Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom by Andrew DuffMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hooter: The Story of how Sikkim was absorbed into India from a Sikkimese stand point. A non fictional account that is as vivid and colorful as a fictional tale.
I had read how seamlessly Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian union in our history textbooks. One day they just came over and it was all merry and gaiety. Then when I read about Kao and RAW, I read a few lines on how RAW had helped Sikkimese get their rights through a democratic set up by working with the champions of democracy to have their voice heard. Fast forward to this book that is based on articles, books and interviews from a Sikkimese point of view on how they felt Big Brother India absorbed them. Politics is always a grey area but this book paints all the actors in this in varying shades of grey in a very anecdotal manner maintaining the author's neutrality as a journalist to a certain degree. A fairytale Himalayan kingdom, a handsome king, an American Queen - a Hollywood story that the Western world lapped up, the regional political lines and how pan Asian politics impacted a tiny kingdom that aimed to emulate its ideological brother Bhutan but destiny had other plans. The book doesn't end with morals on whether what happened was right or wrong, but the dice had been rolled and everyone whether they liked it or not were pulled into the game.
A lovely account of a small country trying to find its own feet swept away by a tidal wave of a much larger storyline playing out.
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