Paljor Namgyal- The Pilot Prince of Sikkim

Prince Paljor Namgyal, the first and the only Pilot prince of Sikkim was born on 26thNovember, 1921 at the Royal Palace, Gangtok to the Eleventh Maharaja of Sikkim, Sir Tashi Namgyal, K.C.I.E, K.C.S.I. and Maharani Kunzang Dechen. His original name was Kunzang Choley and he was the eldest son of the Eleventh Royal Couple of Sikkim. In 1930, he was sent along with his younger brother, Prince Palden Thondup Namgyal and their sister Princess Pema Tsedeun to St. Joseph’s Convent, Kalimpong. Prince Palzor Namgyal was further educated at St. Paul’s School, Darjeeling and St. Joseph’s College, Darjeeling.

The Crown Prince, Paljor Namgyal was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Indian Air Force and based at Ambala. He served in World War II in 1940-41. As a true ally of the British Indian Government, Sikkim had greatly served in providing manpower in the said world war. It is to be noted here that many Sikkimese family had also send their children to fight against the English foes and few of them had been able to receive the esteemed Victoria Cross. But, most wretchedly, Paljor Namgyal was killed in active service after he crash landed in flight near Peshawar, on 20thDecember, 1941. He was merely 20 years old then. Regarding the death of the Crown Prince of Sikkim the Bharat Rakshak an official website of Indian Air Force has published this information “On 8th December, war was declared with Japan and the Squadron was ordered to the Burma front on 14th December. The Squadron returned to Peshawar two days later.  As there was a shortage of air gunners, volunteers were called from among the fitters, riggers and other ground crew members. The airmen volunteered almost to a man. They were trained on a fast track basis in less than a fortnight. The Squadron suffered its first casualty on the Lysander on 20th December 1941, when Pilot Officer Paljor Namgyal, who at that time was the crown prince of the Kingdom of Sikkim, undershot trying to land at Peshawar. The aircraft R1989 hit a bund and overturned - killing the pilot and seriously wounding the observer”.

The tragic death of the Sikkimese Prince has also been mentioned by PVS Jagan Mohan in his book ‘The Westland Lysander in Indian Air force Service’ in the following manner “The squadron suffered its first casualty on the Lysander on 20^th December 1941, when Pilot Officer C Dhairyam, with Pilot Officer Paljor Namgyal as his passenger undershoot trying to land at Peshawar. The Air craft R1989 hit a bund and overturned - killing the pilot and seriously wounding the pilot. Palzor Namgyal was the Crown Prince of Sikkim and his death was a major blow to the people of the small Himalayan Kingdom”(P14).

As an Air Pilot Prince Paljor Pic: http://sikhim.blogspot.com

Most unfortunately, we have very little credentials about the pilot prince Paljor Namgyal. Few photographs that include his portrait in the Air force uniform are the only source to write something about him. During my fieldwork, I have been able to get a bit of unwritten information about the late Crown Prince of Sikkim. Few old Sikkimese, especially those who have seen him during their lifetime, have an immense respect and love for Paljor Namgyal. An old person Mr. Harka Bahadur Subba of Chota Singtam along with few old people has informed me that the Prince was a placid and a kind person. Once while hunting Prince Paljor reached to a house of an old Lepcha lady at Nandok in East Sikkim. She was unaware about his gigantic position and she offered Dhero (meal prepared from millet mostly consumed by the poor peasants during feudalistic Sikkim) to him for his dinner. He inquired about the poverty of the old lady and came to know about the forceful collection of Dhurikhajana and the prevalence of Kalobhari, Jharlangi and Theki bethi as forced labor. After spending a night at the home of the old lady the prince recoiled to his palace and informed his father Maharaja Tashi Namgyal about the utter poverty of their subjects and insisted him for the immediate removal of the forced labour and Dhurikhajana. Before the king could do anything in this regard, the Kazis and other feudal elements misguided the king to send his eldest son to join the Royal Air Force and was finally killed in an air crash.

Photo Frederick Williamson Prince Paljor Namgyal standing in front of C. E Dudley Pic: Digital Himalayas

“Maharajkumar jyudo hunuhunthyo bhaney ta Sikkim aarkai hunthyo had the Maharajkumar been alive Sikkim could have been different” was their remark on the untimed demise of the late crown prince Paljor Namgyal.

Inside the Old Wooden Box of my Great Grandfather

Legal Notice sent by the Mandal 

I had seen that box since my childhood, but never had any curiosity to know what is hidden inside the locked old box. Probably, I did not have any interest in the history of Sikkim during all those years. As a Student of Pune University I was greatly interested in studying the Ancient Indian History which is a hallmark of the Aryan culture and Civilization. My ideas of studying the subject of my choice got smashed after I got a job as a Lecturer at Namchi Government College in September 2004. Now I could not go to other Universities to pursue a research on the subject of my choice due to the nature of my job. Even after knowing the base reality, I still was having a hallucination to go for the research in the said subject. I was trying everything to avail stipend from some Universities and the State Government of Sikkim, but could not succeed in securing them. Thus, my high dreams of studying Ancient Indian History were landed in the  erstwhile Himalayan Kingdom for the study of our own History.

Though, I am a Sikkimese but I never had any opportunity to study the History, Culture and Civilization of the Sangri-La during my student life. In the beginning it was very tough for me to cope up with the terminologies which were unsullied to me. But, after studying many books and journals the curiosity to know much about my own state got doubled. Therefore, I began to dream about the old and Independent Sikkim, where my forefathers had done so many things to make it a real one.

