Short Men And Long Knives: The Gorkhas

Hello Warriors! Recently we saw the elite Gorkha Regiment celebrating their 200^th anneversary. The Gorkhas are one of the fearless and the most feared soldiers in the world. They have a history of courage in battle, evident from the gallantry awards won by Gorkha soldiers and battle honours awarded to Gorkha both before and after joining the Indian Army.

Here is everything that you want to know about the men who don’t fear death:

The name “Gorkha” comes from the hill town of Gorkha from which the Nepalese kingdom had expanded.

Impressed by the fighting qualities displayed by the Gorkhas during the Gurkha War against the invasion of Nepal by the British, Sir David Ochterlony was quick to realise the potential of Gorkha Regiment.

It was raised as the Nasiri regiment. This regiment later became the 1st King George’s Own Gurkha Rifles. Their first war was at the Malaun fort under Lieutenant Lawtie in the pre-independence era.

Following India’s independence, India, Nepal and Great Britain signed an agreement, The Tripartite Agreement, and of the total of 6 regiments of the Gurkha Rifles joined the Indian Army. In 1950, when India became a republic, the “Royal” titles were dropped from 5 RGR (FF) that joined the Indian Army.

The Regimental Insignia of all the Gorkha Rifles Regiments consists of a pair of crossed khukris.

It was said that once a khukri was drawn in battle, it had to “taste blood” – if not, its owner had to cut himself before returning it to its sheath. This showed the courage in the fearless gorkha soliders.

The Victorians identified them as a “martial race” in the British Army, perceiving in them particularly masculine qualities of toughness.

Following the divisions of the Gorkha regiments, the British Army decided that joining of the British Army would be entirely voluntary for the Gorkha soldiers and decided to hold a referendum. As a result, large numbers of men from the 7th Gurkha Rifles and the 10th Gurkha Rifles, which recruited predominantly from Eastern Nepal, decided not to join their regiments as part of the British Army. In order to retain a contingent from this area of Nepal, the Indian Army made the decision to raise the 11 Gorkha Rifles.

There are 39 battalions serving in 7 Gorkha regiments in the Indian Army. Six regiments were transferred from the British Indian Army, while one was formed after independence. They are the 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 8^th, 9^th and 11^th Gorkha Rifles. The 5^th GR is the frontier force and dominates any war involving the army.

The Gorkhas also serve the British Army and pronounced as “Gurkhas”. The 2^nd, 6^th, 7^th and 10^th GR joined the Brigade of Gurkhas in the British Army.

The Gorkha Regiments have been awarded 3 Param Vir Chakras, 33 Maha Vir Chakras, and 84 Vir Chakras during various operations.

The current Chief of Army Staff, General Dalbir Singh Suhag is also from the Gorkha Rifles. He was commissioned in 4^th Batallion of the 5^th GR (4/5 GR) in 1974.

The 1/5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) was the first battalion in the history of peacekeeping to be earmarked as Force Reserve battalion and given an entire country as its area of responsibility.

Major Dhan Singh Thapa, Capt Gurbachan Singh Salaria and Capt Manoj Kumar Pandey are the receipients of the PVC for the GRs.

The courage of not fearing death in the Gorkhas is truly evident from the statement of a fellow Gorkha, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. He once famously said “If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gorkha.”