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
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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)
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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)