The Ration Card for Cloth

It was in October 2006, on the propitious occasion of Bada Dashain when I went to receive Tika from my elderly relatives at Tareythang (a typical Brahmin Village in East Sikkim) I again saw the old box after a long gap. With the help of my grandmother I thought of opening it. As I was assured, it contained few but important documents related to my Great Grandfather in particular and Independent Sikkim in general. The most amazing among them was a legal notice sent to my Great Grandfather by the then Mandal of Tarethang Village Late Brihaspati Upadhyay in 1945. It seems that there was a report made by one Vidhyapati Kafley of the same village against Late Ravi Lal Pyakurel (My Great Grandfather) who had allegedly cut down a tree of the former. Written in a bucolic Nepali, the document is very important for the study of legal system of Sikkim in the pre-independence period.

The oldest document among them is a tax receipt of 1928, followed by other receipts, letters and some personal documents. All these receipts have the signature of the village Mandals, who were then regarded as the Village Head Man in Sikkim. The system of Mandal was abolished in 1986 by Mr. N.B. Bhandari's Government. Another important document that was preserved by my Great Grandfather was a Ration Card for Cloth which was issued in 1948 from Gangtok.

Inside the Ration Card of 1948

The Ration Card has its own unique features. In order to get it an individual had to pay 25 Piase.  Further, the beneficiary had to show his Dhuri Ticket Number to avail the facility of a subsidized cloth. The card also reveals that 6 Gaj (1 ½) meter cloth was issued to an adult and 3 Gaj (75 Cms.) of cloth was given to a child in a family. In the card, the name of the Shop Keeper from where the recipient had to get his cloth is also given. It is clearly mentioned in Nepali that if somebody losses it the authority would not allow him to get another Card. Further, the beneficiary had to avail the facility of subsidized cloth in every three months.  It was issued from the Office of the Textile Commissioner, Gangtok and the Card was non transferable.  

Apart from the above documents, there are some other old receipts, letters and personal papers associated with my great grandfather. But, most unfortunately, I was unable to find any document or pamphlets related to the political development of Sikkim. Probably, Tareythang being a secluded place in those days those papers were not received by my great grandfather. 

Petition of 1946 by the peasants of Rhenock to the Maharaj Kumar Sahib of Sikkim

The Document is preserved at Ram Gauri Sangrahalaya Rhenock by its curator Mr. Ganesh Kumar Pradhan.

Jharlangi was a force labour imposed by the Kazis and Thikadars of erstwhile Sikkim to the Sikkimese peasantry. It was a colonial gift to the Sikkimese aristocrats, by which they had achieved a license to exploit the peasants till the last breath of their lives. It is a well known fact that the real interest of the British Government did not lay on Sikkim. They wanted to utilize the kingdom for their Tibetan trade. Keeping this view in mind, the British Government had to construct roads and trade routes. While doing so, they had to depend on the Kazi-Thikadars to get the labour supply from the villages. The British Imperialists paid those Kazis- Thikadars but, the latter used their peasants to work for them without paying their wages. In such a system, the peasant had to remain absent at least a week from home, “besides having provided himself with warm clothing at prohibitive cost. What he would earn as wages under the prescribed rates for forced labour would barely suffice to buy his meager meal for the journey to and fro. A greedy land lord often seized upon his chance of making further easy money and called for doubled the number of men actually required. For instance, when only 20 men are requisitioned by the state, he would call for 40 men, thus doubling his own extortionate demand from the ignorant and unsuspecting ryots (Basnet, L.B. Sikkim- A short political History)

For the abolition of such corrupt practice from the soil of Sikkim, pre-Congress Associations of Sikkim like Praja Sudhar Samaj party of Tashi Tshering, Rajya Praja Mandal of Kazi Lhendup Dorjee Khangsarpa and Praja Sammelan Party of Dhan Bahadur Tiwari had played a major role. This petition also belongs to this era which was made by the peasants of Rhenock East Sikkim to the Maharaja Kumar Palden Thondup Namgyal to eradicate such an evil from the kingdom. The petition was made by late Durga Samsher Pradhan in which he has stated to His Highness Maharaj Kumar of Sikkim about the misappropriation of the Jharlangi labour by the Kazis and Thikadars for their private works. The petition was made on 24^th November 1946, exactly a year before the foundation of Sikkim State Congress, the first political party of Sikkim. This document also gives authentic information about the taxation system prevalent in then Sikkim. A peasant had to pay Dhurikhazana (House Tax) @ Rs. 6 per annum and Bethi Tax Rs.12 per annum.

It is interesting that within a month of this petition the Royal Government of Sikkim issued a notification bearing No. 3590-4089/G on 31^st December 1946 which finally eradicated Jharlangi from Sikkim. The said Notification has clearly mentioned “whosoever unlawfully compels any person to labour against the will of that person shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with a fine or with both”. But, we cannot ascertain that the Jharlangi labour was abolished from Sikkim due to the petition made by the peasants of Rhenock. It was in fact a demand of every Sikkimese peasant and a cry of every entity. 

Tax Reciepts of Independent Sikkim

The tax reciept which I have procured from the family of Lt. Shri Kul Bahadur Rai of Namchi was issued to him by the Mandal of his Village. The reciept was issued to him in 1958 which shows that he had paid Rupees 12 as land revenue or Khazana to the Royal Government of Sikkim. However, the receipt indicates the address to be the West Sub- Division, which eventually is Namchi of the South district in today's scenario.

The attached receipt refers to the 1930's as it shows the payment of Rs. 6/- done by Lt. Shri Keshar Singh Rai of Namchi Sikkim as Dhuri Khazana (House Tax) to the Mandal of Namchi, Lt. Chandra Man Rai on 15/09/1930.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Reviewed and posted on 30/4/2010