GURKHAS OF THE BRITISH ARMY
CONTEXT
The British Army announced this week that it would create a new Specialized Infantry Battalion by recruiting more than 800 Nepalese Gurkha servicepersons this year completed 200 years of service there.
ENTRY INTO SERVICE
- Impressed by discipline and ferocity in the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16 which was a victory for the East India Company, they decided to recruit them in 1815
- Gorkhas fought on the British side in both world wars.
- Upon Independence in 1947, the question of allotting the 10 regiments of Gurkha soldiers arose. This was settled by the Britain-India-Nepal Tripartite Agreement, which assigned the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, and 10th Gurkha Rifles regiments to India, and the 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 10th regiments to Britain.
- In 1948, India created an 11th Gurkha Rifles regiment to accommodate the Gurkhas who refused to depart with the now-British regiments.
- Later, the British Army amalgamated their four regiments into a combined Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) regiment consisting of three battalions. The RGR was subsequently deployed in Britain’s remaining colonies in Asia, including Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, to fill the vacuum created by departing Indian regiments such as the Sikhs, which were stationed there earlier
- They are enlisted not only in the infantry but also in the engineering corps and as logisticians. Their signature weapon, the khukri, famous for the inwardly curved shape of its blade and its legendary utility, forms part of the Gurkha regimental insignia in Britain as well as in India. Queen Elizabeth II of Britain is guarded by two personal Gurkha officers. Former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew is known to have preferred Gurkha police officers for his protection.
- Gurkhas now have the same service conditions as the regular British Army, with the option of British citizenship upon retirement. British Army Gurkhas have been active during the Falklands campaign, the Gulf Wars, as well as in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, they are stationed at British garrisons in Brunei and the UK.
