Sikkimese people

Sikkimese are people who inhabit the Indian state of Sikkim. The dominance ethnic diversity of Sikkim is represented by 'Lho-Mon-Tsong-Tsum' that identifies origin of three races since seventeenth century. The term 'Lho' refers to Bhutias (Lhopo) means south who migrated from Southern Tibet, the term 'Mon' refers to Lepchas (Rong) lived in lower Eastern Himalayas and the term 'Tsong' refers to Limbus, another tribe of Sikkim. The pre-theocratic phase of Sikkim was inhabited by the Kiratis, “Sikkim is also known as the home of the Kirati tribesmen from the pre-historic times.Society in Sikkim is characterized by multiple ethnicity and possesses attributes of a plural society. The present population of Sikkim is composed of different races and ethnic groups, viz., the Lepchas, the Bhutias, the Nepalese and the Plainsmen, who came and settled in different phases of history. The historic 8 May agreement between Chogyal, Government of India and political parties of Sikkim defines Sikkimese as Sikkimese of Bhutia-Lepcha origin or Sikkimese of Nepali origin including Tsongs and Schedule castes. The community in Sikkim is inclusive of three sub-cultural sectors: the Kiratis, the Newaris and the Gorkhas. Sikkim is a multi-ethnic society inhabited by different ethnic communities belonging to different racial and linguistic groups. The Anthropological Survey of India has identified 21 communities in Sikkim and more than 13 different languages belonging to different linguistic stock are spoken in the state. The People of India, Sikkim, Voi-XXXIX by K.S Singh (1993) enumerated altogether three ethnicities and further divided into twenty-five tribes and communities in Sikkim. While the Report of the Commission for Review of Environmental and Social Sector, Policies, Plans and Programmes (CRESP, 2008) records different communities and tribes of Sikkim such as Bhujel, Bhutia, Bahun, Chhetri, Dewan (Yakha), Damai, Gurung, Kami, Rai, Lepcha, Limboo, Magars, Newar, Jogi (Sanyasi/Giri), Sarki, Sherpa, Mukhia (Sunuwar), Tamang, and Thami.