A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GURKHAS OF NEPAL
Who Are the Gurkhas?
If you have recently been to Singapore and seen a smart soldier wearing a wide brimmed felt hat, or seen like of him in front of Buckingham Palace, you have seen a Gurkha, variously spelt as Gorchha, Goorka, Ghoorka, Gorkha or simp[ly as the Gurk. You will recognize him by his Mongolian looks with a faint expression of a confident smile and a very friendly and helpful attitude. The Gurkhas have been in service under the British Crown for nearly two centuries and that explains his presence in front of the Buckingham Palace, or Hong Kong, or Singapore.
They derive their name from their 18th Century King Prithiwi Narayan Sah, a Thakuri prince, who had unified Nepal and founded the House of Gurkha. Nepal had until then remained a mosaic of fragmentary princedoms ruled by several Thakuri and Kirati princes. While most of those princes were Buddhist, Sah favoured the Brahmins and though he did not declare Brahminism as the state religion it gradually spread throughout the kindom none the less. As a matter of fact, the process of brahminisation of Nepal is still continuing even till this date.
It was neither possible nor necessary to determine where
India ended and where Nepal began until recent history, but according to Indian
Epics the people who inhabited the Himalayan foothills were known as Kirat, or
Kirati, or Kiranti. Siddhartha Gout’m
who became the Buddha, belonged to one of their cognate tribes called Sakyas,
which was accurately observed by two renowned historians, Sir Vincent Smith and
Sir Percival Spear of Oxford and Cambridge University respectively. Soon after Enlightenment, in 528 B.C., the
Buddha had journeyed to Kathmandu on a pilgrimage to Swayambhunath temple during
the reign of the Kirati King Jite Dasty.
In 243 B.C., Emperor Ashok the Great had followed the footsteps of the Sage of the Sakyas and arrived in Kathmandu on a pilgrimage to worship the Lord Swayambhunath. To commemorate his visit, Ashok founded the city of Deo Pattan within Kathmandu Valley, known today as Patan. He also gave away his daughter Charumati in marriage to a nobleman at the Court of Sthunko, the Kirati King of Nepal.
Buddha spoke and taught in ‘Pali, an archaic form of Nepali, the lingua franca of his days, but never recorded his sermons in writing. Only after he attained nirwan, his disciples reduced his sermons to writing in ‘Pali and in due course of time were transmitted by monk-emissaries to Myanmar, Sri Lanka and the Hellenistic world. Several of his sermons in ‘Pali have survived till this day in the form of rocks and pillars edicts etched by the orders of Emperor Ashok where they had remained unread and forgotten for some two thousand years.
‘Pali lacked fine rules of grammar and spelling and indeed the word ‘Pali is but Nepali poorly spelt. In due course of time, ‘Pali was refined or cultured by pre-brahminic Nepalese monks to emerge as Sanskrit (literally meaning refined or cultured). That explains why the earliest manuscripts ever written in Sanskrit are the Buddhist religious literature of Nepal. In contrast, the earliest Hindu books in Sanskrit appeared only around circa 6th century A.D.
Nearly two centuries ago, Brian Houghton Hodgson had discovered several hundred volumes of manuscripts in Sanskrit in Kathmandu, Nepal. Hodgson promptly gathered the rare pre-brahminic Nepalese Buddist manuscripts and shipped several trunk-loads of them to Oxford, Cambridge and Paris libraries. It is emphasized here that their rarity lies not on their antiquity but on their authorship by pre-brahminic Kirati scholars where the supreme brahminic gods are portrayed as having been relegated to secondary positions. The Buddha did not reject outright the brahminic gods, (Hindus were then known simply as deva worshippers), but had committed them to the background.
