The Gorkha soldiers are very agile, fast and strong. The latest army chief is also from Gorkha rifles of the Army. Have you ever wondered why he and other soldiers of his regiment wear the strap below his lower lip and not below his chin? Read on to know…
There are many explanations to this, one being their short heights. As Gorkhas hail from mountainous terrains and due to their genetics, they are short as compared to soldiers that hail from other parts of India. This explains the short strap so as to make them seem equal as the cap for shorter soldiers do not fit to taller ones. The size of the Cap and strap is not altered for any soldier and is kept same as a Gorkha tradition. Hence, the strap below the lower lip.
Another theory explains the reason that Gorkhas were very talkative. So, this strap makes it -difficult to talk since it is right under the lips which continuously pull it up. The strap on the lips doesn’t let you talk or eat much. Even during war, the Gurkha men screamed and charged into battle and this alerted the enemies. The Gurkha regiment couldn’t launch surprise attacks due to this character. Despite lot of training, some Gurkha soldiers found it difficult to inhibit this nature. So the commander of a Gurkha regiment instructed soldiers to wear the straps under their chin so they would be reminded not to scream when they get into attack mode. This is continued even now by the 5th Gurkha Rifles. It reminds them to “speak with your actions.” And later this hat became the identity of the Gorkhas.
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Also, another theory takes into consideration some advantages of wearing the strap under the lower lip –
If the strap is worn under the chin, during a combat, it could easily be knocked back and choke the soldier, whereas this is less of an issue if it’s around their chin. You can’t strangle them to death if the strap isn’t buckled under their chin. Also if someone tries to pull the hat from behind, the Gorkha may fall backwards along with the hat, but if its strap is on the Gorkha’s chin, the hat would easily come off without damage to the soldier.
Some even claim to be an inherited British tradition – It is the way the Gurkha regiments wear the helmet dating back to you way the original British army wore the helmets – for which the Gurkha battalions were raised.
It is also believed to be a vestigial tradition which lost value over time, just like the buttons of a blazer, which has lost its functional significance over time and remained in ceremonial fashion.
Whatever the reason be, the Gorkha soldiers of Indian Army are the best in mountain warfare and other. They have proved themselves in all the wars fought by the Indian Army against Pakistan and China and also in the first and second world wars when Indian Gorkha soldiers fought for allied forces. Hitler was so impressed by Gorkhas that he said: “Give me the Gorkha battalion and I will conquer the world”.
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