Tashi Namgyal
The 11th Chogyal
Tashi Namgyal in 1938
Chogyal of Sikkim
Reign5 December 1914 – 2 December 1963
PredecessorSidkeong Tulku
SuccessorPalden Thondup
Born(1893-10-26)26 October 1893
Tibet, Qing dynasty
Died2 December 1963(1963-12-02) (aged 70)
Gangtok, Kingdom of Sikkim
SpouseKunzang Dechen
IssuePalden Thondup
HouseNamgyal dynasty
FatherThutob Namgyal
MotherYeshay Dolma
ReligionBuddhism
Tashi Namgyal pictured with SS-Sturmbannführer Ernst Schäfer, leader of the 1938–1939 German expedition to Tibet

Tashi Namgyal (Sikkimese: བཀྲ་ཤིས་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་; Wylie: Bkra-shis Rnam-rgyal) (26 October 1893 – 2 December 1963) was the ruling Chogyal (King) of Sikkim from 1914 to 1963. He was the son of Thutob Namgyal. He was the first independent king of Sikkim.

Biography

Namgyal was the 11th ruler of the Namgyal dynasty of Sikkim, succeeding his step brother Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal, who had ruled from February to December 1914 - when he died, suddenly, under mysterious circumstances.[1] Born in Tibet and crowned by the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, he was a strong advocate for closer links with India.

He was educated in St. Paul's School, Darjeeling.[1] He was married in October 1918 to Kunzang Dechen, and they had 3 sons and 3 daughters. The eldest son died in a plane crash during World War Two.[2] On his death he was succeeded as Chogyal by his second son Palden Thondup Namgyal.

During his reign, he was known for land reform and free elections.[3] He also favoured closer links between Sikkim, India and Tibet. Many people attribute his death to Indian agents.

About a decade after his death, his son Palden Thondup Namgyal, the incumbent hereditary Chogyal, was formally deposed. Prime Minister Lendup Dorji appealed to India to change the status of Sikkim from protectorate to statehood. On 16 May 1975, Sikkim was officially made the 22nd state of India.[citation needed]

Honours

Ancestry

See also

References

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  1. ^ a b McKay, Alex (November 2004). "The indigenisation of western medicine in Sikkim" (PDF). Bulletin of Tibetology. 40 (2). Namgyal Institute of Tibetology.: 35. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  2. ^ Sack, John (1959). Report from Practically Nowhere. New York: Curtis Publishing Company. p. 221.
  3. ^ Sack, John (1959). Report from Practically Nowhere. New York: Curtis Publishing Company. pp. 221–222.
  4. ^ "No. 34633". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 June 1939. p. 3855.
Tashi Namgyal Namgyal DynastyBorn: 26 October 1893 Died: 2 December 1963 Regnal titles Preceded bySidkeong Tulku Namgyal Chogyal of Sikkim 1914–1963 Succeeded byPalden Thondup Namgyal
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