The forbearers of the Gurkhas had fought a fierce war against the Hon’ble East India Company in 1814-15 when the latter was carving out an Empire in a state of absent-mindedness. The War was a disaster, the British lost three of their four Generals and was obliged to sue for peace. In due course of time, they persuaded the Gurkhas to sign a Treaty of Peace under which The British agreed to indemnify the Gurkhas: Article IV, of the Treaty states, “With a view to indemnify the Chiefs and Barahdars of the State of Nipal,…….the British Government agrees to settle pensions to the aggregate amount of two lakhs (200,000) of rupees per annum …….(for full text of the Treaty, refer to “The Legend of the Gurkhas” by Colonel G.L. Rai-Zimmdar).
Brits were more than impressed, they needed the Gurkhas to hold the Empire together and if they were not forthcoming, the friendship had to be created. Hence, Queen Victoria sent a personal invitation to the King of the Gurkhas for a visit to London, which was accepted by Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana on his sovereign’s behalf. Jung’s European tour was a brilliant success and just right on time because within the decade was over, India had risen up in open mutiny and only with the Gurkha’s energetic support the mutiny was suppressed. Jung Bahadur had played his stellar role in quelling the mutiny.
Providentially, very soon thereafter, the Celestial Emperor of China decided to decorate Jung with “Thon-lin Pimma-ko Kang Wan Siyang”, a most illustrious robe of honour. The British quickly reacted with decorating Jung with the equally meritorious honour of the “Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India”. Thereafter, every Prime Minister of Nepal was to receive ever more higher and glamorous honours and awards to the chagrin and envy of all the native princes of India.
One of the outcomes of the Anglo-Gurkha war was that the British obtained permission from the Nepalese Government to enlist the demobilized Gurkhas to serve under the Crown. Ever since, the Gurkhas have been fighting gallantly and winning accolades in various battle-fields of Asia, Europe and Africa and at least once, in the Falklands.
During World War I, on 25 September 1915, at Neuve Chapelle, France, a Gurkha soldier risked his life to save three of his wounded comrades, all the time being fully exposed to the German machinegun fire. His actions were so spontaneous and so audacious, the German High Command had written a citation offering to decorate the anonymous Gurkha. As the details of the incident reached London, King George V was visibly impressed that he desired to see the Gurkha personally. In due course of time, Rifleman Kulbir Thapa was ushered into Buckingham Palace where in a rare expression of royal prerogative, the King Emperor decorated the Gurkha with Britain’s highest military honour, the Victoria Cross.
Towards the end of World War I, the British decided to
promote native officers to the officers rank, that they too could hold King’s
(Queen’s) Commission in the regular army.
Thus Bhimsing Thapa, a Gurkha Officer of 3rd QAO Gurkha
Rifles became one of the first five native officers selected from the Indian
Army to receive King’s Commission. Many
more officers of British Indian Army selected to receive King’s (Queen’s)
Commission were trained in Royal Military
College, Sandhurst, U.K. and the best among the Cadets is awarded the
Sword-of-Honour. One and only officer
from Indian Sub-Continent throughout its history, ever to receive that honour
is also a Gurkha officer.
The forebears of the Gurkhas, better known as the Kiratis, have been the earliest known people to have inhabited the area ranging from the southern slopes of the Himalayas to the Indo-Gangetic Plains. However, under circumstances not known now, the entire populace left their hearths and homes en-masse and migrated eastward. It is substantiated by a curious fact that the people who inhabit the Isle of Bali worship the same Nepalese gods but which are unfamiliar in India. Additionally, the Balinese people possess manuscripts written in Sanskrit which further points to a time period of the migration after the’Pali was refined as stated above.
During the unification of Nepal and for quite some time later, the Nepalese in general, and the Kiratis in particular, followed a unique pattern of belief system, viz, they were either Shiwa-margi or Buddha-margi, followers of Shiwa (Brahminic spelling Siva) or followers of the Buddha. It mattered little to them that the two deities were to move so far apart later. As a matter of fact, it is visible even till this date that the Buddha and Shiwa are worshipped together by the Nepalese, very often within a single temple. This practice of worshipping the Buddha and Shiwa together is also prevalent among the people of the Isle of Bali and its total absence in India indicates the common provenance of the Balinese and pre-brahminic Kiratis of ancient Nepal.
