<P> The Kingdom of Sikkim was founded on the Silk Road by the Namgyal dynasty in the 17th century . It was ruled by a Buddhist priest - king known as the Chogyal . It became a princely state of British India in 1890 . After 1947, Sikkim continued its protectorate status with the republic of India . It enjoyed the highest literacy rate and per capita income among Himalayan states . In 1975, the Indian military deposed the Sikkimese monarchy . A referendum in 1975 led to Sikkim joining India as its 22nd state . </P> <P> Modern Sikkim is a multiethnic and multilingual Indian state . Sikkim has 11 official languages: Nepali, Sikkimese, Lepcha, Tamang, Limbu, Newari, Rai, Gurung, Magar, Sunwar and English . English is taught in schools and used in government documents . The predominant religions are Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism . Sikkim's economy is largely dependent on agriculture and tourism, and as of 2014 the state had the third - smallest GDP among Indian states, although it is also among the fastest - growing . </P> <P> Sikkim accounts for the largest share of cardamom production in India, and is the world's second largest producer of the spice after Guatemala . Sikkim achieved its ambition to convert its agriculture to fully organic over the interval 2003 to 2016, the first state in India to achieve this distinction . It is also among India's most environmentally conscious states, having banned plastic water bottles and styrofoam products . </P> <P> The most widely accepted origin theory of the name Sikkim is that it is a combination of two Limbu words: su, which means "new", and khyim, which means "palace" or "house". The name is believed to be a reference to the palace built by the state's first ruler, Phuntsog Namgyal . The Tibetan name for Sikkim is Drenjong (Wylie - transliteration: _́ bras ljongs), which means "valley of rice", while the Bhutias call it Beyul Demazong, which means' "the hidden valley of rice". The Lepcha people, the original inhabitants of Sikkim, called it Nye - mae - el, meaning "paradise". In historical Indian literature, Sikkim is known as Indrakil, the garden of the war god Indra . </P>

Which is the first full organic state in india