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| Lachung village during Summer Pic:http://www.holidayiq.com |
Lachung,
situated in the northern district of Sikkim is a beautiful village, secluded
from the chaotic city lifestyles has its own exclusivity. Lachung is at an elevation
of about 9,600 ft or 3,000 m and at the confluence of the Lachen River and Lachung Rivers, tributaries of the River Teesta. The word Lachung means "small pass". There was a period when
this place was not opened to the tourists due to its traditional and customary
importance. But, in the recent period, Lachung has been made available to them
to explore the culture and custom of the indigenous. It will not be wrong to
argue that, Lachung, the place of mystic mountains is a de-facto Shangri-La. Before the annexation of Tibet in 1950, Lachung was a trading post between Sikkim and
Tibet, after which it was closed down. Lachung
has been described as the "most picturesque village of Sikkim" by British explorer Joseph Dalton Hooker
in his famous work, The Himalayan Journal.
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| Lachung Pipon with his Horse Pic:Dr. Alice S. Kandell 1971 May |
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| Lachung Pipon with Children Pic:Dr. Alice S Kandell 1971 May |
Approximating its exquisiteness, the village
has atypical hamlet institution known as Dzumsa.
Dzumsa is a
traditional administrative body of the villages of Lachen and Lachung in North Sikkim. It is a
self-government system where a headman, known as the 'Pipon', is elected and the community where all the disputes are
settled in a democratic manner. The system of governance is traditional and
follows the tribal social organizational position which is entirely different, unique
and to some extent more democratic than the Panchayati
Raj institution prevalent in other districts
of Sikkim. The traditional village level organisation consists of the elders of
every household of the village including women and Lamas. It resembles some
features of the village governance prevalent in the Vedic Age known as Sabha and Samiti. Two persons are elected from amongst the members of the Dzumsa as the Pipons. They are assisted in their daily affairs by the Lamas known
as Chutimpas. The Pipons have wide powers and functions in
accordance with the customary laws. The Dzumsa
conferred verdict for all the cases including major ones in the villages of
Lachen and Lachung. It is important to mention here that, the term of the
office of Dzumsa is fixed for one
year and after accomplishing its term the office has to be dissolved and a
fresh election is to be conducted for the smoother functioning of the village
institution.
GYEL-PE-LETSEN-CHOBGYAL:
Gyel Pe Letsen Chobgyal is a
Committee comprised of eighteen senior members of Lachung Valley including five
monastery representatives. The committee
takes charges after the completion of the term of the elected Pipons. They remained active and execute
most of the duties, earlier executed by the elected Pipons until the new Pipon
is elected. This system of self-governance was established during the first
half of the 19th century in order to provide structure and solidity for
societies and their activities. Even after the merger of Sikkim with India the
traditional system of Dzumsa is still prevalent in North Sikkim.
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