Gorkha, Gurkha, or Gorkhali..
What is the one word you would use to describe yourself? They asked, “Gorkhali” I replied.
Gorkhas/ Gurkhas/ Gorkhali bring a ray of hope in darkness, we rule where no one dares to enter, we bring light where there is no sunshine. What is Gorkha? Gorkhas are people natives to The Indian Subcontinent of Nepalese Nationality and Ethnic Nepalese of Indian Nationality. They are primarily valiant warriors, and carry the “never give up” genes in their blood. Gorkhas are known for their Loyalty, their love for motherland, their courage, fearlessness and their prime weapon- ‘Khukhri’.
Who are Gorkhas?
Gorkha is a martial tribe. The tribe came into power in Nepal in the year 1768. The name “Gurkha” comes from the hill town of Gorkha of Nepal from which the Nepali Kingdom expanded. Name ‘Gorkha’ may be traced to the medieval Hindu warrior saint Guru Gorakh Nath ji, who has a historic shrine in Gorkha town of Nepal. Majority of Gorkhas are disciples of Guru Gorakh Nath Ji and Goddess Kali.
Valor of Gorkha Warriors
“Better to die than be a coward” is the motto of the world famous Gurkha soldiers serving in British army from more than 200 years. “Jai Mahakali ayo Gorkhali” is the war cry of world famous Gorkha soldiers serving in Indian Army. Whether it is British Army or Indian Army, the Bravery and courage stories of the Gorkhas and their regiments are frequently heard.
It is their bravery and dedication that the Gorkhas have received 26 Victoria Crosses, (the highest Military honor of Britain) and 1 Param Veer Chakra and several Gallantry awards of India. The Short stature and Lion’s heart are their basic virtues. Gorkhas are called Bravest of the Brave and the most generous of the generous.
Historical Statements for the courageous Gorkhas
“If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gorkha”– Marshal Sam Manekshaw.
“If I had Gurkhas, no armies in the world will defeat me.”– Adolf Hitler
“In the world there is only one place secured, that’s when you are between the Gurkhas.”-Prince Charles.
“If I had Gurkhas, I will eat Americans alive.”– Osama Bin Laden.
Gorkhas and India
India is a Nation full of Geographical, Religious, Communal, Lingual and Cultural diversity. The Gorkhas residing in India from the last 200 or more years are the Nationals of India. They exist in India from the times when India was under the reign of British East India Company. Indian Gorkhas are citizens of India as per the gazette notification of the Government of India on the issue of citizenship of the Gorkhas of India. However Gorkhas still are facing identity crisis after residing and serving India for more then 2 centuries in some places. They are dealt as outsiders by some illiterate and ignorant people of India.
As per 2011 Census, We Gorkha in India are..
As per the 2011 Census, a total of 2,926,168 people of India Spoke Nepali as mother tongue. The largest population of Gorkhas is at West Bengal, then comes Assam. A total of around 1 lakh 15 thousand Gorkhali reside in West Bengal. In almost 90,000 Gorkha population is there. The Gorkhas in India are not only serving in defense services but are spread to many different streams of occupations. Some of the well known Gorkhas of India are listed below in brief. Their introduction enough states the contribution of Gorkhas to the Nation’s growth, development and welfare.
Eminent Gorkhali, we all know
The Historians of India
Major Durga Malla– The first Gorkha Soldier recruited in Indian national army to sacrifice his life for Indian Independence movement. His statue is stationed at the Parliament House complex at New Delhi. Major Durga Malla ji is a source of inspiration for all Indians. His story is always mentioned the stories of Indian Independence movement.
Captain Ram Singh Thakuri– The composer of many patriotic songs for India like- kadam kadam badhaye ja… Jan gan man… , Captain Ram Singh Thakuri was Indian Freedom fighter, a musician and a composer. He served in Indian National Army.
Lt. Col. Dhan Singh Thapa– An Indian Army Officer, Lt. Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa is a Param Vir Chakra (The highest Gallantry award of India) recipient. He was commissioned into the 1st Battalion, 8 Gorkha Rifles in 1949. He received the PVC for his Gallantry leadership in Sino -Indian war, 1962.
