Sikkim, North Bengal & Bhutan - some facts

If you look at the map of Sikkim & North Bengal, you will notice that like Bhutan, entire Sikkim is covered with the Great Himalayas. The Bengal districts of Darjeeling & Kalimpong are also mountainous, but they are the Inner/Lesser Himalayas (Himachal) & not the Great Himalayas (Himadri)(nb. Siwaliks are nil in eastern parts of Himalayas). One of the southernmost mt.-town in Darjeeling dist. is Kurseong. It reminds me of Kasauli & Mussorie which are also at the outer edges of the Inner Himalayas. Kurseong is famous for its many schools. It also has the Paglajhora falls from where R.Mahananda originates. The mountains between Rivers Mechi & Teesta once belonged to the Chogyal ruler of Sikkim. However by 1814 Nepali Gurkhas had annexed much of it. They had to return it back to Sikkim via the British EIC after the EIC defeated Gurkhas in the 1814 War & the Treaty of Sugauli was signed in 1816. Over the course of time the kings of Nepal developed friendly relations with the British & stayed on their side in the 1857 War of Independence. The British also gifted Nepal some Terai lands over the course of time.
Now later the British developed the towns of Darjeeling, Kalimpong & Kurseong. Sikkim disliked this interference but couldn’t do anything. After 1975, the Chogyal dynasty in Sikkim was dissolved & it acceded as a state of India.
Now the Lepchas claim to be the original inhabitants of Sikkim & Darjeeling. They speak in their Lepcha language. Some say they came from Tibet in ancient times. Later Bhutias came from the Kham province of Tibet. Bhutias’ language Lhopo in Tibetan script is called Sikkimese language. And esp. since the 18th cen. CE, the Nepalis (Gurkhas, Gurungs, Limbus, etc) came to this region. Today the Nepalis are a majority in these regions.
In Bhutan, there are two main ethnicities: the Ngalops (Western Bhutanese) and Sharchops (Eastern Bhutanese). Both have Tibetan cultures. Ngalops are lesser but are politically dominant. There is also a Nepali group called Lhotshompa (called Southern Bhutanese) many of whom were deported from Bhutan during the 1990s. The official language of Bhutan is Dzongkha written in Tibetan script. Bhutan is a Const. Monarchy with a PM & a Dragon King (Druk Gyalpo).
Tea is cultivated in the Inner Himalayas of Darjeeling & Kalimpong & is branded ‘Darjeeling Tea’. However cheaper tea (say Rs 200/kg instead of say Rs 600/kg) from Ilam in Nepal is often smuggled & sold under Darj tea brand name which reduces the auction price of Darj tea & thus Darj farmers suffer. Tea Board of India is thinking of mandating all tea auctions to be routed through it (rather than pvt auctions) in electronic manner to avert this issue.