The bravery history of GURKHAS
“If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha.”
The term Gurkha (commonly known as Nepali Gorkha/Gurkha) is derived from the Hindu warrior ‘Guru Gorakhnath’, best known for their legendary exploits of bravery and tenacity. A Gurkha armed with a khukuri is not somebody you want to mess with. Even a mere sight of the unsheathed Khukuri is enough to discourage the enemies’ next move.
While Gurkhas are fearless, they are also gentle and humble people. The name "Gurkha" comes from the hill town of Gorkha from where the Nepalese kingdom had expanded. Unification of Nepal started from this place Gorkha by Late King Prithivi Narayan Shah. He unified all the small states of nation into one single country Nepal. The ranks have always been dominated by four ethnic groups, the Gurungs and Magars from central Nepal, the Rais and Limbus from the east, who live in villages of impoverished hill farmers. They are supposed to be hard working and brave enough to come across any kind of circumstances.
Gurkhas – The indigenous warriors of Nepal, the brave that had the courage to take over the world, Khukuri (a wickedly curved large Knife originated from Nepal) and so many other things come to our minds that can justly associate with this term. Their graciousness, loyalty and courage are what they believe to be their assets. With so much love in their heart for their country, they are dignified people and ideal soldiers. They are fearless and brave too.
The potential of these warriors was first identified by the British when they were at the height of conquering the world. Gurkhas were declared as the ‘Martial Race’ by the British officials in the 19th century. This term is used for those groups of people that are naturally born tough and aggressive in battle; that are courageous, loyal, self sufficient, physically strong and resilient.
They possess the strength to work hard for longer periods of time. These brave people are always ready to push themselves one step ahead when it comes to working hard.
Gurkha Military has always been the number one choice in India and Britain. These ‘fearless fighters’ earned great respect that helped them gain a significant place in their force, namely, Indian Army’s Gorkha regiments and the British Army’s Brigade of Gurkhas. In recognition for their service for The Great Britain against Indian rebellion, the 2nd Gurkha Rifles were awarded the Queen’s Truncheon. Many believe that this unique emblem has magical powers in it.
They say that U.S Marines consider very few modern foreign warriors that equal their strength. On the top of that list is the Gurkha military.
There are lots of story revealed in the history and bravery of Gurkha Military in Britian. There are many legends who have recorded their name in the history of Britian and some still remaining history are there survining.
From 1857 until 1947, the Gurkha regiments served in many countries like Burma, Afghanistan, the North-East and North-West Frontiers of India, Malta (The Russo- Turkish War 1877-78) , Cyprus , Malaya, China (1900), Tibet and in many other First and Second World Wars.Their heroic tales were incorporated in many songs, poems and stories.
Gurkhas have loyally fought for the British all over the world, receiving 13 Victoria Crosses between them. More than 200,000 fought in the two world wars, and in the past 50 years they have served in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, Cyprus, the Falklands, Kosovo and now in Iraq and Afghanistan. They serve in a variety of roles, mainly in the infantry but with significant numbers of engineers, logisticians and signals specialists. They keep to their Nepalese customs and beliefs, and the brigade follows religious festivals such as Dashain in which - in Nepal, not the UK - goats and buffaloes are sacrificed.
Even to this day, people write about them and their sacrifices for the love of their country. It is believed that a mother would happily send her son to a war-zone if it was to fight for their mother land. The bone-chilling “Jay Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali”– which means ‘Glory to Kali (Hindu Goddess), the Gurkhas approach’, was and still is their war cry.
Better to die than be a coward is the motto of the world-famous Nepalese Gurkha soldiers who are an integral part of the British Army. They still carry into battle their traditional weapon - an 18-inch long curved knife known as the khukuri. In times past, it was said that once a kukri was drawn in battle, it had to "taste blood" - if not, its owner had to cut himself before returning it to its sheath. The potential of these warriors was first realized by the British at the height of their empire-building in the last century. The Victorians identified them as a "martial race", perceiving in them particularly masculine qualities of toughness. After suffering heavy casualties in the invasion of Nepal, the British East India Company signed a hasty peace deal in 1815, which also allowed it to recruit from the ranks of the former enemy.
Frrom Nepal yearly thousands in number of Nepali youth are being choosen as a British military. Most of the mongolian tribes like Gurung, Magar, Rai, Limbu, Sunuwar ,Tamang are choosen according to their performance throughout the selection . They look for the people of remote ares where one has learnt to survived with their hardwork and who is much diverted to success. Different task and examination has to be performed for the selection.
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