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Sikkim-A Requiem For A Himalayan Kingdom
Based on exclusive interviews and new archive research, this is a thrilling, romantic and informative glimpse of life in a lost paradise. A tale of intrigue, love and Cold War politics in India Features newly released intelligence files shedding light on the Cold War in Asia there will be major news interest even outside of the book review pages. Sikkim ranked #1 region in the world to visit in 2014 by Lonely Planet. This is the incredible true story of Sikkim, a fairy-tale kingdom in the Himalayas that survived the end of the British Empire in India only to be annexed by India in 1975. Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom tells the remarkable story of Thondup, the handsome last King of Sikkim and his young and beautiful American queen, Hope Cooke, thrust unwittingly into the spotlight as they sought support for Sikkims independence after their wedding in 1963. But as tensions between India and China spilled over into war in the Himalayas, Sikkim became a pawn in the Cold War ideological battle that played out in Asia during the 1960s and 1970s. Rumours circulated that Hope was a CIA spy. Meanwhile a shadowy Scottish adventuress, the Kazini of Chakung, married to Sikkims leading political figure, coordinated opposition to the Palace. As the geopolitical tectonic plates of the Himalayas ground together, forming the political landscape that exists today, Sikkim never stood a chance. Thondup died a broken man in 1982; Hope returned to New York; Sikkim began a new phase as Indias twenty-second state.