Sikkim became an Indian protectorate in 1950, with India controlling its defense, foreign affairs, and communications while the Chogyal (monarch) retained internal rule. Amid growing political unrest and demands from the state's Nepali-origin majority for democratic reform, Indian troops took control of the capital Gangtok in April 1975, and a referendum on abolishing the monarchy and joining India as a state was held, reportedly passing with over 97% support. Sikkim formally became India's 22nd state later that year, and the Chogyal's title was abolished. China did not recognize Indian sovereignty over Sikkim until 2003.
Following political unrest and a referendum, India abolished the monarchy of the Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim, previously an Indian protectorate, and incorporated it as India's 22nd state
The 1971 census of Sikkim, conducted while it was an Indian protectorate under the Chogyal, counted 209,843 people, the majority by then of Nepali origin rather than Bhutia or Lepcha — the demographic shift that underlay the political crisis. India's 1975 referendum, which recorded 97 per cent in favour of merger, is regarded by critics as having been conducted under Indian control.
No significant direct death toll; the annexation was accomplished politically and by a brief Indian Army action to disarm the Chogyal's palace guards, with contemporary accounts describing shootings in Gangtok and a small number of guards killed but no reliable count. The 14 April 1975 referendum abolished the monarchy with 97.55% in favour (59,637 to 1,496) on about 63% turnout; the Chogyal called it illegal and unconstitutional, China and Pakistan called it a farce, and the observer Sunanda K. Datta-Ray questioned whether polling could physically have reached remote areas in the five-day window.
India