Birthday of Nar Bahadur Bhandari in Sikkim Date in the current year: October 5, 2024

Nar Bahadur Bhandari was India’s first chief minister of Nepali origin. He is primarily remembered as the founder of the Sikkim Sangram Parishad political party and an avid supporter of the inclusion of the Nepali language in the list of the official languages of India. Bhandari is sometimes referred to as the “architect of modern Sikkim”.

Nar Bahadur Bhandari was born on October 5, 1940 in a village in West Sikkim. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Darjeeling Government College, he worked as a school teacher before embarking in his political career. In 1968, Bhandari married Dil Kumari Bhandari, who would also become a renowned politician in her own right.

In 1977, Bhandari founded the Sikkim Janata Parishad political party, which won the state assembly election two years later. It was supported by almost 32 % of voters and won 16 seats. As the leader of the winning party, Bhandari became the chief minister of Sikkim. In 1980, he also served as a member of the lower house of the Indian parliament (Lok Sabha).

In 1981, Sikkim Janata Parishad merged with the Indian National Congress. Three years later, Bhandari split and founded a new political party, Sikkim Sangram Parishad. His new party won the 1985 assembly elections, and Bhandari became the chief minister again.

During his second term, the reputation of Sikkim Sangram Parishad strengthened, and the party won all seats in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly in the 1989 assembly elections. In 1994, Bhandari resigned from his post after losing a vote of confidence in the assembly. His party lost the elections to the newly founded Sikkim Democratic Front, which would remain the ruling party in the state until 2019. Nevertheless, Bhandari continued to serve as a member of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly until 2004.

In 2007, Bhandari spent a month in prison on corruption charges. Upon release, he continued his political career. In the 2014 state assembly elections, he withdrew his party from participating to support Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, a new party formed to oppose the Sikkim Democratic Front.

As we’ve already mentioned above, Bhandari and his wife, who served as a member of the Lok Sabha from 1985 to 1989 and from 1991 to 1995, actively supported the inclusion of the Nepali language in the list of the official languages of India, succeeding in 1992.

In addition, during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Sikkim, Bhandari introduced free education in the state, opened new schools and medical establishments in rural areas, provided every household in Sikkim with drinking water, and ordered the construction of roads to connect all major villages.

Nar Bahadur Bhandari died on July 16, 2017. He was buried with full state honors, including a 21-gun salute and a eulogy by the incumbent chief minister. Bhandari’s birthday was declared a state holiday in Sikkim.