Hinduism in Sikkim

Hinduism is the dominant religion in the Indian state of Sikkim, followed by around 58% of its population.[1] Its followed mostly by the Indian Gorkha ethnic people[2] and Limboo people.[3] The Kirateshwar Mahadev Temple is a major Hindu pilgrimage centre in Sikkim.[4] In Hindu religious texts, Sikkim is known as Indrakil, the garden of Indra.[5]

Kirateshwar Mahadev Temple in Legship is a major Hindu temple in Sikkim

History

The Magars of Nepal were converted to Hinduism by Indian immigrants who migrated due to the rise of Muslim leaders.[6]: 425  From there, Hinduism spread to the Sunuwar people by the 1760s.[6]: 423  Nepalese Hindus migrated to Sikkim in the 18th and 19th-centuries, and became the majority.[7]: 183  This migration was organised by the British Raj in order to increase the Nepalese population of Sikkim and create unrest between the Buddhists and the Hindus, thus giving the British Raj power over the region.[8]: 256–257  Colonial officials frequently portrayed Sikkim's social divisions in terms of a Buddhist Bhutia-Lepcha population and a growing Hindu Nepali population.[8]: 256–257  In the early 20th-century, the British decided to stop the migration from Nepal.[8]: 257 

The Hindu Khasas heavily influenced the people of Sikkim, especially migrants to Sikkim after 1774.[6]: 167  Within the state, Buddhists are perceived as indigenous, while Hindus are considered migrants from Nepal.[9]: 4066 [8]: 257 

Sikkim Hindus are noted to practice a more liberal version of Hinduism,[10]: 75  folk Hinduism.[7]: 185  Hindus in Sikkim tend to reside in higher altitudes than their Buddhist counterparts.[11]: 53 

Sikkim is a popular destination for Hindu pilgrims and tourists wishing to see Hindu architecture,[11]: 39  and temples have been built to further tourism to the state.[10]: 76  Samdruptse and Solophok are important Hindu sites in Sikkim.[11]: 43  The state is also a stopover for Hindu pilgrims on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.[9]: 4067  There is generally little religious tension between Hindus and Buddhists in Sikkim as of 2021.[10]: 75 

Culture

Sikkimese Hindus do not marry between May and September (the Panchangam months of Jyestha, Asad, Sawan and Bhadau), as they coincide with months of heavy rainfall and agricultural harvest.[10]: 79  Sikkimese Hindus visit mountain peaks during the Chaite Dashain festival.[10]: 80 

Demographics

Of the ethnic groups in Sikkim, the Gurungs, Rai, Limbus, Newars, Magars, Brahmins, Chhetris, Damais, Kamis, Lohars, Majis, and Sarkis are predominantly Hindu. In 1986, the three biggest groups were the Rai (14.6%), Chhetris (11.5%), and Limbus (9.4%).[12]: 53–54 

Religious
group		 Population
% 1991[13]		 Population
% 2001[14]		 Population
% 2011[1]
Hinduism 68.36%60.93%57.76%
Buddhism 27.15%28.11%27.39%
Christianity 3.29%6.67%9.91%
Islam 0.94%1.42%1.62%
Sikhism 0.09%0.21%0.31%
Jainism 0.001%0.03%0.05%
Other religions 0.04%2.38%2.67%
No religion ––0.3%

Hindu population by district[a]

District[1] Percent
East Sikkim 62.74%
South Sikkim 57.6%
Gyalshing district 60.07%
Soreng district 49.77%
North Sikkim 34.05%

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The two subdivisions of the West Sikkim district- Gyalshing and Soreng were upgraded to districts in 2021

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sikkim Hindu Muslim Population". www.census2011.co.in. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  2. ↑ "Sikkim | History, Map, Capital, & Population | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 3 June 2024. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  3. ↑ "Open Government Data (OGD) Platform India". data.gov.in. 21 January 2022. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  4. ↑ "Some of the Religious Places of Sikkim". Cultural Affairs & Heritage Department. Government of Sikkim. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "ADBU Location". www.dbuniversity.ac.in. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 Subba, Jash Raj (2009). Mythology of the people of Sikkim. New Delhi: Gyan Publ. House. ISBN 978-81-212-1023-2.
  7. 1 2 Mandal, Sekh Rahim (December 2008). "Religious and Cultural Syncretism in the Eastern Himalayas". The Oriental Anthropologist. 8 (1–2): 181–188. doi:10.1177/0976343020080112. ISSN 0972-558X.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Vandenhelsken, Mélanie (2 August 2020). "The 1961 Sikkim subject regulation and 'indirect rule' in Sikkim: ancestrality, land property and unequal citizenship". Asian Ethnicity. 22 (2): 254–271. doi:10.1080/14631369.2020.1801338.
  9. 1 2 Arora, Vibha (September 2006). "Roots and the Route of Secularism in Sikkim". Economic and Political Weekly. 41 (38): 4063–4071. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Thapa, Jwala D. (2021). "THE REGULATION OF SACRED GROVES IN SIKKIM: A SOCIO-LEGAL PERSPECTIVE". Journal of the Indian Law Institute. 63 (1). Indian Law Institute: 61–88. ISSN 0019-5731. JSTOR 27248375. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 Chiron, Olivier (2020). "The Sacred Landscape of West Sikkim (Sbas yul bras mo ljongs): Formation, Transmission and Conservation; the Mandala Issue". The Tibet Journal. 45 (1). Library of Tibetan Works and Archives: 11–75. ISSN 0970-5368. JSTOR 27031090. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Bhasin, M. K.; Walter, H.; Chahal, S. M. S.; Bhardwaj, Veena; Sudhakar, K.; Danker-Hopfe, Heidi; Dannewitz, Angela; Singh, Indera P.; Bhasin, V.; Shil, Anu P.; Sharma, Madhu B.; Wadhavan, Devala (1986). "Biology of the people of Sikkim, India: 1. Studies on the variability of genetic markers". Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie. 77 (1). E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung: 49–86. ISSN 0044-314X. JSTOR 25757214. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Census of India -Religion Composition – 1981". Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  14. ↑ "Census of India – Religious Composition – 2001". Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
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