State scan: Gorkhaland has a Sikkim source

N Bhandari, ex Sikkim CM, who died last week, was pioneer for Nepali homeland movement 35 years back

It was somewhat ironic to hear Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling declare at the funeral of Nar Bahadur Bhandari, former chief minister of Sikkim, on July 19 at Gangtok that Bhandari would be universally missed and never forgotten. It was Chamling who ensured Bhandari’s political end. 
 

But Chamling was not wrong. Although Bhandari’s end was ignominious and unsung, he deserves a place in history for the kind of politics Sikkim followed — and eschewed.

Sikkim’s annexation — many say merger — by India is a story that continues to fascinate students of recent history. Four years after the merger,