Palden Thondup Namgyal: Difference between revisions

| succession = [[Chogyal of Sikkim]]

| successor = ''Monarchy abolished''

'''Palden Thondup Namgyal''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}} ([[Sikkimese language|Sikkimese]]: {{bo-textonly|དཔལ་ལྡན་དོན་དྲུཔ་རྣམ་རྒྱལ}}; [[Wylie transliteration|Wylie]]: ''dpal-ldan don-grub rnam-rgyal''; 23 May 1923 – 29 January 1982) was the 12th and last [[Chogyal]] (king) of the [[Kingdom of Sikkim]].

Palden thondup Namgyal was born on 23 May 1923 at the Royal Palace, Park Ridge, [[Gangtok]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-12#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=42&xywh=-1091%2C133%2C4414%2C2835 |title=Birth of Palden Thondup Namgyal (Chogyal r.1965-1982), British Library, EAP 880/1/5/12 |year=1923 |location=Gangtok |pages=43 |language=Tibetan |chapter=Notice from Lobzang Choden Kazi announcing the birth of Palden Thondup Namgyal, 04 Jun 1923 |access-date=30 September 2022}}</ref>

At six, he became a student at St. Joseph's Convent in [[Kalimpong]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-30#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=40&xywh=-710%2C94%2C4180%2C2685 |title=Correspondence and reports regarding the education of the Princes and Princesses in Kalimpong, British Library, EAP 880/1/5/30 |year=1930 |location=Gangtok |pages=41 |chapter=Letter from Mother Clare, Superioress of St. Joseph's Convent (Kalimpong) to [[Mayeum Choying Wangmo Dorji|Princess Choni Wangmo Namgyal]] regarding the admission of Crown Prince Kunzang Paljor Namgyal, Palden Thondup Namgyal and Princess Pema Tsedeun Namgyal, 23 Sep 1930 |access-date=30 September 2022}}</ref> but had to terminate his studies due to attacks of malaria.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-30#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=342&xywh=-153%2C468%2C2871%2C1844 |title=Correspondence and reports regarding the education of the Princes and Princesses in Kalimpong, British Library, EAP880/1/5/30 |year=1931 |location=Gangtok |pages=343 |chapter=Letter from Mother Clare, Superioress of St. Joseph's Convent (Kalimpong) to the Private Secretary regarding the withdrawal of Palden Thondup Namgyal from the school, 14 Nov 1931 |access-date=30 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-30#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=348&xywh=-240%2C322%2C3386%2C2175 |title=Correspondence and reports regarding the education of the Princes and Princesses in Kalimpong, British Library, EAP 880/1/5/30 |year=1931 |location=Gangtok |pages=348–349 |chapter=Letter from Mother Clare, Superioress of St. Joseph's Convent (Kalimpong) to the Private Secretary regarding the health of Crown Prince Kunzang Paljor Namgyal, Palden Thondup Namgyal and Princess Pema Tsedeun Namgyal, 26 Nov 1931 |quote="I heard from out doctor that they had terrible cases of malignant malaria from Rangpo in the hospital the whole year round" |access-date=30 September 2022}}</ref> From age eight to eleven he studied under his uncle, Rimpoche Lhatsun, in order to be [[ordained]] a [[Buddhist monk]]; he was subsequently recognised as the reincarnated leader of both [[Phodong Monastery|Phodong]] and [[Rumtek]] [[monastery|monasteries]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/2753600 |title=List of Chief and leading families in Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet |publisher=Political Branch, Sikkim Agency Office |year=1939 |location=New Delhi |pages=23 |chapter=List of Chiefs and leading families in Sikkim: Sikkim Part I |quote="He is the abbot of the Phodang monastery and has received religious teaching from Lhatsun Rimpoche." |access-date=3 October 2022 |url-access=registration |via=[[National Archives of India]]}}</ref> He later continued his studies at [[St Joseph's College, Darjeeling|St. Joseph's College]] in [[Darjeeling]] and finally graduated from [[Bishop Cotton School (Shimla)|Bishop Cotton School]] in [[Shimla]], in 1941.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-32#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=198&xywh=-208%2C269%2C2977%2C1912 |title=Personal correspondence of Tashi Namgyal (Chogyal r.1914-1963) and his sons in Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, British Library, EAP 880/1/5/32 |location=Gangtok |pages=199 |chapter=Report cards of Palden Thondup Namgyal and Prince Jigdal Tsewang Namgyal, 13 Jun 1940 |access-date=30 September 2022}}</ref> His plans to study science at Cambridge were dashed when his elder brother, the crown prince, a member of the [[Indian Air Force]] was killed in a plane crash in 1941.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://indianculture.gov.in/flipbook/119286 |title=Progress Report of Maharaja Kunwar Paljor Namgyal, Eldest Son of the Maharaja of Sikkim under Training in the Air Force. Report of His Death in an Air Accident in Peshawar |publisher=Ministry of External Affairs, Branch 'X' |year=1941 |location=New Delhi |access-date=30 September 2022 |via=[[National Archives of India]]}}</ref> He underwent training for [[Indian Civil Service]] at Dehradun I.C.S. Camp.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rustomji |first=Nari K. |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/enchantedfrontie0000rust/page/20/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Enchanted Frontiers: Sikkim, Bhutan and India's North-Eastern Frontiers |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1971 |location=Bombay |pages=19–21 |chapter=First Contacts with Sikkim and Bhutan |access-date=3 October 2022 |chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref>

