Previous Year Question

Lord Dalhousie served as the Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856. His administration witnessed extensive territorial expansion of British rule, and along with Punjab, Nagpur, Jhansi and other territories, parts of Sikkim also came under British control.

In 1849, Sikkimese authorities detained Dr. Archibald Campbell and the botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker. Relations between the British Government and Sikkim deteriorated after this incident. Under Dalhousie, the British Government responded by increasing military and political pressure.

As a consequence, certain territories of Sikkim were annexed to British India in 1850. These included territory associated with the Sikkim Terai. Therefore, the UPPSC question associates the merger of Sikkim with Lord Dalhousie.

An important historical distinction should be understood here. Dalhousie did not merge the entire kingdom of Sikkim into India; he annexed certain Sikkimese territories to British India in 1850. The wording of the question uses “merged Sikkim in India” for this colonial episode.

In the context of modern India, the whole of Sikkim became part of India much later. Sikkim became an Indian protectorate in 1950 and became the 22nd State of India in 1975 through the Constitution (Thirty-sixth Amendment) Act. The Government of Sikkim also identifies 1975 as the year of its full statehood.