Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas. It is the least populous state in India, and the second smallest. Sikkim was an independent state ruled by the Chogyal monarchy until 1975, when a referendum to make it India's twenty-second state succeeded. The thumb-shaped state borders Nepal in the west, Tibet to the north and east, and Bhutan in the south-east. The Indian state of West Bengal borders Sikkim to its south. The official language is Nepali, and the predominant religions are Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism. Gangtok is the capital and largest town. Despite its small size, Sikkim is geographically diverse, owing to its location at the Himalayan foothills. Terrain ranges from tropical in the south to tundra in the north. Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest peak, is located in Sikkim, straddling its northern border with Nepal. Sikkim has become one of India's most visited states owing to its reputation for untouched scenic beauty and political stability.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikkim
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1348: Charles University was founded in Prague. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Prague)
1795: France adopted the metre as the unit of length (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/metre)
1945: The Yamato was sunk 200 miles north of Okinawa. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Yamato)
1947: The Ba'ath Party was founded in Damascus. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba%27ath_Party)
1969: With publication of RFC 1, the Internet was symbolically born. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Request_for_Comments)
_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:
"Out of the struggle at the center has come an immense, painful longing for a broader, more flexible, fuller, more coherent, more comprehensive account of what we human beings are, who we are, and what this life is for. At the center humankind struggles with collective powers for its freedom, the individual struggles with dehumanization for the possession of his soul." -- Saul Bellow (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Saul_Bellow)