Namgyal served as adviser for internal affairs for his father, [[Sir Tashi Namgyal]], the 11th Chogyal, and led the negotiating team which established Sikkim's relationship to [[India]] after independence in 1949.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-6-22#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=15&xywh=805%2C846%2C2595%2C1667 |title=History of Sikkim and its rulers, British Library, EAP 880/1/6/22 |year=1967 |location=Gangtok |pages=16 |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref> He married Samyo Kushoe Sangideki in 1950, a daughter of an important [[Tibet]]an family of Lhasa,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-72#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=2&xywh=-670%2C-49%2C4215%2C2707 |title=Marriage of Palden Thondup Namgyal (Chogyal r.1965-1982) to Princess Sangay Deki Namgyal, British Library, EAP 880/1/5/72 |publisher=Sikkim Government Press |year=1950 |location=Gangtok |pages=3 |chapter=Itinerary for the marriage ceremony of Palden Thondup Namgyal to Princess Sangay Deki Namgyal, 1950 |access-date=30 September 2022}}</ref> and together they had two sons and a daughter. Samyo Kushoe Sangideki died in 1957.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Namgyal |first=Palden Thondup |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-1#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=6&xywh=78%2C1222%2C2182%2C1401 |title=Death of Princess Sangay Deki Namgyal, British Library, EAP 880/1/5/1 |year=1957 |location=Gangtok |pages=7 |chapter=Wireless message to Samdruphodrang in Tibet, 1957 |access-date=30 September 2022}}</ref>

In 1963, Namgyal married [[Hope Cooke]], a 22-year-old American socialite from New York City;<ref>"Invitation card for the marriage of Palden Thondup Namgyal and Hope Cooke Namgyal (Gyalmo), 20 Mar 1963". ''[https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-52#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=38&xywh=-660%2C-125%2C3875%2C2488 Marriage of Palden Thondup Namgyal and Hope Cooke Namgyal (Gyalmo), British Library, EAP 880/1/5/52]''. Gangtok. 1963. p. 39. Retrieved 30 September 2022.</ref> she was a graduate of [[Sarah Lawrence College]] in [[Yonkers, New York|Yonkers]] in the state of New York.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-1-301#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=21&xywh=118%2C287%2C2853%2C1832 |title=The King and Queen of Sikkim, an interview by Joshep Newman, British Library, EAP 880/1/1/301 |year=1964 |location=Gangtok |pages=20 |chapter=Television interview of Palden Thondup Namgyal and Hope Cooke Namgyal (Gyalmo) in WNEW-TV's "Under Discussion" |quote="Princess Hope, would you be very much surprised to hear that one of your professors said, before you graduated from Sarah Lawrence, that you had become a very distinguished authority on Buddhism." |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cooke |first=Hope |url=https://archive.org/details/timechangeautobi00cook/page/52/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Time Change: An Autobiography |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1980 |location=New York |pages=52-60, 73-81 |access-date=1 October 2022 |url-access=registration}}</ref> The marriage brought worldwide media attention to Sikkim. The couple, who had two children, divorced in 1980.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 July 1980 |title=Former Queen of Sikkim seeks divorce |pages=2 |work=The Straits Times |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Page/straitstimes19800704-1.1.2 |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref>

