Flag of Sikkim

At present there is no official flag of Sikkim, a state in India. The independent Kingdom of Sikkim did have a national flag until it became a state of India in 1975.

==Prior to 1877== Before 1877, during the Nepalese-Bhutanese suzerainty and as a protectorate of Tibet, several Nepalese, Bhutanese and Tibetan banners were flown in Sikkim until 1816, when the United Kingdom took control of the country and flown the Union Jack until 1877, when the first Sikkimese flag was adopted.

==Kingdom of Sikkim (1877–1975)==

The Kingdom of Sikkim had used several flags during its history. They all contained a Buddhist ''khorlo'' prayer wheel with the ''gankyil'' as the central element.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://fotw.info/flags/in-sk.html | title=Sikkim (India) }}</ref>

Until 1967, the previous flag showed a very complex design with a fanciful border and religious pictograms surrounding the khorlo.

A more simple design was adopted in 1967 because of the difficulty in duplication of the complex flag. The border became solid red, the pictograms were removed and the wheel was redesigned.

With the admission of Sikkim to the Republic of India and with the abolition of the monarchy, the flag lost its official status in 1975.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.worldstatesmen.org/India.htm#Sikkim | title=India }}</ref>

{{Gallery |title= |width=230 | height=160 |align=center |footer= |File:Royal flag of Sikkim.svg|Reconstruction of the Sikkimese royal flag from 1877 to 1975 |File:Flag of Sikkim (1877-1914; 1962-1967).svg|Reconstruction of the Sikkimese flag from 1877 to 1914 and from 1962 to 1967 |File:Flag of Sikkim (1914-1962).svg|Reconstruction of the Sikkimese flag from 1914 to 1962 |Flag of Sikkim (1967-1975).svg|Flag of Sikkim used between 1967 and 1975 }}

== State of India (1975–present) == The Government of Sikkim can be represented by a banner that depicts the emblem of the state on a white background.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vexilla Mundi|url=https://www.vexilla-mundi.com/india_governments.html|access-date=2021-02-10|website=www.vexilla-mundi.com}}</ref> center|thumb|Government banner of Sikkim

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|Flags of Sikkim}} *{{FOTW|id=in-sk|title=Sikkim}} *[https://www.flaggenlexikon.de/fsikkim.htm Flag and seal of Sikkim at flaggenlexikon.de]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikkim, Flag of}} Category:National symbols of Sikkim Flag Category:Flags of India Category:Flags introduced in 1967 Category:1967 establishments in Asia Sikkim