Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0315/03156.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 23KB | 395 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03156}
$Pretitle{235E}
$Title{Sikkim
Chapter 2.    The Society}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{George L. Harris}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{gangtok
sikkim
india
land
country
social
bhote
government
important
small}
$Date{1973}
$Log{Figure 22.*0315601.scf
}
Country:     Sikkim
Book:        Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, An Area Study: Sikkim
Author:      George L. Harris
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1973

Chapter 2.    The Society

     In the traditional social order, status was primarily determined by
birth, and only secondarily by personal achievement. The nobility (kazi), who
held large feudal estates in fief from the ruler, were a hereditary
aristocracy distinguished not only by their privileged economic position but
by their almost exclusive access to political power under the supreme
authority of the king. The kazi made up the traditional bureaucracy and,
within their own domains, excercised complete administrative, military and
judicial control. Below them were the stewards, who acted for the kazi in the
management of their estates, a few commoners to whom the king had given title
to small portions of land in return for services rendered, and the mass of
peasant cultivators on the estates of the kazi. The only path to higher status
open to these persons was that provided by the ecclesiastical hierarchy.

     Among his peers the ordinary man achieved respect primarily by his own
efforts and skills, influenced by his personality and good character.
Generosity in supporting the monasteries and in conducting the festivities
associated with the important events of life such as weddings and funerals was
one of the significant values of the society. Ownership of animals and land
was also important in conferring prestige.

     The traditional order was somewhat weakened by the large-scale influx of
Hindu Nepalese settlers after 1870, although until the mid-twentieth century
the essential pattern remained intact. In political and social terms the
hereditary nobility remained in a preeminent position. The monopoly of the
kazi on economic power, however, was increasingly challenged by the Nepalese,
many of whom, although they had entered Sikkim with only meager resources,
managed to acquire property by dint of hard work and careful savings. A
substantial minority of this group were able to buy small farms of their own;
a few amassed considerable wealth in the form of large landholdings.

     The immigration of large numbers of Nepalese not part of the traditional
society, the redistribution of land in the post-World War II period, and
efforts to modernize the country have wrought major changes in the society.
New social groupings and new social values have emerged and the society itself
has shifted from one based on ascribed status to one more oriented toward
achievement.

     Culturally and ethnically Sikkim remains divided into two societies-the
Buddhist Bhote-Lepcha community, in which the Bhote enjoy higher status, and
the Hindu Nepalese. Social intercourse between the two is largely limited to
formal contacts such as those bringing together landlord and tenant,
merchant and customer. Intermarriage never occurs.

     Nevertheless the existence of a common national government, a developing
national economy and the geographic unity of the country make it possible to
put the two communities together in a single scheme of socioeconomic
stratification. Because the criteria of this graduation do not entirely
correspond with those ordinarily applied by Sikkimese in ranking one another,
the framework, in terms of self-identification, may scarcely exist. The caste
system of the Hindus and the special position of the Buddhist clergy, for
example, are not taken into consideration.

     At the peak of the social pyramid are the maharaja and his relatives.
Below them in the elite are the kazi who control the higher government
positions, wealthy Nepalese who once were large landowners, and a number of
businessmen of varying ethnic origins.

     A middle group is composed of the Indian Marwari caste of moneylenders,
wealthy Bhote caravaneers and stockbreeders, the bulk of civil servants,
shopkeepers-both Indian and Nepalese-and some of the more prosperous peasant
farmers of all ethnic groups. The bulk of the population are small landowning
peasant farmers; lowest in the scale are tenant farmers, day laborers and
porters.

     On the local scene ownership of land continues to define socioeconomic
position and to confer prestige, although it no longer is an attribute of
privileged status as it was before 1951 when all large landholdings except
those of the Maharaja and the five principal monasteries were redistributed to
peasant cultivators. Particularly among the Bhote, herds of yak, long- and
short-horn cattle and mules are an important form of wealth, in some areas
more significant than private ownership of land.

     Another important social change has to do with the significance now
attached to Western education. In contrast to earlier practice such schooling
has become as important as, and in some cases more important than, birth in
staffing government positions. The Nepalese Hindu immigrants, not sharing the
values of the traditional Buddhist society, have been more active in seizing
the opportunities opened by modern education and an expanding economy than
have the average Bhote or Lepcha.

Social Development

     At the time India assumed the British protectorate of Sikkim in 1947, the
level of medical, health and sanitary facilities in the country was low.
Communicable and other diseases were widespread, pure water supplies were
almost nowhere available and modern medical care reached only a small fraction
of the people. There were only 3 small hospitals, one in Gangtok with 64 beds,
the others in Singtam about 10 miles southwest of Gangtok, and at Namchi some
20 miles southwest of the capital near the Indian border. These had 6 and 16
beds, respectively. Besides this there were 7 dispensaries, all in the
southern part of the country.

     Since 1954, when a development program financed and largely administered
by India was put into effect, some improvement in public health has been
brought about. Many persons have been inoculated against smallpox and
tuberculosis and large parts of the highly malarious southern region of Sikkim
have been covered by spraying teams. A maternal and child-care wing has been
added at the main hospital in Gangtok and another hospital and some 15 new
dispensaries built. A few young persons have been sent to India to train for
the staffs of these new institutions.

     More effective, however, have been efforts to extend educational
opportunities to larger numbers of Sikkimese children. Literacy has been
increased from less than 5 percent in 1950 to about 13 percent, and enrollment
in the country's roughly 150 schools has reached 7,200, more than double those
under the British. To improve the caliber of teaching, a training institute
has been established at Temi in the southwest. The opening in 1957 of a
Cottage Industries Institute in Gangtok has provided an opportunity for about
60 young women each year to learn various handicraft skills. In addition,
substantial numbers of young persons have been sent to Kalimpong, Darjeeling
and Calcutta for training. Some had won Indian Government scholarships; others
were studying at private expense.

     Despite this growth in educational opportunity, modern schooling still
failed to reach the majority of Sikkimese children, and those whom it did
reach were in many instances taught by ill-prepared instructors handicapped by
lack of books and equipment. Because of differing attitudes toward education,
the principal beneficiaries of the educational reform were the Nepalese;
interest in secular schooling among the Bhote and Lepcha was limited almost
entirely to the upper class. Most Bhote and Lepcha continued to favor
traditional forms of learning and sent their most promising mal