Some of the present contributors
Col. Lalit Rai- Recipient of Vir Chakra for his actions in Kargil War, 1999. Col. Lalit Rai was commanding Officer 1st Battalion, 11 Gorkha Rifles. He is a well established motivational speaker at present.
Mala Sinha– The Famous Bollywood Actress has acted in many Hindi(Bollywood), Nepali and Bengali films. She belongs to a Gorkha Family. She was a Top leading actress and worked in Indian Cinema for almost 4 decades. Her original name is Alda Sinha.
Binod Pradhan– A well known name in Bollywood is a famous cinematographer. He has worked in several famous Bollywood movies like- 1942 a Love story, Devdas, Rang De Basanti, Kalank etc.
Sports persons
Tarundeep Rai– An archer, Tarundeep Rai is a recipient of Arjuna Award,2005. He has achieved many successes in International Archery Championships.
Shiva Thapa– Shiva Thapa is an Indian boxer. He has the distinction of being the Youngest Indian Boxer to qualify for Olympics.He has many medals under his belt. He is a recipient of Arjuna Award, 2016.
Sunil Chettri- One of the many Gorkha Footballers of India, Sunil Chettri is an Indian Professional footballer and captain of Team India. He is the most capped player and all time top goal scorer for the Indian National Team.
Bharat Chettri- Bharat Kumar Chettri is an Indian field hockey player. He has been the Team captain of Indian Hockey team and is a brilliant goal keeper of the team.
Jitu Rai- A world known shooter, Jitu Rai is the recipient of Arjuna Award (2015), Khel Ratna (2016) and PadamShri (2020).
The Common People
There are many other Indian Gorkhas who have been the assets to India. The Gorkha Regiment personal require a special mention here. They are the assets to India, they are the forces to reckon with for all the enemies of the Nation. The Politicians of Gorkha community are also doing their share for development of the country selflessly.
The Unsung Heroes
The Gorkhas are Lions at heart. They will seldom think of cheating and making fools with either the friends or the enemies. ‘Bravest of the Brave’ is the representation of “The Gorkha” in British Military writings. At present the youth that represents India is a force to reckon with. The Gorkhali are equally playing their role in each and every aspect of nation’s growth. They are those unsung heroes who have seldom been awarded. Their unselfish approach have been dealt with words like Chinkies or Momos, or Chinese, by some very ignorant, illiterate and idiot people. Whether it is the field of defense, or IT or Teaching , Medical or Engineering, Gorkhali are visible everywhere. They have been in political front at some places of North Eastern India. We take utmost pride to say that in our Bakloh, the small town of Himachal Pradesh, almost 95 % of the Gorkhali Families are having one or more family members working for the Indian Government in one way or the other. We are amongst those unsung heroes who are selflessly bound to serve India, our nation. The Gorkha Sabha Bakloh is also playing its part by helping the mankind at Bakloh along-with many such organizations and associations throughout the country.
Some short stories to inspire
Bishnu Shreshtha– Riding in a train , in 2011, Bishnu Shreshtha an Indian army personal took on 40 robbers single handedly. Carrying his Khukri, he not only killed three robbers, injured 8 and managed to make the rest of the robbers flee away. In this heroic act, he saved a girl too.
Ganju Lama- In World war II, though being injured, Rifleman Ganju Ghale managed to crawl into middle of the battle field destroyed 3 enemy tanks and allowed no enemy to escape. This heroic act made him earn a Victoria Cross.
Bhanu Bhakta Gurung– Against Japanese in world war II, he captured a bunker almost all by himself. He used rifle, grenades, Khukri and even rocks to eliminate the enemy. For this he also was conferred upon the highest Gallantry award of British Army, The Victoria Cross.
Agansing Rai– In 1944, Agansing Rai led a platoon . His platoon faced machine guns and two anti tank 37 mm guns in an open field. The elimination of their side was sure, but he and his team reversed the order through his bravery. For this brave act, he was given , The Victoria Cross.
