Government and politics

See also: Elections in Sikkim

State symbols

State day	16 May (day of accession to India)
State animal	Red Panda
State bird	Blood Pheasant[81]
State tree	Rhododendron
State flower	Noble orchid[82]

The White Hall complex houses the residences of the Chief Minister and Governor of Sikkim.

Like all states of India, the head of the state government is a governor appointed by theCentral Indian Government. His/her appointment is largely ceremonial, and his/her main role is to oversee the swearing in of the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister, who holds the real executive powers, is the head of the party or coalition garnering the largest majority in the state elections. The governor also appoints the cabinet ministers on the advice of the Chief Minister. Sikkim has a unicameral legislature like most other Indian states. Sikkim is allocated one seat in each of both chambers of India's national bicameral legislature, the Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha. There are a total of 32 state assembly seats including one reserved for the Sangha. The Sikkim High Court is the smallest high court in the country.^[83]

In 1975, after the abrogation of Sikkim's monarchy, the Congress Party got the largest majority in the 1977 elections. In 1979, after a period of instability, a popular ministry headed by Nar Bahadur Bhandari, leader of the Sikkim Sangram Parishad Party was sworn in. Bhandari held on to power in the 1984 and 1989 elections. In the 1994 elections Pawan Kumar Chamling from the Sikkim Democratic Front became the Chief Minister of the state. The party has since held on to power by winning the 1999 and 2004 elections.^[16][57] It won all the 32 seats of the state assembly in 2009.^[84]

Infrastructure

Tibetology Museum and research centre.

Although roads in Sikkim are often exposed to landslides and flooding by nearby streams, the roads are significantly better than the equivalent roads of other Indian states. The roads are maintained by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), an offshoot of the Indian army. The roads in South Sikkim and NH-31A are in good condition, landslides being less frequent in these areas. The state government maintains 1857.35 km of roadways that do not fall in the BRO jurisdiction.^[35]

Sikkim receives most of its electricity from 19 hydroelectric power stations.^[50] It has achieved 100% rural electrification.^[85] Power also obtained from the National Thermal Power Corporation and Power Grid Corporation of India.^[86] However the voltage is unstable and voltage stabilisers are needed. Per capita consumption of electricity in Sikkim is 182 kWh. The state government has promoted biogas and solar power for cooking but these have received a poor response and are used mostly for lighting purposes.^[87] 73.2% of the total households have access to safe drinking water,^[35] and the large number of streams assures sufficient water supply.

Media

The Rumtek monastery is the most famous monument of Sikkim and was the centre of media attention in 2000.

The southern urban areas have English, Nepali and Hindi dailies. Nepali language newspapers as well as some English newspapers are locally printed, whereas Hindi and English newspapers are printed in Siliguri. Important local dailies^[88] are Hamro Prajashakti (Nepali Daily), Himalayan Mirror (English Daily), the Samay Dainik, Sikkim Express(English), Sikkim Now (English), , Kanchanjunga Times (Nepali Weekly), Pragya Khabar (Nepali Weekly) and Himalibela. The regional editions of English newspapers include The Statesman and The Telegraph, which are printed in Siliguri and available in the same day, as well as The Hindu and The Times of India, printed in Kolkata, which are received with a day's delay in the towns of Gangtok, Jorethang, Melli and Geyzing. Himalaya Darpan, a Nepali daily being published from Siliguri is one of the leading Nepali dailies in the region. TheSikkim Herald is an official weekly publication of the government. Online media covering Sikkim include the Nepali newspaper Himgiri, the English news portal Haalkhabar and the literary magazine Tistarangit. Avyakta, Bilokan, Journal of Hill Research, Khaber Khagaj,Panda, and Sikkim Science Society Newsletter are the registered publications in Bengali, Nepali, and English published out of Sikkim in weekly, quarterly, half-yearly, and annual periodicities.^[89]

Internet cafés are well established in the district capitals, but broadband connectivity is not widely available. Satellite television channels through dish antennae are available in most homes in the state. Channels served are the same available throughout India along with Nepali language channels. The main service providers are Dish TV, Doordarshan and Nayuma. The area is well serviced by local cellular companies.

Education

Literacy in Sikkim is 69.68%, which breaks down into 76.73% for males and 61.46% for females. There are a total of 1157 schools, including 765 schools run by the State government, 7 central government schools and 385 private schools.^[90] Twelve colleges and other institutions in Sikkim offer higher education. The largest institution is the Sikkim Manipal University of Technological Sciences, which offers higher education in engineering, medicine and management. It also runs a host of distance education programs^[91] in diverse fields. There are two state-run polytechnical schools, Advanced Technical Training Centre (ATTC) and Centre for Computers and Communication Technology (CCCT) in Sikkim which offer diploma courses in various branches of engineering. ATTC is situated at Bardang, Singtam and CCCT at Chisopani, Namchi. Sikkim University a central university, began operating in 2008 at Yangang, which is situated about 28 km from Singtam.^[92] Many students, however, migrate to Siliguri, Kolkata, Bangalore and other Indian cities for their higher education.