FEUDALISM IN SIKKIM

HISTORY

The initial feudalism, which was called as theocratic feudalism, began in Sikkim with the installation of Phuntsog Namgyal as the first king Chogyal in 1642. Right after this the first ever centralized feudal bureaucracy was established in Sikkim. The feudal structure of Sikkim was much like a pyramid, at top there was Chogyal, second there was the feudal lords and the commoners at the bottom. Moreover, the feudal structure which developed in Sikkim seems to be greatly influenced from Tibet. Like Tibet the Chogyal was the secular and religious head of the state. Below him were the powerful feudal lords who control both the land and the lives of the common people. Moreover, the condition of the commoners was miserable as they have to pay revenue and taxes besides free services like kalobhari, kuruwa, theki-bethi,and jharlangi to their lords.

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