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Flags of the Kingdom of Sikkim

A real Himalayan kingdom founded in 1642 by the Namgyal dynasty, ruling from its capital at Gangtok for over three centuries — through Tibetan cultural ties, a nineteenth-century British protectorate, an Indian protectorate inherited at independence, and finally a 1975 referendum and annexation that made it India's 22nd state. The well-documented events of 1975 remain a subject some regard as contested; they are set out here plainly, without asserting the single "correct" characterization of what took place.

Sikkim's own royal flag is far less firmly attested than the flags of larger, better-recorded kingdoms elsewhere in this atlas — what's shown for the kingdom era below is an informed reconstruction based on descriptions of the Namgyal court's maroon-and-white heraldry, not a rigorously sourced official specification.

Scope of this page: the Kingdom of Sikkim, 1642–present, four political stages. Sikkim's status shifted twice under external protection (British, then Indian) without ever losing its own monarchy until 1975 — a genuinely gradual erosion of sovereignty rather than a single abrupt conquest. Part of the atlas's Vanished States hub, alongside four other real sovereign states with no surviving successor — see the map and linked pages at the bottom.

One kingdom, four stages of sovereignty

Sikkim's own real border, traced whole — there is no internal split to draw. What changes across these four eras is not territory but status: independent, British protectorate, Indian protectorate, and finally a fully absorbed Indian state. Press play, or drag the slider.

A gradual erosion, not a conquest. Sikkim's own monarchy survived under two successive protecting powers before finally being absorbed in 1975 — a genuinely gradual process, not a single abrupt annexation, so this page tracks Sikkim's changing status on one unchanging territory rather than inventing an internal partition.

Real traced border (Natural Earth 10m admin-1 boundary); neighboring-region labels are placed at their real geographic positions using the same projection.

India's national flag, flown since full statehood

1975 – present

State of Sikkim, India

Annexed stateIndira GandhiSecular (no state religion)

Migration & conquest:Annexed by: India (1975)

Who & why: in April 1975, following months of unrest and the Indian Army's disarming of the palace guard, a referendum organized under Indian oversight votes overwhelmingly to abolish the monarchy and join India; the Indian parliament ratifies Sikkim as India's 22nd state days later, ending the Namgyal dynasty's 333-year rule. The last Chogyal (king), Palden Thondup Namgyal, remains in the palace at Gangtok, stripped of political authority, until his death in 1982. How freely that referendum was conducted, and whether "merger" or "annexation" is the fairer description, remains debated by historians and by Sikkimese themselves; both the events and that ongoing disagreement are documented facts.

What it represents: India's saffron-white-green tricolor with the Ashoka Chakra, flown as Sikkim's state flag alongside every other Indian state's.

Paint guide

Proportions2:3, three equal horizontal bands.

Saffron#FF9933

White#F4EFE1

Green#0F5C33

Chakra blue#0038B8

maroon field, crossed gold dorje — informed reconstruction, protectorate era

1947 – 1975

Kingdom of Sikkim (Indian protectorate)

Protectorate kingdomTashi NamgyalTibetan Buddhism (state religion)

Ruling house:House of Namgyal

Who & why: when British India becomes independent in August 1947, India inherits Britain's protective relationship with Sikkim via a 1950 treaty, under which India controls Sikkim's defense, external affairs, and communications while the Chogyal retains internal self-rule. Growing Nepali-Sikkimese demographic and political pressure for reform builds through the 1960s and early 1970s, culminating in the unrest of 1973–74 that leads directly to the 1975 referendum.

What it represents: the same royal maroon-and-gold banner attributed to the Namgyal court, continuing through the transition from British to Indian oversight without change.

Paint guide

ProportionsNo fixed ratio recorded; shown at 3:2.

LayoutMaroon field, white inner border, crossed gold dorje (double vajra) centered.

Maroon#7C2E1F

Gold#C9A13C

the same royal banner, flown under British protection

1861 – 1947

Kingdom of Sikkim (British protectorate)

Protectorate kingdomTsugphud NamgyalTibetan Buddhism (state religion)

Migration & conquest:Immigration: Nepali settlers (late 19th c.–)

Ruling house:House of Namgyal

Who & why: after two Anglo-Sikkimese conflicts in the 1860s, the 1861 Treaty of Tumlong makes Sikkim a British protectorate, with British India controlling its foreign relations while the Namgyal monarchy continues to govern internally. Sikkim's strategic position between British India, Tibet, and Nepal makes it valuable chiefly as a buffer state, and British-encouraged Nepali immigration during this era permanently reshapes the kingdom's demographics, a factor that feeds directly into the political pressures of the 1970s.

What it represents: the maroon-and-gold royal banner, attested through this period in period accounts and photographs of the Gangtok court, though never standardized with the rigor of a European national flag.

Paint guide

ProportionsNo fixed ratio recorded; shown at 3:2.

Maroon#7C2E1F

Gold#C9A13C

the Namgyal dynasty's founding banner — informed reconstruction

1642 – 1861

Kingdom of Sikkim (independent)

Kingdom, independentPhuntsog NamgyalTibetan Buddhism (state religion)

Ruling house:House of Namgyal

Who & why: Phuntsog Namgyal is consecrated the first Chogyal (dharma king) of Sikkim in 1642 at Yuksom, with the backing of three revered Tibetan Buddhist lamas, founding a dynasty that rules without external oversight for over two centuries. The kingdom develops a distinct Sikkimese Buddhist culture blending Tibetan, Lepcha, and later Nepali influences, ruling from a series of capitals before Gangtok becomes the seat of government in the 1890s.

What it represents: no rigorously documented national flag survives from this era; the maroon-and-gold royal banner shown here, carrying a crossed dorje (double vajra) motif drawn from Tibetan Buddhist iconography associated with the Namgyal court, is an informed reconstruction rather than a verified specification.

Paint guide

ProportionsNo fixed ratio recorded; shown at 3:2.

Reading the tags

Kingdom, independent — sovereign under its own crown

Protectorate kingdom — own monarchy retained, foreign affairs and defense controlled by an outside power

Annexed state — fully absorbed into a larger power

Leader — the named ruler most associated with the era's start

State religion — the official/established faith, not the population's

More of the atlas

This page is one of five in the Vanished States hub — real sovereign states, completely absorbed, with no surviving successor today. See the others here:

Flags Atlas indexSearch every country and hub Vanished States hubFive kingdoms and republics with no successor South Asia hubIndia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka