NEW DELHI.TOI: The blood-curdling " Ayo Gorkhali" battle-cry, backed by the wickedly-curved khukris, may soon lose its long-standing welcome resonance in the Indian Army, with the Nepalese government again moving towards banning the recruitment of Gorkhas in foreign armies.
The Indian defence establishment is watching with concern the Baburam Bhattarai government's fresh move to eventually halt the recruitment of Gorkhas in Indian, British and other armies in line with the recommendations of its parliament's report "Nepal's Foreign policy in the Changed Context, 2012".
"As per our information, it's a proposal being studied in Nepal as of now...no final decision has yet been taken. We are tracking it closely," said a senior defence ministry official on Monday.
Over 25,000 Nepalese currently serve in the Indian Army's seven Gorkha Rifles (Ist, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th and 11th), each of which has five to six battalions (800 to 1,000 soldiers each), drawing basically from Rais and Limbus of eastern Nepal and Gurungs and Magars from the west.
They make up almost 70% of the Gorkha Regiment, while "Indian domicile Gorkhas" from places like Dehradun, Darjeeling and Dharamshala constitute the rest. "Rais and Limbus in 11 GR, for instance, come both from eastern Nepal as well as Darjeeling," said an officer.
There are roughly another 20,000 Gorkhas in Indian paramilitary and police forces like Assam Rifles. "Moreover, India has over 80,000 ex-servicemen, 17,000 retired Assam Rifles personnel and 11,000 widows to look after in Nepal. The serving and retired together draw around Rs 1,200 crore annually as salaries and pension from India," he said.
Defence minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday that India was going to extend the benefits of its ECHS (ex-servicemen contributory health scheme) to retired personnel in Nepal through three polyclinics at Kathmandu, Pokhara and Dharan, which will also have mobile clinics.
The number of serving Nepalese Gorkhas is quite small to operationally matter for the 1.13-million Indian Army, which is much more worried about China's deft strategic inroads into Nepal at the moment.
But the force remains very devoted to continuing its two-century-old "glorious tradition" of recruiting the intrepid and doughty Gorkha soldiers, with Maharaja Ranjit Singh being among the first to tap their never-say-die fighting spirit in the early 19th Century.
British Indian Army's Gorkha regiments won a dozen Victoria Crosses and other top laurels in World War I and II, before they were divided between the British and Indian armies in 1947.
Since then, the Indian Gorkha Rifles in India have also proved their mettle in all conflicts and counter-insurgency operations, ranging from the Hyderabad police action in 1948 to the 1999 Kargil conflict, winning the highest gallantry awards like the Param Vir Chakra, Ashok Chakra and Mahavir Chakra.
"Indian Army shares a unique and special bond with the Gorkhas and their credo `Kafir hunu banda marnu jati' (better to die than be a coward)...They are superb, unflinching soldiers. We obviously would like to continue with the tradition," said a senior officer.
The Gorkha Brigade, which celebrated its diamond jubilee in February, after being constituted in 1952 by Major-General D K Palit to foster esprit-de-corps, has produced several top Indian Army commanders, including chiefs like Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and General Gopal Bewoor.
The present Army vice-chief Lt-General S K Singh is the current Gorkha Brigade president as an officer from the 8th Gorkha Rifles.
The Indian defence establishment is watching with concern the Baburam Bhattarai government's fresh move to eventually halt the recruitment of Gorkhas in Indian, British and other armies in line with the recommendations of its parliament's report "Nepal's Foreign policy in the Changed Context, 2012".
"As per our information, it's a proposal being studied in Nepal as of now...no final decision has yet been taken. We are tracking it closely," said a senior defence ministry official on Monday.
Over 25,000 Nepalese currently serve in the Indian Army's seven Gorkha Rifles (Ist, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th and 11th), each of which has five to six battalions (800 to 1,000 soldiers each), drawing basically from Rais and Limbus of eastern Nepal and Gurungs and Magars from the west.
They make up almost 70% of the Gorkha Regiment, while "Indian domicile Gorkhas" from places like Dehradun, Darjeeling and Dharamshala constitute the rest. "Rais and Limbus in 11 GR, for instance, come both from eastern Nepal as well as Darjeeling," said an officer.
There are roughly another 20,000 Gorkhas in Indian paramilitary and police forces like Assam Rifles. "Moreover, India has over 80,000 ex-servicemen, 17,000 retired Assam Rifles personnel and 11,000 widows to look after in Nepal. The serving and retired together draw around Rs 1,200 crore annually as salaries and pension from India," he said.
Defence minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday that India was going to extend the benefits of its ECHS (ex-servicemen contributory health scheme) to retired personnel in Nepal through three polyclinics at Kathmandu, Pokhara and Dharan, which will also have mobile clinics.
The number of serving Nepalese Gorkhas is quite small to operationally matter for the 1.13-million Indian Army, which is much more worried about China's deft strategic inroads into Nepal at the moment.
But the force remains very devoted to continuing its two-century-old "glorious tradition" of recruiting the intrepid and doughty Gorkha soldiers, with Maharaja Ranjit Singh being among the first to tap their never-say-die fighting spirit in the early 19th Century.
British Indian Army's Gorkha regiments won a dozen Victoria Crosses and other top laurels in World War I and II, before they were divided between the British and Indian armies in 1947.
Since then, the Indian Gorkha Rifles in India have also proved their mettle in all conflicts and counter-insurgency operations, ranging from the Hyderabad police action in 1948 to the 1999 Kargil conflict, winning the highest gallantry awards like the Param Vir Chakra, Ashok Chakra and Mahavir Chakra.
"Indian Army shares a unique and special bond with the Gorkhas and their credo `Kafir hunu banda marnu jati' (better to die than be a coward)...They are superb, unflinching soldiers. We obviously would like to continue with the tradition," said a senior officer.
The Gorkha Brigade, which celebrated its diamond jubilee in February, after being constituted in 1952 by Major-General D K Palit to foster esprit-de-corps, has produced several top Indian Army commanders, including chiefs like Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and General Gopal Bewoor.
The present Army vice-chief Lt-General S K Singh is the current Gorkha Brigade president as an officer from the 8th Gorkha Rifles.
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