The last rites of Former Sikkim Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari were performed at Jalipool crematorium, East Sikkim on Wednesday (July 19). For almost two decades, the man was a formidable force to reckon with in the world of Sikkim. Love him or hate him, there is no doubt about it, Sikkim has said a sad farewell to one of her greatest sons. Nar Bahadur Bhandari was a tireless fighter for the preservation of  Sikkim’s autonomy and identity.

Bhandari was cremated with full state honours with 21 gun salute in the presence of Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and his cabinet colleagues, Speaker K.N. Rai, Chief Secretary and DGP, Senior officers of the State Government and thousands of well wishers.

The mortal remains of Bhandari was kept at Manan Kendra from 8am to 11am on Wednesday morning for people to pay their last respects. Sikkim Governor Shriniwas Patil joined hundreds of well wishers to pay tribute to the former Chief Minister.

Thereafter the funeral procession proceeded towards the crematorium at Jalipool. The procession halted at various points such as Deorali, Tadong Convoy Ground, Manipal Hospital Gate, and Mayfair junction, where people had gathered in large numbers to pay their last respects to the erstwhile leader.

Nar Bahadur Bhandari, an obscure school teacher, who rose to become one of the longest-serving chief ministers of Sikkim, died on Sunday July 16. Bhandari, a three-term former chief minister, was 77. He is survived by wife Dil Kumari Bhandari, a former MP, two daughters and a son.

He breathed his last at a Delhi hospital. Born in 1940 at Malbasey in West Sikkim, Bhandari was a teacher in a government school before he joined active politics.
He became the chief minister of the tiny Himalyan state for the first time in 1979 on a Janata Parishad ticket and then again in 1984 and 1989 on a Sikkim Sangram Parishad ticket. The founder of the SSP, Bhandari remained its president till his death.

Known as a pragmatic and resilient leader, Bhandari was the second chief minister after L D Kazi to hold the reins of the annexed protectorate  which ‘officially’ became a part of the Indian Union in 1975.

He was also a former president of Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee.

Chief Minister Pawan Chamling condoled the death of Bhandari. “I am extremely sad and shocked to know about the untimely demise of Shri Nar Bahadur Bhandari. With his passing away, Sikkim has lost a worthy son of the soil whose contribution to the state and its people are unparalleled.”

  Nar Bahadur Bhandari, Sikkim, This was a life