Gangtok District, formerly the East Sikkim district, is an administrative district of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Sil ...

. It was renamed in 2021 as a result of administrative reorganisation of the state, which also saw three subdivisions of the East Sikkim district spawned off as a separate Pakyong district. The headquarters of the Gangtok district is

Gangtok Gangtok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the Gangtok District. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's populat ...

, which is also the state capital. Gangtok is the hub of all administrative activity in the state. The district is bounded by the Pakyong district in the south and southeast,

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

in the east, the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

in the northeast,

Mangan District North Sikkim (now officially named as Mangan District) is a district of the Indian state of Sikkim. Its district headquarters is Mangan. It is the seventh least populous district in the country (out of 640). Geography The district is the l ...

in the north and

Namchi District Namchi District is a district of the Indian state of Sikkim. Its headquarters is at Namchi. Geography South Sikkim lies at an altitude of 400 to 2000 metres and has a temperate climate for most of the year. Major urban centres include Namch ...

in the west. The civilian region is administered by a

district collector A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal revenu ...

, appointed by the state government. A

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

is assigned to administer military forces in the district. As of 2011 it is the most populous of the six

districts of Sikkim There are 6 districts in Sikkim, an Indian state, each overseen by a Central Government appointee, the district collector, who is in charge of the administration of the civilian areas of the districts. The Indian army has control of a large terr ...

History

East Sikkim was part of the kingdom of Sikkim for most of its history. In the 19th century, the district was under the rule of the

ese. After the Anglo Bhutan War, the territory was virtually under the command of the British forces. After

India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

in 1947, the area was part of the kingdom of Sikkim under the protection of India. During the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the Nathula Pass witnessed a few skirmishes between India and China. In 1975, the Sikkim formally became part of the Indian Union as India's 22nd state. The district was under the occupation of the Nepalese for 30 years in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Geography

The district occupies an area of . The two important Mountain Passes of East Sikkim are Nathula and Jelepla, both passes connects Sikkim with China. Military-wise, the district is a very sensitive area with the

Indian army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

having control over most areas east of Gangtok and near its borders with

and

. Visitors to this region are restricted and just a few areas are open to tourists in the areas east of Gangtok. Popular tourist locales of East Sikkim and Pakyong districts are the Tsongmo Lake, Lake Menmecho, Dzuluk, Baba Mandir, Gnathang Valley, Elephant Lake Kupup, Lungthung View Point, Tukla Valley, Thambi View Point and the Nathu La pass. The pass was first opened during the 1904 Younghusband Expedition to Tibet. It saw a tremendous boom in trade during 1950–1959 when the Chinese troops occupying Tibet were supplied through the pass. The pass and Baba Mandir are open to Indian nationals only. To enter this region a special permit is required; the

Inner Line Permit Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel document issued by the concerned state government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those state ...

has to be obtained one day prior to departure. This permit is made through local tourist offices. Other tourist areas include the town of Gangtok, the

Phodong Monastery Phodong Monastery (or Phodang and Podong; ) is a Buddhist monastery in Sikkim, India. It is located 28 kilometres from Gangtok. It was built in the early 18th century but an older monastery had pre-existed the current one. 9th Karmapa was invit ...

north of Gangtok and the

Rumtek Monastery Rumtek Monastery (), also called the Dharma Chakra Centre, is a gompa located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok. It is the seat-in-exile of the Gyalwang Karmapa, inaugurated in 1966 by the 16th Karmapa. It is also a focal ...

. Other special attractions in the Capital City Gangtok are M G Marg, Hanuman Tok, Ranka Monastery, Himalayan Zoological Park, Palzor Stadium, Tashi View Point, Pakyong Airport view Point. Zuluk And Gnathang Valley are famous attractions in East Sikkim.

Wildlife sanctuaries

Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary is a nature reserve in Gangtok district, Sikkim, India. It is situated around the area adjoining the Tsomgo (Changu) lake along the Nathula Road. Located about east of Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, this sanctua ...

, and

Fambong Lho Wildlife Sanctuary Fambong Lho Wildlife Sanctuary ( Devanagari: फाम्बोन्ग ल्हो) is a large wildlife sanctuary in Gangtok district of the state of Sikkim in India. It is contiguous with Khangchendzonga National Park and located around ...

two famous wildlife sanctuaries lies in the East Sikkim district.

Rivers and lakes

Rivers

River Teesta Teesta River is a long river that rises in the Pauhunri Mountain of eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Rangpur, and enters the Bay of Bengal. It drains an area of . In India, it flows through ...

, the largest river of state flows in East district from

Dikchu Dikchu is a small town in the Gangtok District of the Indian state of Sikkim. The town lies at the confluence of the Dikchu River with the Teesta River and is the site of the 96 MW Dikchu River Hydroelectric Power Project as well as 510 MW Tees ...

Singtam Singtam is a town which lies mostly in Gangtok District and partly in Pakyong District in the Indian state of Sikkim about from the state capital Gangtok. The town lies on the banking of the rivers Teesta and Ranikhola, which join together ...

. River Jaldhaka originates from

Kupup Kupup is a hamlet in the Indian state of Sikkim near the border with China. It lies in a transverse valley below the Dongkya Range, close to the Jelep La pass. A nearby moraine ridge across the valley forms part of the watershed between the T ...

and flows south east towards

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

. Other major rivers of east sikkim are

Ranikhola The Ranikhola is a river in Sikkim, India, that flows near the state capital Gangtok. It is a tributary of the Teesta River. The Mangar queen committed suicide on this river after the death of her husband at Mangarzong in 1642, so this river is n ...

