This ongoing series observes the workings and politics of local governance in the setting of the small Himalayan state of Sikkim, which was once a monarchy before it was annexed by India in 1975. 2019 witnessed history being recreated as a 25-year-old governance was replaced. This victory caused a massive upheaval, but as the new government settles down, the general belief remains that nothing has really changed. Rather, it has normalised the status quo, forcing its people to wonder if they really voted for change. If a huge political transition fails to remedy the stagnancy in Sikkim’s society, what will? Jangir compares Sikkim to the French Revolution with the quote — ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’, describing the point at which we have arrived in our society.