Shortly after Namgyal's marriage, his father died and he was crowned the new Chogyal on an astrologically favourable date in 1965.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-165#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-884%2C-1%2C3959%2C2543 |title=Coronation of Palden Thondup Namgyal (Chogyal r.1965-1982), British Library, EAP 880/1/5/165 |year=1965 |location=Gangtok |pages=1, 3–8 |language= |chapter=Notes on the official coronation ceremony of Palden Thondup Namgyal as the twelfth ruler ascending the throne |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref> In 1975{{explain|date=August 2020}}<!--why did this happen?-->, the Prime Minister of Sikkim appealed to the [[Indian Parliament]] for Sikkim to become a state of India. In April of that year, the [[Indian Army]] took over the city of [[Gangtok]] and disarmed the Chogyal's palace guards. Namgyal was deposed after a [[1975 Sikkimese monarchy referendum|referendum]] on 14 April 1975 resulted in the abolition of the monarchy and Sikkim becoming a state of India.<ref>{{citation |author=G. T. |title=Trouble in Sikkim |journal=Index on Censorship |volume=4 |pages=68–69 |date=1 March 1975 |doi=10.1080/03064227508532403|s2cid=220927214 }}</ref> Namgyal was placed under house arrest.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kumari |first=Bhuvanesh |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-170#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=110&xywh=-128%2C273%2C2436%2C1564 |title=Correspondence of Palden Thondup Namgyal (Chogyal r.1965-1982) with Indian officials, British Library, EAP 880/1/5/170 |year=1977 |location=Gangtok |pages=111 |chapter=Draft letter from Bhuvanesh Kumari to [[Morarji Desai]] regarding the house arrest of Palden Thondup Namgyal |access-date=3 October 2022}}</ref>

In November 1976, Namgyal allegedly attempted suicide by consuming barbiturates and was airlifted to [[IPGMER and SSKM Hospital]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/30/obituaries/palden-thondup-namgyal-deposed-sikkim-king-dies.html|title = Palden Thondup Namgyal, Deposed Sikkim King, Dies|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 30 January 1982|last1 = Krebs|first1 = Albin}}</ref> He was successfully treated by Professor Dr. Amal Kumar Bose, Head of the Department of Anesthesia and Respiratory Care Unit at the SSKM hospital.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19761115-sikkim-chogyals-waning-hope-819431-2015-04-11|title = Sikkim: Chogyal's waning hope}}</ref>

Namgyal died of cancer at the [[Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center]] in New York City, United States on 29 January 1982. He was 58 years old at the time of his death.<ref>{{cite news |title=Palden Thondup Namgyal, Deposed Sikkim King, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/30/obituaries/palden-thondup-namgyal-deposed-sikkim-king-dies.html |quote=The deposed King of Sikkim, Palden Thondup Namgyal, who had been undergoing treatment for cancer in New York, died last night from complications following an operation at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He was 58 years old. A family spokesman said his body was to be flown home to Sikkim for the funeral. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date= 30 January 1982 |access-date=17 September 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Densapa |first=J. T. |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-6-39#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-583%2C158%2C3782%2C2429 |title=Sikkim Durbar Gazette, British Library, EAP 880/1/6/39 |publisher=Sikkim Government Press |year=1982 |location=Gangtok |pages=1 |chapter=Notification on Palden Thondup Namgyal's death |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref> Upon his death, 31 members of the State Legislative Assembly offered ''[[khata|khadas]]'' to the Chogyal as a mark of respect.

Namgyal was an [[amateur radio]] operator, call-sign AC3PT, and was a highly sought after contact on the airwaves.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schenck |first=Bob |date=December 2020 |title=AC3PT Sikkim 1974- Amateur Radio's role in a World Event |url=https://simonthewizard.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/cq-amateur-radio-e2849612-december-2020-2.pdf |journal=[[CQ Amateur Radio]] |pages=92–95 |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Essery |first=E. P. |date=June 1975 |title=Communication and DX News |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Short-Wave-UK/70s/SWM-1975-06.pdf |journal=The Short Wave Magazine |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=200 |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Geerken |first=Horst H. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YqhUdrlRDFUC&pg=PA288 |title=Der Ruf des Geckos: 18 erlebnisreiche Jahre in Indonesien |publisher=A BukitCinta Book |pages=288–295 |translator-last=McCann |translator-first=Bill |trans-title=A Gecko for Luck: 18 Years in Indonesia |chapter=Our Second House and Ham Radio Experiences |date=5 May 2015 |isbn=9783839152485 |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-40#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=30&xywh=-324%2C233%2C3339%2C2144 |title=Telecommunications device gifted to Palden Thondup Namgyal (Chogyal r.1965-1982), British Library, EAP 880/1/5/40 |year=1963 |location=Gangtok |pages=30 |chapter=List of items shipped by Ack Radio Company, U.S.A. to Palden Thondup Namgyal, 15 Nov 1963 |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref> The international callbook listed his address as: P.T. Namgyal, The Palace, Gangtok, Sikkim.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dutta-Ray |first=Sunanda K. |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.131331/page/n325/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Smash and Grab: The Annexation of Sikkim |publisher=Vikas Publishing House |year=1984 |location=New Delhi |pages=298 |chapter=Thumb Impression |author-link=Sunanda K. Datta-Ray |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref>

