Democratic Movement in Sikkim and Sikkim State Congress

This chapter explores why a politically pioneering political forum such as Sikkim State Congress, with clear objectives, multi-ethnic leadership and mass political support, failed to negotiate a transition from politics of agitation to redressal of the popular demands of the masses. Was it really a multi-ethnic political party? If so, why did the supporters of the Lepcha and Bhutia communities desert it on the eve of electoral politics? The chapter further explores the social base of the party in the state and why and how it permitted itself to be reduced to a Nepali party, a charge flung on it by the crown prince and others. It thus sheds light on the social history of the SSC as an integral part of the Indian democratic movement.