, Ratey River, Roro River, Rangchang Khola etc.

Lakes

List of important lakes of Gangtok district and Pakyong District are: * Lake Menmecho * Lake Tsomgo * Elephant Lake * Aritar Lake * Manju Lake * Mulkharka Lake * Nathula Lake * Gnathang Heart Lake * Yalk-la Lake. etc.

Flora and fauna

Variety of plants and wildlife are found in the East Sikkim and Pakyong District. The important ones are

Red Panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...

the state animal,

Blood pheasant The blood pheasant (''Ithaginis cruentus''), also known as blood partridge, is the only species in genus ''Ithaginis'' of the pheasant family. It is a relatively small, short-tailed pheasant that is widespread and is fairly common in eastern Him ...

the state bird Dendrobium nobile the state flower and

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

the state tree are found in the wildlife sanctuaries of East sikkim. Other important wild animals include

Snow Leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is es ...

Himalayan black bear The Himalayan black bear (''Ursus thibetanus laniger'') is a subspecies of the Asian black bear found in the Himalayas of India, Bhutan, Nepal, China, and Pakistan. Description It is distinguished from '' U. t. thibetanus'' by its longer, thicke ...

Clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a ...

Large Indian civet The large Indian civet (''Viverra zibetha'') is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The global population is considered decreasing mainly because of trapping-driven declines in hea ...

etc. Forest Department, Government of Sikkim has also confirmed the presence of Royal Bengal Tiger in the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary of Pakyong District in January 2019.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census East Sikkim district along with Pakyong District has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of 283,583, roughly equal to the nation of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...

. This gives it a ranking of 574th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 14.79%. East Sikkim has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...

of 872

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 84.67%.

Religion

Hinduism is followed by majority of the people in the East Sikkim district. Buddhism followed by a considerable minority, while Christianity is the third largest religion, 40% of its adherents live in Gangtok. Islam is the fourth-largest religion and is mainly found in migrants in urban centres, mainly Gangtok.

Languages

At the time of the 2011 census, 65.59% of the population in the district spoke

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

, 8.63%

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, 8.16% Bhutia, 3.41% Lepcha, 2.25% Bhojpuri, 1.68%

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, 1.55% Limbu, 1.49% Tamang, 1.14% Sherpa, 0.75% Rai and 0.51%

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken diale ...

as their first language.

Assembly constituencies

The district is divided into 7 assembly constituencies. * Khamdong-Singtam * Shyari (BL) * Martam-Rumtek (BL) * Upper Tadong * Arithang *

(BL) * Upper Burtuk

Divisions

Administrative divisions

East Sikkim is divided into three sub-divisions till June 2021. In June 2021, the two subdivisions of Pakyong and

Rongli Rongli or Rangli is a town in the Pakyong District of the Indian state of Sikkim. It lies on the banks of Rangpo River around by road south of the state capital Gangtok. Rongli is also the headquarter of Rongli Subdivision of Pakyong Distri ...

were constituted as Pakyong District:

Important Towns and Cities

The major towns and cities of Gangtok District are *

Ranipool Ranipool is a small suburban town located in the bank of river Ranikhola at the junction of National Highway 10 and National Highway 717A in Gangtok District of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is 12 km before from Gangtok main town. It ...

* Upper Tadong *

Sherathang Sherathang is a town in Gangtok district near the Nathula Pass in Sikkim, India. The location has been identified as the site for excise, customs and checking for trade between India and China. Rinqingang is the corresponding location in Chi ...

* Makha

Transport

Roadways

East Sikkim is connected with wide road network managed by Border Road Organization,

National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) is a fully owned company of the Government of India, set up in 2014 and is responsible for management of a network of over 5,500 km of National Highways o ...

and State PWD. East Sikkim has the following National Highways: * National Highway 10 connecting

Siliguri Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian state of West Bengal. Known as the ...

, lies in East Sikkim from

via

. * National Highway-717A connecting Bagrakote to

, lies in the East Sikkim from Ahopul,

. * Small portion of National Highway-717B connecting Rhenock and Menla,

via Zuluk and

lies in East Sikkim. Larger portion lies in Pakyong District. * National Highway-310 connecting

and Nathula via

lies totally on East Sikkim. * National Highway 310A connecting

and Mangan lies in East Sikkim from Gangtok to Tingda via Penlong. * Some portions of National Highway 510 also lies in East Sikkim in Singtam Sherwani area.

Airways

Pakyong Airport lies on the town of Pakyong in Pakyong District is the nearest airport from East Sikkim. The airport has daily direct flight services from

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

and

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Railway

Rangpo Railway Station Rangpo railway station is an under-construction railway station lying on Sevoke-Rangpo Railway Line in Pakyong District of Sikkim. Its code is RNGPO. It will serve Rangpo city, and three districts of Sikkim, which are Pakyong District, Gang ...

an under construction railway station of Northeast Frontier Railway zone is the nearest railway station that lies on Rangpo Town of Pakyong District.

References

External links

Official district government website

(including a map of the Gangtok subdivision), Land Revenue & Disaster Mangaement Department, retrieved 13 September 2022. * {{Sikkim Districts of Sikkim