Kami Sherpa's points about proper spelling of Gorkha.

The first Gorkhaharu were men who fought for the king of Gorkha, Prithivi Narayan
Shah, in an effort to unite Nepal into a single cohesive country. They succeeded and
Prithivi can be rightfully called the George Washington of Nepal. He put Nepal together.

The first Gorkhas to serve under the British flag were recruited by Lt. Frederick Young,
who had been held captive earlier by the Gorkhas. They were Gorkhas, men of Gorkha.
Their battle cry was "Ayo Gorkhali!"

Pala points out that there is not a place called Gurkha in Nepal but there is a place
called Gorkha. He further points out that in Nepal, the home of the Gorkha, they are
not called Gurkha but Gorkha.

Gorkha harks back to the first highly organized fighting men of Nepal and means
something both historically and geographically. Gurkha is a British corruption of the
word and in actuality means nothing.
 

The first Ghorkas.

In the Nepal war of 1812 the British sent a force of 30,000 against 12,000 Gorkhas (in reality at this time there was no such thing as a Gurkha -- they were called Gorkhalis) thinking in their usual arrogance they would take Nepal by storm. Just the opposite proved to be true. The Gorkhas fought the British to a standstill.

For example, during extremely bitter fighting while defending the hill fortress of Kalunga the Gorkhas lost 520 out of 600 defenders but they fought so bravely and so well and the losses they inflicted on the British were so staggering it inspired the British to erect a stone battle monument at Kalunga inscribed with the words:
THEY FOUGHT IN THEIR CONFLICT LIKE MEN AND, IN THE INTERVALS OF ACTUAL CONFLICT, SHOWED US A LIBERAL COURTESY.

But, it was a two way street. In another incident British Lieutenant Frederick Young leading a party of irregulars was surprised by a force of Gorkhas. The irregulars upon seeing the khukuri yielding Gorkha force ran away leaving the British Officers to face the Gorkhas alone.

There was little battle here since the Gorkha force was so superior but the fact that the British Officers had remained to try to hold their ground and had not fled greatly impressed the Gorkhas. They asked Young and his subordinates why they had not also ran away and according to legend Young replied, "I have not come so far to run away. I came to stay." And stay he did. For about a year the Gorkhas held Young captive but during this year the Gorkhas developed a sincere and deep respect for Young and the British fighting spirit which much resembled their own. And, indeed, it was Young himself who was able to recruit the first Gorkhas to serve under the British flag -- 3,000 Gorkhas divided into four battalions. Young went on to serve as the commander of the Sirmoor Battalion of Gurkhas for 28 years and, amazingly, was able to report his battalion service ready after only six months.

These were the first Gorkhas, fighting men from the mountain kingdom of Nepal -- Rai, Magar, Limbu, Gurung and Sunwar tribesmen. Small of stature, large of heart, accustomed to hardship, good natured with a keen sense of humor, loyal to death, more disciplined than any fighting force in the world, brave and capable, and absolutely without fear.

The same can be said for every Gorkha to come down the line since those first Gorkhas and for every Gorkha in service today.

BILL MARTINO 2/17/99
 
 

Probably the most renowned fighting knife in the world is the kukri, the wickedly curved knife of the Gurkhas of Nepal. Wherever these British-trained mountain men have gone into battle, their kukris have carved a wide swath among the enemy. Some years ago, when I worked in Malaysia, I went on an occasional patrol with the famed British Tracker-Killer Teams in Malaya and the Borneo States. The mission of these skilled jungle experts was to move into the jungle and keep pressure on enemy guerrillas, eventually tracking them to their hideouts and destroying them. The small, mobile groups, usually no more than a dozen men, were composed of Gurkhas with their tracker and killer dogs, British NCOs and Iban headhunters from Borneo. The Ibans and Gurkhas had much in common. They loved knives. During rest periods in the jungle they would unsheathe their blades and gently test the edge with their thumb, knowing all the time, of course, just how sharp they were. Whenever action seemed imminent, even though they were armed with the small Sterling gun, they would draw their kukris.

A perfect example of this reliance on knives was demonstrated one morning. Nearing a small native village that reportedly harbored guerrillas, two Gurkhas- a scout and his safety man-moved with the grace and elegance of ballet dancers from bush to tree, ever nearer to a lone hut in the clearing. Placing his gun on the ground, one soldier took two concussion grenades from his belt and hung them from his teeth. Then, drawing his kukri, he ran like a flash and vaulted through an open window, jumped out the far side and tumbled into the jungle, leaving the grenades inside. The roof seemed to lift off a few feet and drop down again. Two very frightened Indonesians ran out to face a yelling horde of snarling dogs, soldiers and wildly painted headhunters. There was no question of a fight, since orders were to take the enemy alive, and everybody was reasonably happy (except the Ibans, who wanted heads).

