Gurkhas.Gem of the crown

The soldiers of the Gurkha regiments come from the Himalayan country of Nepal, situated on the northern edge of the Indian subcontinent. It is roughly rectangular, 540 miles long and 100 miles wide. Within this small area the country contains tropical forest in the low lying area to the south, and some of the highest mountains in the world, including Everest, to the north. Somwhere in between is the capital, Khatmandu on a flat plateau in the foothills. This plateau is regarded by the people of the country as Nepal, everywhere else is Pahar (the hill districts) or Mades (the plains).According to an agreement between the Nepalese and the British, recruitment for the Gurkha regiments is restricted to Pahar where the various tribes inhabit the higher altitudes. The racial origins of the people are diverse. Basically there are Mongolians and Indo-Aryans. The royal family and the majority of the inhabitants of Khatmandu are descended from Thakurs and Rajputs from India while the Gurkha tribes are of Mongolian descent.
The use of the word Gurkha to describe the hill men comes from a place of that name that was ruled, in the mid-18th century by Prithi Narayan Sah. Impressed by the British military conquest of Mogul India, he thought he would try the same against his neighbours. These Gurkhas were quite ruthless and successful so that the expansion of the Gurkha empire carried on after the death of Prithi Narayan Sah until the early 19th century. At this point the British decided to put a stop to the empire-building activities of this truculent people.War was declared in November 1814. A force of 22,000 was sent and the first action was a seige at Kalunga, garrisoned by 600 Gurkhas. The Britsh suffered severe losses including a Major-General and began to wonder how they were ever going to subdue these tough little men. Of all the generals, only one man had the determination to press on, Sir David Ochterlony. He fought several battles against the enemy who were commanded by Umur Sing. On 15th April 1815 a hard fought battle at Deothul peak resulted in the retreat of the Gurkhas. Even after this they refused to surrender and a further campaign in January 1816 had to be waged to final bring an end to the war.The story of Britain's struggle for the control of India has several examples of enemies becoming firm allies. The two most notable being the Sikhs and the Gurkhas. Both very warlike groups and both forming loyal and very effective regiments in the British army. The first three Gurkha regiments were raised in 1815, before the final surrender of the the King of Nepal. In fact, Ochterlony had recommended the recruitment of Gurkhas as early as 1814.


The 'mutiny' was a nation-wide rebellion of Indian troops and civilians against the British. There were many reasons behind this uprising of Indians' against their colonial rulers, but it was directly triggered in February 1857 when Indian 'sepoys' (soldiers) learned that the greasy wrapping paper around the cartridges of their new Enfield rifles was lubricated with a mixture of beef and pork fat. Troops were required to bite off the cartridge paper to load the weapon. Cows being sacred to Hindus and pigs 'haram' (unclean) to Muslims, the discovery of the beef and pork fat in the grease was seen as a sacrilegious insult to sepoys of both faiths. The resulting revolt shook India and the whole British Empire to its foundations. Britain's cruel retribution against the Indians who rose against them is one of the many forgotten shameful chapters in the history of the British Empire.Sirmoor Battalion (later to become the 2nd Gurkha Rifles) proved their courage and loyalty by occupying the most vulnerable position at Hindu Rao’s house, during the Siege of Delhi. They fought for three months, under constant fire from heavy artillery, losing two-thirds of their men. Their courage earned them the gratitude and undying admiration of their fellow British troops. From 1857 onwards Gurkhas were seen not simply as courageous and fearsome soldiers, but as honorary Britons. In 1858, as a mark of respect, the soldiers of the Sirmoor battalion were awarded the designation of ‘riflemen’ – on a par with their British brothers-in-arms, the 60th Rifle
In some cases whole Bengal regiments mutinied, but many remained loyal to the British, including the Gurkhas. In fact two more Gurkha regiments were raised during the course of the mutiny. The mutineers gravitated towards Delhi until 20,000 garrisoned the city. The Sirmoor Battalion, as it was now called, (the number 6 had been dropped in 1850) under it's commanding officer Major Charles Reid, set out from it's base at Dehra Dun. They made forced marches and travelled by boat up the Ganges Canal to Delhi. They stopped to rest at one point and were approached by some Indian sappers who tried to convince the Gurkhas that bullocks bones had been ground up and mixed with their flour. But they jeered at the sappers and enjoyed a hearty meal of chappatis and dhal.