Namgyal shaped a "model Asian state" where the literacy rate and per capita income were twice as high as neighbours [[Nepal]], [[Bhutan]] and [[India]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/08/books/the-fairy-tale-that-turned-nightmare.html?pagewanted=2|title = The Fairy Tale That Turned Nightmare?|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 8 March 1981|last1 = Gray|first1 = Francine Du Plessix}}</ref>

His first son, the former crown prince Tenzing Kunzang Jigme Namgyal, died in 1978 in a car accident.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/14/archives/tenzing-namgyal-prince-of-sikkim-he-liked-soccer-and-archery.html|title=Tenzing Namgyal, Prince of Sikkim|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 March 1978}}</ref> His second son from his first marriage, [[Wangchuk Namgyal|Tobgyal Wangchuk Tenzing Namgyal]], was named the 13th Chogyal, but the position no longer confers any official authority.

His son from his second marriage, Palden Gyurmed Namgyal, moved to New York aged nine with his mother and sister, being educated at [[Dalton School]]. He would go on to work for [[JPMorgan Chase]], becoming a managing director. He was dismissed in 2003 following an incident of sexual harassment against a colleague.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/07/business/2-wall-st-firings-said-to-be-linked-to-harassment.html|title = 2 Wall St. Firings Said to Be Linked To Harassment|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 7 March 2003|last1 = McGeehan|first1 = Patrick}}</ref>

*1953–1963: Lieutenant-Colonel Maharajkumar Sri Panch Palden Thondup Namgyal, OBE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kamath |first=N. J. |date=15 August 1953 |title=Notifications regarding Appointments, Promotions, Leave, etc., of Officers issued by the Ministry of Defence |url=https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/1953/O-2248-1953-0033-103961.pdf |journal=Gazette of India |publisher=Department of Publication, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs |issue=33 |pages=185 |access-date=3 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kapur |first=Balraj Krishna |url=https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/1547186 |title=Conferment of a Military rank on Maharaj Kumar P.T. Namgyal, OBE of Sikkim |publisher=Ministry of External Affairs |year=1953 |location=New Delhi |pages=17 |access-date=3 October 2022 |via=[[National Archives of India]]}}</ref>

|[[File:Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon.svg|110px]]

|[[File:Padma Vibhushan Ribbon.svg|110x110px]]

*{{flag|Kingdom of Sikkim}}:

** [[File:Padma Bhushan Ribbon.svg|50px]] [[Padma Vibhushan]], ''22 February 1954''<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web |date=2015 |title=Padma Awards |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028182142/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=28 October 2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/1547186 |title=Conferment of a Military rank on Maharaj Kumar P.T. Namgyal, OBE of Sikkim. |publisher=Press Information Bureau |year=1954 |location=New Delhi |pages=7 |access-date=3 October 2022 |url-access=registration |via=[[National Archives of India]]}}</ref>

** [[File:Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon.svg|50px]] [[Order of the British Empire]] (OBE), ''1 January 1947''

** [[File:Indian Independence medal 1947.svg|50px]] [[Indian Independence Medal]], ''1948''

{{s-ttl|title=[[Chogyal|Chogyal of Sikkim]]|years=2 December 1963 – 10 April 1975}}

{{s-tul|title=[[Chogyal|Chogyal of Sikkim]]|years=10 April 1975&nbsp;– 29 January 1982|reason=Sikkim accession to India}}

[[Category:Bishop Cotton School Shimla alumni]]

[[Category:Exiled royalty]]