Overview

• Prem Singh Tamang wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah on May 24 urging diplomatic talks with Nepal to stop further climbs of Mount Khangchendzonga
• A National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports team summited the peak from the Nepal side on May 18 in defiance of Sikkim’s ban
• Known locally as ‘Dzoe-Nga’ or ‘Five Treasures of the High Snows’, the mountain is worshipped as the abode of the state’s principal guardian deity
• The Sikkim government reinforced its complete ban on climbing through official notifications in 1998 and 2001 under the Sacred Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act
• Local indigenous groups say the ascent violated both legal protections and deeply held religious beliefs of the Sikkimese