With a population of around six lakh odd people and an almost insignificant speck of an area in the vast country of India, Sikkim today, after 34 years of merger with Indian Union, is still striving for recognition from the government and from the ‘Indian’ people.

The pendulum swings both ways. It’s also the people of Sikkim, living within and outside the state, who don’t like to think of themselves as an Indian or a citizen of India, unless of course it’s an issue of carrying a passport. Ignorance or deliberate ignorance seems particularly blissful in this case.

The ‘Indian-ness’ factor apart, Sikkim actually has a lot that isn’t a part of mainstream India.

The population, as mentioned above, is in stark contrast to the 1.2 billion residents of India and also its geographical location and size makes Sikkim one of the most easy and lucrative states in the country to milk with minimum fuss and attention.

Public opinion is zero (it is muted to be precise) and it is the only state in the country that has a Chief Minister serving three terms and expecting the fourth too! Anti incumbency factor be damned.

India is a land of opinions. From politics to cricket, the global recession to the latest Bollywood couple, India has had and will always have an opinion on it. So much so that a number of economic developments had to be curbed or delayed due to the presence of too many pressure groups expressing their voices of disapproval.

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