The state of Sikkim has a unique location in India. It is in between two neighbouring Himalayan countries of Nepal and Bhutan. On the northern side is Tibet, an autonomous region of China. It was formally merged with the Indian Union in 1972. In recent years it has been included in the North-Eastern States hence gets special attention from the Central Government regarding its development priorities. Neverthless, the National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation is closely associated with this state in order to meet its cartographic requirements. This Atlas is another milestone of such association. The request for preparation of atlas of this Atlas was received through the Union Department of Science and Technology. Accordingly, necessary measures were taken in this Organisation for bringing out this publication. A series of meetings were held in Gangtok and Kolkata to work out the details. Several teams were sent to Sikkim for the fieldwork and data collection which was carried out in collaboration with the Forest Department of Sikkim and the Sikkim State Council for Science & Technology. Neverthless, the topic chosen are of general interest as well since such publications can not be brought out easily. This Atlas should be useful for students in particular and for common public in general. In this atlas an attempt was made to depict the physical set up, resources, infrastructures and various socio-economic pattern, which should help depicting the environmental and development issues and consequently to make a strategy for development specific to this state. The planners, researchers and academicians will find a basis for carrying out new initiatives and researches for working out a strategy for balanced development. Sikkim can become a model state and an example of how an economically backward state can take a leap forward.
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