Often the mere sight of an unsheathed kukri is enough to discourage any further action by causing a cold, cramped feeling in the nether regions of the stomach. In fact some years ago a show of kukris aborted a revolt before it turned into a full-fledged revolution. We must go back some years to when the Federation of Malaysia was being formed after the Second World War. At that time the Sultanate of Brunei decided to remain under British protection, even though independent. (After all, they had all the oil.) A small enclave, Brunei sits comfortably along the lush jungle coast of Borneo (now Sabah) between Sarawak to the south and what was formerly Jesselton in British North Borneo.

Once while His Highness was on annual holiday in England, far removed from political intrigues and palace coups, an uprising was attempted. British military headquarters, then stationed in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, was alerted and quickly flew a company of Gurkhas the short distance up the coast.
Landing at Brunei airport, the little brown men double-timed into Bruneitown and soon came in view of the rioters.

Forming a thin khaki line across the lone main street, they unsheathed their kukris and stood facing the howling mob. Looking at that silent row of men, their knives sparkling in the sun, the insurgents had some fast second thoughts and slowly began to disband. The troops smartly about-faced, trotted back to the airfield and flew home to Kuching. Elapsed time to crush a rebellion-under two hours.

From Knives and Knifemakers by Sid Latham...... Macmillan / Collier

Gorkhas taking a hill

The Caste System

 The Hindu caste system is divided into four basic castes:
1) Brahmin (highest, priestly caste)
2) Chetri (warrior caste -- King of Nepal goes here, no military service that I know of but he inherited his caste as all do)
3) Baishra (business caste -- Newaris and businessmen go here)
4) Sudra (kamis, butchers, undertakers, janitors and the like go here -- untouchables)
These basic castes are divided into subcastes. I never paid much attention to it but I believe, for example, that a kami is a higher caste than a butcher but both are still untouchables. The caste system has been outlawed in both India and Nepal but it is still observed to some degree, especially in rural areas. At one time it had a distinct effect on one's life. Examples: intermarriage between castes was forbidden and even today in some rural areas heavily frowned upon. The kami who made the khukuri that killed the bear would not enter my father-in-law's home except for funeral or wedding if invited. However, since the caste system was outlawed things have improved and I believe today the Prime Minister of India is an untouchable.

A nasty practice in my opinion but in the old days it helped keep social order and gave everyone in society a "place." Gorkhas were recruited from every caste except the Newaris who were simply too busy making money to make good Gorkhas. Buddhists, like my father-in-law, were for years denied entry into Gorkha service, the notion being they were too peaceful to make decent Gorkhas. But, after trying a few Buddhists it was found that they are much like Christians --"thou shalt not kill" (except in the line of duty).

BILL MARTINO 11/98

Sonam on the organization of an Indian Gorkha unit

Section = 10 Riflemen, commanded by 1 Naik (corporal)
Platoon = 3 Sections, commanded by Subedar (JCO - will come to this later)
Company = 3 Platoons, commanded by Major & Coy HQ
Battalion = 4 Rifle Companies, commanded by Colonel, Lt. Col is 2IC (second-in-command)
+ Support Company (MGs, Mortar platoon, pioneer platoon, sniper section, etc.) + HQ
Company (cooks, clerks, transport, etc.); making a grand total of about 750 - 800 personnel
per Battalion.

Each Battalion belongs to a certain specific Regiment and follows the traditions, norms, etc.
of that Regiment. There are 7 Gorkha Regiments in the Indian Army, the 1st Gorkha Rifles
with 5 battalions (1/1 GR, 2/1 GR, etc.), the 3rd Gorkha Rilfes with 5 battalions, the 4th
Gorkha Rifles with 6 battalions, the 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) with 6 battalions, the
8th Gorkha Rifles with 6 battalions, the 9th Gorkha Riles with 6 battalions, and the 11th
Gorkha Rifles with 7 battalions. You might've noticed that the regiments skip some numbers,
that's because those were the regiments that the British took with them after Indian
independence in 1947 (the 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th - which sadly no longer exist, all having
been amalgamated into a greatly reduced "Royal Gurkha Rifles").

The 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th Gorkha Rifles recruits predominantly from Gurung and Magar
tribes of western Nepal, the 9th recruits primarily high-caste Chettri and Bahun, and the 11th
recruits primarily from Rai and Limbu tribes of western Nepal. Gorkhas are also recruited in
large numbers in the Assam Rifles and the Naga Regiment.

