Socio-Cultural Environment - Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT)

12
CISMHE
at every nook and cranny, the rows of bamboo poles with fluttering
prayer flags, the many walls inscribed with the sacred words and the
imposing monasteries on hill tops have left their distinctive stamp not
only on the landscape but also on the psyche of the average Sikkimese
who, irrespective of their ethnic background and religious affiliation,
have imbibed the values of tolerance, harmony and dignity.
2.3 TRIBES AND COMMUNITIES
The first official census of Sikkim taken in the year 1891 enlisted
13 communities belonging to three ethnic groups, namely, the Lepcha,
the Bhutia and the Nepalese, as the resident communities of Sikkim.
The list included 1) Lepcha, 2) Bhutia, 3) Limbu, 4) Gurung, 5) Murmi, 6)
Rai, 7) Khambu, 8) Kami, 9) Brahman, 10) Mangar, 11) Chhetri, 12)
Newar and 13) Darzi. The list was prepared according to the numerical
strength of each of the communities and it clearly showed that the
Lepchas and Bhutias were the dominant communities in Sikkim, but the
collective strength of the Nepalese exceeded the total number of
persons belonging to the Lepcha-Bhutia communities. At present,
Sikkim has five ethnic groups, namely, Lepcha, Bhutia, Tsong, Nepalese
and plainsmen of Indian origin, and includes no less than twenty-five
communities (K.S. Singh, 1993). These are: 1) Lepcha, 2) Bhutia, 3)
Limbu or Tsong, 4) Mangar, 5) Rai, 6) Gurung, 7) Tamang, 8) Thami, 9)
Yakha, 10) Kagatey, 11) Sherpa, 12) Drukpa, 13) Tibetan, 14) Newar,
15) Brahmin, 16) Chhetri, 17) Thakuri, 18) Sunuwar, 19) Majhi, 20)
Bhujel, 21) Kami, 22) Damai, 23) Sarki, 24) Bihari and 25) Marwari. Of
these, the Lepchas, the Bhutias, the Sherpas, the Kagateys and of late,