Mt. Khangchendzonga ascent hurtful to indigenous communities: Sikkim CM to Amit Shah

Sikkim CM urges Centre to protect sacred Mt. Khangchendzonga from climbers, citing religious beliefs and local sentiment.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang has urged the Centre to ensure that Mt. Khangchendzonga, the world’s third-highest peak, regarded as sacred by the people of the State, is made out of bounds for mountaineers.

In a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah, the Chief Minister said the recent ascent of the peak by a five-member team from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS) from the Nepal side on May 18 hurt Sikkim’s indigenous communities.

India’s tallest peak, at 8,568 metres above sea level, Mt. Khangchendzonga straddles the Sikkim-Nepal border and is considered one of the most difficult Himalayan mountains to ascend. Climbing activities are banned in Sikkim, where the mountain is worshipped as a guardian deity, but are allowed from the Nepal side.

The mountain was scaled for the first time in 1954 after several mountaineers made futile attempts for more than half a century, some losing their lives.

“The letter comes amid rising local sentiment that the sanctity of Mt. Khangchendzonga must not be compromised in the name of adventure or tourism, regardless of which side the expedition originates from,” Mt. Tamang wrote on May 24.

“It is with deep reverence and concern that we bring to your kind attention the recent reports regarding the scaling of Mt. Khangchendzonga from the Nepal side,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the act of scaling the “sacred” peak by the team from NIMAS based in Arunachal Pradesh’s Dirang was “a violation of both the prevailing legal provisions and the deeply held religious beliefs of the people of Sikkim”.