Chogyal (Kings) of Sikkim
The Chogyal were the monarchs of the former kingdoms of Sikkim and Ladakh, which were ruled by separate branches of the Namgyal family. The Chogyal or divine ruler was the absolute potentate of Sikkim from 1642 to 1975, when its monarchy was abrogated and its people voted to make Sikkim India’s 22nd state.
However, Chogyal meaning “Dharma Raja” or “Religious King” is a title which was also conferred upon a special class of temporal and spiritual rulers. In Bhutan, the Chogyal were also known as the Dharmaraja, or Kings of Dharma, and Shabdrung. In this context, the Chogyal was a recognized reincarnation (or succession of reincarnations) of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, the 17th Century Tibetan-born founder of Bhutan. A position of supreme importance, the Bhutanese Chogyal was above the highest monastic authority, the Je Khempo, and the highest temporal ruler, the Deb Raja or Druk Desi.
The Tibetan Dzogchen teacher Namkhai Norbu holds this title as a recognized reincarnation of Ngawang Namgyel, and there is also a line of claimed reincarnations in Bhutan and India. The remainder of this article deals with the Chogyal of Sikkim. Sikkim was ruled by the Namgyal Monarchy (also called the Chogyal Monarchy), founded by the fifth-generation descendants of Guru Tashi, a prince of the Minyak House who came to Sikkim from the Kham district of Tibet. Chogyal means ‘righteous ruler,’ and was the title conferred upon Sikkim’s Buddhist kings during the reign of the Namgyal Monarchy.
The reign of the Chogyal was foretold by the patron saint of Sikkim, Guru Rinpoche. The 8th century saint had predicted the rule of the kings when he arrived in the state. In 1642, Chogyal Phuntsog Namgyal was crowned as Sikkim’s first ruler in Yuksom. The crowning of the king was a great event and he was crowned by three revered lamas who arrived there from three different directions, namely the north, west and south of Sikkim.
Ascended the throne and was consecrated as the first Chogyal of Sikkim and made Yuksom as the capital.
| No. | Reigning Period | Ruler | Events during Reign |
| 1 | 1642-1670 | Phuntsog Namgyal | Ascended the throne and was consecrated as the first Chogyal of Sikkim and made Yuksom as the capital. |
| 2 | 1670-1700 | Tensung Namgyal | Shifted capital to Rabdentse from Yuksom |
| 3 | 1700-1717 | Chakdor Namgyal | His half-sister Pendiongmu tried to dethrone Chakdor, who fled to Lhasa, but was reinstated as king with the help of Tibetans. |
| 4 | 1717-1733 | Gyurmed Namgyal | Sikkim was attacked by Nepalese. |
| 5 | 1733-1780 | Phuntsog Namgyal II | Nepalese raided Rabdentse, the then capital of Sikkim |
| 6 | 1780-1793 | Tenzing Namgyal Chogyal | Fled to Tibet, and later died there in exile. |
| 7 | 1793-1863 | Tsugphud Namgyal | Shifted the capital from Rabanste to Tumlong. Treaty of Titalia in 1817 between Sikkim and British India was signed in which territories lost to Nepal were appropriated to Sikkim. Darjeeling was gifted to British India in 1835. Two Britons, Dr. Campbell and Dr. Hooker were captured by the Sikkimese in 1849. Hostilities between British India and Sikkim continued and led to a treaty signed, in which Darjeeling was ceded to British India. |
| 8 | 1863-1874 | Sidkeong Namgyal | Sidkeong Namgyal (1819 – 1874) was king of Sikkim from 1863 to 1874. He was son of Tsugphud Namgyal and was succeeded by his half-brother Thutob Namgyal. |
| 9 | 1874-1914 | Thutob Namgyal | Claude White appointed as the first political officer of Sikkim in 1889. Capital shifted from Tumlong to Gangtok in 1894. |
| 10 | 1914 | Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal | Treaty between India and Sikkim was signed in 1950 giving India suzerainty over Sikkim. |
| 11 | 1914-1963 | Tashi Namgyal | Tashi Namgyal was the son of Thutob Namgyal. Namgyal was the 11th ruler of the Namgyal dynasty of Sikkim, succeeding his half brother Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal, who had ruled from February to December in 1914, till his death from heart failure. Born in Tibet and crowned by the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, he was a strong advocate for closer links with India. He was married in October 1918 to Kunzang Dechen, and they had 3 sons and 3 daughters. On his death he was succeeded as Chogyal by his son Palden Thondup Namgyal. During his life, he favoured closer links between Sikkim, India and Tibet. Although some conspiracy theorists attribute his death to Indian agents, such theories are widely discounted by most historians due to his excellent relations with India. About a decade after his death, his son Palden Thondup Namgyal, the incumbent hereditary Chogyal was formally deposed by the people of Sikkim who voted in a referendum (by a majority of 97%) to join the Indian Union. Palden Thondup Namgyal was widely unpopular among his people and the then democratically elected Prime Minister Lendup Dorji appealed to India to change the status of Sikkim from protectorate to statehood. On May 16, 1975, Sikkim was officially made the 22nd state of the Indian Union, thus ending the era of the Chogyal monarchy. |
| 12 | 1963-1975 | Palden Thodup Namgyel | Forced to abdicate after illness and a plebiscite. Married Hope Cooke, a US citizen. Died in 1982. |
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