saab, "And moreover, Darjeeling was a part of Nepal before. " Darjeeling was part of Sikkim and was leased to East India Company by the Sikkim rulers for a small sum of money. Darjeeling was never a part of Nepal. The original people of Darjeeling were a small tribal group called Lepchas. Most of the people of Nepali origin in Darjeeling migrated to Darjeeling from Nepal in search of jobs, mainly to work in tea gardens.