Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal
Sidkeong Tulku
Chogyal of Sikkim
Reign11 February 1914 – 5 December 1914
PredecessorThutob Namgyal
SuccessorTashi Namgyal
Born1879
Died(1914-12-05)5 December 1914 (34–35)
Gangtok, Sikkim
HouseNamgyal dynasty
FatherThutob Namgyal
MotherMaharani Pending
ReligionBuddhism
The 13th Dalai Lama, Sir Charles Bell (both seated) and Maharaj Kumar Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal (standing between the other two) pose for photograph, 1910, Calcutta.

Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal (Sikkimese: སྲིད་སཀྱོང་སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་; Wylie: srid skyong sprul sku rnam rgyal) (1879–5 December 1914) was the ruling Maharaja and Chogyal of Sikkim for a brief period in 1914, from 10 February to 5 December.

Biography

He was the second son of Maharaja Sri Panch Sir Thutob Namgyal, and was educated at St. Paul's School, Darjeeling and at Pembroke College, Oxford. A polyglot, he was learned in Chinese, English, Hindi, Lepcha, Nepali and Tibetan.

He was recognised as the reincarnation (tulku) of his uncle, Sidkeong Namgyal, the abbot of Phodong Monastery.[1] Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal reconstructed the monastery.[2]

After his education in Oxford, he returned to Sikkim where he was closely associated with the administration of the country. He worked to dissolve the greed that occurs in vested interests and tried to unify Buddhists by renovating monasteries and their roles.[3]

When Alexandra David-Néel was invited to the royal monastery of Sikkim, she met Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal, at that time Maharaj Kumar (crown prince). She became Sidkeong's "confidante and spiritual sister".[4]

Engaged to Burmese princess

Sidkeong and Princess Hteiktin Ma Lat of Limbin then began a regular correspondence. Prince Limbin (Ma Lat's father) and his family soon returned to Burma (to live in Rangoon) and Sidkeong visited them there in 1912. By then they had agreed to get married, the British having secured Limbin's approval. The wedding was initially set for 1913 but then delayed because of the king of Sikkim Thutob Namgyal (Sidkeong's father's) deteriorating health. In February 1914 the old king died, Sidkeong became king, and his wedding to Ma Lat was set for 10 February 1915. The two exchanged many letters expressing their love for one another and how much they looked forward to a life together.

Death

In December 1914, Sidkeong was found dead in his bedroom, apparently of heart failure, aged 35, in what the British described as 'mysterious circumstances'.[5][6][7][8] He was succeeded by his younger brother, Tashi Namgyal. Palden Thondup Namgyal was subsequently recognised as the reincarnate leader of Phodong.[9]

Titles

Honours

British Empire

Ancestry

Notes

  1. ↑ Mahendra P. Lama, Sikkim: society, polity, economy, environment
  2. ↑ Kuldip Singh Gulia, Mountains of the God
  3. ↑ H. G. Joshi, Sikkim: past and present, Mittal Publications, 2004, ISBN 81-7099-932-4, ISBN 978-81-7099-932-4
  4. ↑ Middleton, Ruth (1989). Alexandra David-Neel. Boston, Shambhala. ISBN 1-57062-600-6.
  5. ↑ "A Royal Proposal of Marriage". Endangered archives blog. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "When a Burmese princess almost became the Queen of Sikkim". www.lostfootsteps.org.
  7. ↑ Patrick French, Younghusband: the last great imperial adventurer
  8. ↑ Earle Rice, Alexandra David-Neel: Explorer at the Roof of the World, Infobase Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-7910-7715-2, ISBN 978-0-7910-7715-3, p. 51
  9. ↑ Lawrence Epstein, Richard Sherburne, Reflections on Tibetan culture: essays in memory of Turrell V. Wylie, E. Mellen Press, 1990; ISBN 0-88946-064-7, ISBN 978-0-88946-064-5; p. 61

References

Media related to Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal at Wikimedia Commons

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