, sandwiched between Nepal and Bhutan to the west and east, and between China and India in the north and south. Its location magnified tiny Sikkim's strategic importance.
Although it was a sovereign country, after Indian independence in 1947, Sikkim (like Bhutan) had ceded to New Delhi authority over three important ...