Gaje Ghale– Sergeant Gaje Ghale in 1943 on the Burmese front led his team to win against adversaries. A position where the team got two times defeat, his hand combat skills managed to make his team victorious. He also received the Victoria cross for his Bravery.
The Gorkha Regiment In India
Brief History of GR
Raised as the Nasiri Regiment , The Gorkha regiment was also named 1st King George’s own Gurkha Rifles. It was integrated with Indian Forces on 1815. The Gorkha Regiment was raised by British India company, after seeing the Valor of Gorkhas in Anglo-Gorkha war. The regiment worked under British India Company selflessly till the Independence of India. It participated 2 World Wars and showed their prowess as warriors.
British officers recognized Gorkhas as Martial Tribe when they were building their empire in the 19th and early 20th century. They recognized their potential as warriors as they weren’t able to defeat them. A peace deal was signed by East India Company in 1815 after suffering heavy losses for invading Nepal. This deal allowed recruitment of Gorkha soldiers in the British Army. Thus the formation of Gorkha Regiment came into process.
After Independence
After India’s Independence, under the Tripartite Agreement, six regiments, the 1 GR, 3 GR, 4 GR, 5 GR, 8 GR and 9 GR were retained in the Indian Army, while 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th joined the Brigade of Gurkhas in the British Army. Another regiment was raised by the Indian Army, the 11 GR, to accommodate the soldiers who refused to be transferred to the British Army. The Regimental Insignia of all the Gorkha Rifles Regiments consists of a pair of crossed Khukris. The Gorkha units are some of the most decorated in the Army. They have played an important role in all the wars and have won Battle Honours in 1947-48, Ladakh in 1962, Jammu and Kashmir in 1965 and 1971. They were a part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka.The Gorkha Regiments have been awarded 3 Param Vir Chakras, 33 Maha Vir Chakras, and 84 Vir Chakras during operations.
'The Khukri', Pride of Gorkha
Khukri is the characterstic weapon of Gorkhali. It is a slightly long knife with an inwardly curved edge. It is used as both a tool or a weapon. The Khukri gained fame in the Gurkha war. It was so effective in the wars that, we can say , Gorkha got recognized by their Khukri. The use of Khukri in World War II is in-scripted in many History books. Khukri is a knife designed specially for chopping. In general the Khukri is 40 to 45 cm in overall length and weighs approximately 800 grams. The Khukri blades usually have a notch at the base of the blade. This notch has many explanations. One is that when using in war, the notch makes blood of enemy drop off the blade rather than running onto the handle. The other explanation is that the notch represents a Cow’s foot, or the teats of a cow, a reminder that it shall never be used to kill the cow. The handle is generally made of hardwood and have metal bolsters and butt plates made up of brass or steel. The Khukri typically comes in decorated wooden cover or is wrapped in leather.
The Gorkha Hat
Gorkha Hat has become synonymous with the Gurkha Soldiers. It was first introduced into Gorkha regiments in the very beginning of 20th century. It is a hat which is worn in parades and in ceremonial duties at present. Earlier the Gorkha soldiers use to wear Kilmarnock hat which neither gave protection from scorching sun or heavy rain. The Gorkha hat is a kind of slouch hat with a chin strap. Its around 300 grams in weight and has different types of chin straps for different regiments. At present Gorkha hat is worn by all Gorkha Battalions including Sikkim scouts, Garhwal Rifles Battalion and Scouts, Kumaon and Scouts, Assam Rifles, Assam Regiment.
Being a Gorkhali
Being a Gorkha/ Gurkha / Gorkhali is pride on its own. Born with those genes which the world reckons as ‘fearless’ is nice. As the above picture depicts, The Veer Gorkhas are not only Gallant, and Adventurous, but also Obedient, Reliable, Kind and Honest. Hindu by religion, Indian by Nationality, we the Gorkhas are proud human beings always ready to serve our nation for its welfare.