Pakyong, Feb. 27 -- The earth beneath Sikkim refuses to settle. In just the last three weeks of February 2026, the tiny northeastern state has been jolted by a string of earthquakes that have left residents rushing out of their homes in fear and reignited a conversation India can no longer afford to postpone - how safe is life in the tremor-prone Himalayas?

Two separate quakes struck on February 26 alone. A 4.6-magnitude shock centred near Yuksom in the Gyalshing district was followed within hours by a 3.5-magnitude tremor in Mangan. Both were shallow, occurring roughly 10 kilometres underground, which made them sharply felt across the region. Weeks earlier, on February 6, a 4.5-magnitude earthquake near Gyalshing had already set off mor...