Gangtok, May 27 -- This tiny eastern Himalayan state of Sikkim is gearing up to greet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to attend the 50th (golden jubilee) Statehood Day on May 29, official sources said.
Sikkim's Statehood Day is usually celebrated on May 16, the day when the erstwhile Chogyal kingdom merged with the Indian Union in 1975 by a referendum and became the 22nd state of India with a special provision of 271-F stipulating the preservation of the ethnic Sikimese culture, tradition and reservation of the Lepcha and Bhutia communities in the state's 32-member Assembly.
Late Kazi Lhendup Dorjee (October 11, 1904-July 28, 2007) was the chief architect of Sikkim merger and became the first chief minister when Sikkim be...