Gurkha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Gurkha (disambiguation).
For special article on Indian national Gurkha, see Indian Gorkha. For special
article on Burmese national Gurkha, see Burmese Gurkha.

Monument to the Gurkha Soldier in Horse Guards Avenue, outside the Ministry of
Defence, City of Westminster, London.

A khukuri, the signature weapon of the Gurkhas

The Gurkhas or Gorkhas or Gorkhali (??????) ('g??rk? or 'g??rk?) are the soldiers
of Nepali nationality recruited in the British Army, Indian Army, Gurkha Contingent
Singapore, Gurkha Reserve Unit Brunei, UN Peace Keeping force and war zones around
the world. Historically, the terms Gurkha and Gorkhali were synonymous with Pahadi,
[1] and derived from the hill town and district of Gorkha from which the Kingdom of
Nepal expanded under Prithivi Narayan Shah.[2][3] The name may be traced to the
medieval Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath[4] who has a historic shrine in
Gorkha.[5] The word itself derived from Go-Raksha, raksha becoming rakha. Rakhawala
means protector and is derived from raksha as well.

Ethnically, Gurung, Chhetri or Khas, Thakuri, and Magar mainly were the Gorkha
tribes who united erstwhile Gorkha kingdom and fought against the British
invasions. But today, Gorkha soldiers mostly belong to the Gurung, Chhetri, Magar,
Rai, Limbu, Sunuwar, Madhesis and Tharus. There is no ethnicity based restriction
to join. There are Gurkha military units in the Nepalese, British and the Indian
army enlisted in Nepal, United Kingdom and India. Although they meet many of the
requirements of Article 47[6] of Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions regarding
mercenaries, they are exempt under clauses 47(e)&(f) similar to the French Foreign
Legion.[7]

Gurkhas are closely associated with the khukuri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife,
and have a well known reputation for fearless military prowess. The former Indian
Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, once stated that[8] If a man says
he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha.

Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 British East India Company Army
3 British Indian Army (c. 18571947)
3.1 Gurkha military rank system in the British Indian Army
3.1.1 British Indian Army and current Indian Army rankscurrent British Army
equivalents
3.2 Regiments of the Gurkha Rifles (c.18151947)
3.3 Second World War training battalions
4 Post-independence (1947present)
4.1 British Army Gurkhas
4.2 Indian Army Gurkhas
4.3 Singapore Gurkha Contingent
4.4 Brunei Gurkha Reserve Unit
5 Other
5.1 Victoria Cross recipients
5.2 Treatment of Gurkhas in the United Kingdom
5.2.1 Settlement rights
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Background

Sri Panch (5) Maharaja Dhiraj Prithvi Narayan Shahdev, First King of Unified
Kingdom of Gorkha
During the Anglo-Nepalese War (18141816) between the Gorkha Kingdom and the East
India Company, the Gorkhali soldiers made an impression on the British, who called
them Gurkhas.[9]

British East India Company Army

Gurkha soldiers during the Anglo-Nepalese War, 1815 AD.

The Anglo-Nepalese war was fought between the Gurkha Kingdom of Nepal and the
British East India Company as a result of border disputes and ambitious
expansionism of both the belligerent parties. The war ended with the signing of the
Treaty of Sugauli in 1816.

David Ochterlony and the British political agent William Fraser were among the
first to recognize the potential of Gurkha soldiers in British service. During the
war the British were keen to use defectors from the Gurkha army and employ them as
irregular forces. His confidence in their loyalty was such that in April 1815 he
proposed forming them into a battalion under Lieutenant Ross called the Nasiri
regiment. This regiment, which later became the 1st King Georges Own Gurkha
Rifles, saw action at the Malaun fort under the leadership of Lieutenant Lawtie,
who reported to Ochterlony that he had the greatest reason to be satisfied with
their exertions.

About 5,000 men entered British service in 1815, most of whom were not just
Gorkhalis but Kumaonis, Garhwalis and other Himalayan hill men. These groups,
eventually lumped together under the term Gurkha, became the backbone of British
Indian forces.

As well as Ochterlonys Gurkha battalions, William Fraser and Lieutenant Frederick

Young raised the Sirmoor battalion, later to become the 2nd King Edward VII's Own
Gurkha Rifles; an additional battalion, the Kumaon battalion was also raised
eventually becoming the 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles. None of these men
fought in the second campaign.

Gurkhas served as troops under contract to the East India Company in the Pindaree
War of 1817, in Bharatpur in 1826 and the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars in 1846
and 1848.[10]

During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Gurkhas fought on the British side, and became
part of the British Indian Army on its formation. The 8th (Sirmoor) Local Battalion
made a particularly notable contribution during the conflict, and indeed twenty-
five Indian Order of Merit awards were made to men from that regiment during the
Siege of Delhi.[11]

Three days after the mutiny began, the Sirmoor Battalion were ordered to move to
Meerut, where the British garrison was barely holding on, and in doing so they had
to march up to 48 kilometres a day.[12] Later, during the four-month Siege of Delhi
they defended Hindu Rao's house, losing 327 out of 490 men. During this action they
fought side by side with the 60th Rifles and a strong bond developed.[13][14]

Twelve regiments from the Nepalese Army also took part in the relief of Lucknow[15]
under the command of Shri Teen (3) Maharaja Maharana Jung Bahadur of Nepal and his
older brother C-in-C Ranaudip Singh (Ranodip or Ranodeep) Bahadur Rana (later to
succeed Jung Bahadur and become Sri Teen Maharaja Ranodip Singh of Nepal).

After the rebellion the 60th Rifles pressed for the Sirmoor Battalion to become a
rifle regiment. This honour was granted then next year (1858) when the Battalion
was renamed the Sirmoor Rifle Regiment and awarded a third colour.[16] In 1863
Queen Victoria presented the regiment with the Queen's Truncheon, as a replacement
for the colours that rifle regiments do not usually have.[17]

British Indian Army (c. 18571947)

The Nusseree Battalion later known as the 1st Gurkha Rifles circa 1857

Hindu Rao's house shortly after the siege

Gurkha Soldiers (1896). The centre figure wears the dark green dress uniform worn
by all Gurkhas in British service, with certain regimental distinctions
From the end of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 until the start of World War I the
Gurkha Regiments saw active service in Burma, Afghanistan, the North-East Frontier
and the North-West Frontiers of India, Malta (the Russo-Turkish War, 187778),
Cyprus, Malaya, China (the Boxer Rebellion of 1900) and Tibet (Younghusband's
Expedition of 1905).

Between 1901 and 1906, the Gurkha regiments were renumbered from the 1st to the
10th and re-designated as the Gurkha Rifles. In this time, the Brigade of Gurkhas,
as the regiments came to be collectively known, was expanded to twenty battalions
within the ten regiments.[18]

2nd5th Royal Gurkha Rifles, North-West Frontier 1923

During World War I (19141918), more than 200,000 Gurkhas served in the British
Army, suffering approximately 20,000 casualties, and receiving almost 2,000
gallantry awar