The ranks in a Gorkha battalion are roughly:

Rifleman

Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs):
Lance-Naik (L/Cpl) - (one stripe on right arm, if I remember correctly. The other arm bears the
 insignia of the Division to which the battalion is serving with)
Naik (Corporal) - (two stripes)
Havildar (Sergeant) - three stripes
Havildar-Major (Sergeant-Major) - (three stripes with an Ashoka Lion on top).
There are a couple of other ranks in between that I'm not too sure about - Company
Havildar-Major, Battalion Havildar-Major, etc. - I know some of them wear an additional
insignia in the form of a leather bracelet with an Ashoka-Lion, not sure of the details, though.

Junior-Commissioned Officers (JCOs):
This layer of ranks used to be called the Viceroy's Commissioned Officers (VCOs) in the
British days. They are picked from the NCO ranks - in other words, you don't get
commissioned automatically as a JCO, you have to pay your dues in the ranks. In the old
days (and even nowadays) they served as a vital link between the officers and the troops
(both coming from such different backgrounds, I guess they needed old hands around to
make things run properly). They wear rank badges similar to commissioned officers (except
with an additional yellow-reb strip of ribbon on the epaulettes just above the regimental
insignia) and are accorded a lot of the same respect.
Naib-Subedar (one star on shoulder epaulette)
Subedar (two-stars)
Subedar-Major (Ashoka-Lion). The SM is one of the most important figures in the battalion,
having had the longest service, many times longer than the Colonel's, and is his close
confidant in many matters ranging from Regimental and Gorkha customs and traditions, to
training, to welfare of the troops, etc.

 Commissioned Officers (in this case, mostly Indian, and there is stiff competition among the
officer candidates to get a commission in the Gorkhas) - they're more or less the same as in
the British Army:
2 Lt. - one star
Lt. - two star
Captain - three stars
Major - Ashoka Lion
Lt. Col (2IC) - Ashoka Lion and one star (nickname "Lamb" - since in case of any trouble
from higher-ups he's the first one to be "offered for sacrifice" )
Colonel (CO) - Ashoka Lion and two stars, with red tabs on the collar and a red band on his
Gorkha-hat (nickname "Tiger" for obvious reasons)

In my time, although the British Officer (BO) rank and promotion structure in Gurkha battalions was such that they always needed to bring in a few extra captains or majors temporarily -- volunteers from British regiments, who would definitely have thought of it as `an interesting posting' for a while -- the great majority were home-grown, coming straight from Sandhurst (or other officer training establishments that existed from time to time) and spending their careers badged in the Regiment.

There were always plenty of candidates for commissions in the Gurkha regiments, I guess because of their reputation for good discipline, loyalty and fighting skills, and probably because they were usually in the Far East, and this meant that regiments could be `picky'. In all, I think the standard of officer WAS higher in Gurkha units, but I would not want to exaggerate it. Above all, one should avoid the word `elite', either for the officers or the men. There is only one truly elite part of the British Army, and that is the SAS; the term is justified here because they can take the best from other units. Regiments which recruit direct from the population cannot really be called elite in my opinion.

That the Gurkhas were issued pretty much the same kit issued to other commonwealth soldiers for the particular theater of operation is broadly  true. When I joined 10 GR in UK, we had 1944 Pattern webbing, which had been designed for the Far East, but everyone else in UK and Germany had the 1958 Pattern. Units in Hong Kong had older anti-tank platoon weapons (old MOBAT then WOMBAT 120mm recoilless guns in my time, while in Europe the MILAN missile was being issued).

The most exceptional piece of equipage apart from their khukuris was their level of experience. On average the gurkha soldier served for at least 15 years. He was chosen from 100s or thousands of applicants, this is true, so perhaps `elite' is justified and his training was longer and harder than the training provided to other commonwealth troops."

Only longer because they needed to learn more, including some English (also such basics as how to use a knife and fork, and many other details of
western life)...

To a young boy in Nepal during the 19th and early 20th centuries, an appointment as a soldier in a Gurkha unit would have been a tremendous accomplishment. They would have been set for life.  This should not be taken as meaning they would ever sit back having got on the bottom rung of the ladder -- all wanted (and still do) to stay as long as possible and be promoted as far as possible. Although at one level Gurkhas are very good at accepting heirarchy, and always respect people older than themselves, paradoxically they are very egalitarian among their peers, and often very resentful when not picked for further promotion.

 There is mention of the 'kookrie' as being an 'official piece of equipment' as early as 1837. They are Gurkhas and they have always carried a khukuri. No time periods are specified.

You take into combat what you need to get the job done. Inspections and parades were probably a different story as to what to carry.
 

Notice the heavy duty gloves.

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