Basically, the pre-brahminic nature of the Gurkhas has been misunderstood or perhaps has deliberately been veiled under disinformation. The image of the Gurkhas and their homeland Nepal have often been projected as being an adjunct to India rather than it being the cultural beneficiary of Nepal’s past.
The Gurkhas have been identified with their curved knife called kukri. It has sent shivers down the backbones of the adversaries facing the Gurkhas onslaught but yet the origin of the kukri has not been precisely recorded. Its earliest pictorial depiction however is found in a Hellenistic mosaic where one of the foot-soldiers of Alexander the Great is seen to be wielding one. The heavier model of the kukri, known as Bhojpuray, is identified with eastern Nepal while its thinner model, the Sirupatay, is used throughout the realm.
The Gurkhas relish non-vegetarian food and welcome a swig or two now and then. Before the became liege to Prithiwi Naraan Sah, most of them, Kiratis in particular, were beef-eaters and though their new King made no demand on their eating habits, most of them gave up eating beef. Nevertheless, they continued to eat non-vegetarian diet substituting buffalo meat for beef. Many Gurkhas who inhabit Darjeeling and Sikkim region now routinely include beef in their diet without any prejudice.
The Gurkhas formed and essential part of the British Empire and have often been referred to as being “the bravest of the brave” among the soldiering community. During the Anglo-Gurkha war, a certain young British officer, Lieut. Frederick Young, had been taken prisoner by the Gurkhas and to this young man we owe the Anglo-Gurkha relation of friendship. Young was released at the end of the hostility and having experienced firsthand the soldiering qualities of the Gurkhas, he was instrumental in persuading his Government to enlist the demobilized Gurkhas to serve under the Crown.
In 1947, Indiean sub-continent was granted Independence and the British, tired and exhausted after the World War II left the scene. The Gurkhas were given three options, either continue to serve under the Crown, or join the newley formed Indian Army, or return home to Nepal. These options were offered under a Tri-Partite Agreement signed by Britain, India and Nepal.
The contents of the Agreement appeared to be innocent enough in 1947, but has turned viciously against the Gurkhas’ interest now. The most severe article of the Agreement lays down that the Gurkhas should be paid equal to what India pays its won Army. Today, a malignant anomaly has arisen from the simple economics of Britain and India; the British per capita income has risen to US $27,700.00 per annum while India’s per capita income still hovers around US $285.00 and US $600.00 per annum. The Gurkhas receive British scale of pay during the tenure of service but upon superannuation, they are compelled to abandon the British affluence and accept a very meager pension.
The Gurkha has moved far enough away from his earlier image of Kiplingesque ‘Mougli’; Kipling had modeled his hero of The Jungle Book after a Gurkha and named him Mougli for his Mongolian looks. Time alone can redeem the Gurkhas by requiring a review of the Tri-Partite Agreement. Every Gurkha expects the day will eventually come when he will return home with enough pensionary benefits and be able to offer better opportunities to the future generations following him.
His captors had treated Lieut Frederick Young very well, taught him their language and told him that the Brits are almost as brave as the Gurkhas themselves are. Lieut Young had accepted that remark as a great compliment and is known to have quoted the opinion of the Gurkhas often in his conversation. As long as the nations of the future will continue to draw themselves out in the battle-fields to resolve their differences, the Gurkha’s credo will resonate in the air, “Kafar hunu bhanda marnu niko”, “It is better to be dead than live as a coward”.
General Sir Francis Tuker once wrote, “…..who the Gurkhas really are…..in defence of their independence, (the Gurkhas) have for two centuries shielded India from the swelling power of Tartaric Asia…..Let an enquirer be assured that if he seeks to understand the meaning of courage and selfless devotion, then he should soldier with a Gurkha regiment. He will return an enlightened and a better man from the experience.”
(C) Copyright 2006
Colonel G. L. Rai-Zimmdar
If you should have any questions about the Gurkhas or any related subject, Col. Rai-Zimmdar, "Jimmy", will be happy to answer them. His email address is greenshield1@optilink.us