Chogyal means Dharma King, the rulers of the former kingdom Sikkim. In the 17th century the great Tibetan yogi Lha-Tsun-Namkha-Jigme along with Kathog Rigzin Chempo and Ngadak Sempa Phuntsok Rinzing Chenpo came to Sikkim and the water horse year of the Tibetan calendar corresponding to 1642 A.D, they established the Royal Phuntsok Namgyal Dynasty by choosing young Bhutia Phuntsok Namgyal, who became the first Chogyal (Dharma King) of Sikkim.
It was also the marked of the first demarcation of boundaries of the Kingdom. Then the kingdom Sikkim extended from Dibdala in (Tibet) in the north to Kishenganj in Purnea to the south, Tegonla (in Bhutan) in the east to Arun River (in Nepal) to the west.
Chogyals of Sikkim
Chogyals of Sikkim
| SNO | Year | Ruler | Events during reign |
|---|
| 1 | 1642 | Phuntsok Namgyal | Ascended the throne and was consecrated as the first Chogyal of Sikkim. Made the capital Yuksom. |
| 2 | 1670 | Tensung Namgyal | Shifted capital to Rabdanste from Yuksom |
| 3 | 1700 | 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 | Gyurmed Namgyal | Sikkim was attacked by Nepalese. |
| 5 | 1733 | Phuntsok Namgyal II | Nepalese raided Rabdanste, the then capital of Sikkim |
| 6 | 1780 | Tenzing Namgyal | Chogyal fled to Tibet, and later died there in exile. |
| 7 | 1793 | 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 | Sidkeong Namgyal | - |
| 9 | 1874 | 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 | - |
| 11 | 1914 | Tashi Namgyal | Treaty between India and Sikkim was signed in 1950 giving India suzerainty over Sikkim. |
| 12 | 1963 | Palden Thondup Namgyal | Forced to abdicate after illness and a plebiscite. Married Hope Cooke, a United States citizen. Died in 1982. |
| 13 | 1982 | Wangchuk Namgyal | Claimant to the throne has no official authority |
Last Chogyal of Sikkim
Sikkim became an integral part of Indian in May 1975 following which Palden Thondup Namgyal no longer reminded the Chogyals, the three hundreds years old monarchy thus came to and end. In 1977 his eldest son Tensing died in a car accident. Palden Thondup Namgyal died of cancer in 1982. On 4th September 1974, the leader of State Congress Kazi Lendup Dorjee was elected as first Chief Minister of Sikkim.
