Gurkha War and diaspora in Manipur
- Part 2 -

Deepak Aley *

1815: By this time, the British logistics were severely tested so far from their bases in Bengal. Hastings was obliged to send bigger and better-led armies to the frontier in a new round of fighting in 1815. One notable British Commander, Sir Ochterlony began to reverse the trend of EIC losses. He besieged the major Gurkha fort of Malaon and captured Kumaun (Kumaon) in May 1815.

The EIC attempted to negotiate a peace settlement, but the Nepalese were not willing to give up territories or their independence and so decided to fight on. The British through subterfuge used local smugglers as guides and bypassed the heavily fortified passes in the valley of Nepal to march the army

1816: At the Battle of Makwanpur, Ochterlony orchestrated the most decisive EIC victory in Nepal. More battles and sieges followed with Ochterlony taking the time to build roads to get his heavy cannons into better positions to blast the Gurkha forts.

The Nepalese eventually decided to initiate peace when Kathmandu came under direct threat from Ochterlony and was subjected to the constant campaigning of the EIC with its much superior resources, which allowed it to regularly replenish losses in material and manpower.

Aftermath

The Treaty of Sugauli:

The Treaty of Sugauli March 4, 1816, suited Ochterlony to bring the campaign to a speedy conclusion because of the approach of the dreaded aul-fever season but also because a number of his European troops suffered from dysentery.

The Treaty of Sugauli had been ratified on March 4, 1816. According to the treaty, Nepal would lose Sikkim, the territories of Kumaon and Garhwal, and most of the lands of the Tarai. The British East India Company would pay 200,000 rupees annually to compensate for the loss of income from the Tarai region. The Tarai lands proved difficult to govern, the British returning some of them to Nepal in 1816, while Nepal simultaneously abolished the annual payments.

The Mechi river became the new eastern border and the Mahakali river, the western boundary of Nepal. The Treaty forced Kathmandu to accept a British Resident, a hateful symbol of its reduction to client status in relation to the British administration in Calcutta.

Gurkha Recruitment:

David Ochterlony and the political agent William Fraser quickly to recognized the potential of Gurkha soldiers in British service. During the war, the British employed defectors from the Gurkha army as irregular forces. In April 1815, his confidence in their loyalty prompted him to form them into a battalion under Lieutenant Ross called the Nasiri regiment.

That regiment, later to become the 1st King George's Own Gurkha Rifles, saw action at the Malaun fort under the leadership of Lieutenant Lawtie. Lawtie reported to Ochterlony that he "had the greatest reason to be satisfied with their exertions."

About 5,000 men entered British service in 1815, most of them Kumaonis, Garhwalis and other Himalayan hill men rather than Gurkhas. Those groups, eventually lumped together under the term Gurkha, became the backbone of British Indian forces.

As well as Ochterlony's Gurkha battalions, William Fraser and Lieutenant Frederick Young raised the Sirmoor battalion, later to become the 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles. An additional battalion, the Kumaon battalion, had been raised later becoming the 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles.

Support in the Sepoy Mutiny:

The Mutiny has also been described as the first war of independence. The war was not immediately successful. Begun in Meerut by Indian sepoys in the service of the British East India Company, the Mutiny spread to many places including Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, and Lucknow. In 1857, the Bengal Army, which had to suppress the rebellion in this part of the Company territory, had 1500 Gurkhas.

The deployment of tiny Gurkhas, the "Irishmen of Asia", created panic among the rebels. Ted Russell, an ensign of the 193rd Bengal Native Infantry, stationed at Aurungpore, and one of the principal actors in the book, makes clear that the Gurkhas were eager to come in contact with the mutinous hordes and fight them out.

These hordes were even seen by him running with terrified eyes and panting breath at different places. They fought like anything, throwing down musket and bayonet, and drawing their razor-edged kukris and plunged into the thick of their opponents, hewing them down and scattering them on every side by the fury of their charge. Even though the Gurkhas were finally overbearing, they also suffered terrible casualties from the mutineers.

However, even the wounded ones refused to leave their post. Such was their determination that when the British comrades offered to assist and relocate the injured soldiers to a relatively less threatened zone, where they could receive medical assistance, they flatly refused instead preferring to stay by the side of their battling comrades
(Refer Frederick P. Gibbon's The Disputed VC: A Tale of the Indian Mutiny )

Gurkhas and the First World War(1914-1918):

The Gurkha soldiers had left a lasting impression on the British, who were now at peace with Nepal and over time it became clear that the British army intended to use their fighting prowess to bolster their strength. The Gurkhas were thus recruited to fight alongside the British and serve in the army, a service which has seen generations of valiant Gurkhas fight beside British troops in wars across the globe. By 1891, the Regiment had been renamed the 1st Gurkha Rifle Regiment.

The Gurkhas were used by the British in India in order to thwart revolts, as well as in a host of other locations such as Greece, Italy and the Middle East, not to mention fighting the Japanese in Singapore and in the dense jungles of Burma. By the end of the First World War over 90,000 Gurkha soldiers had served with over 20,000 casualties and 6,000 deaths.

Gurkhas and the Second World War(1939-1945):

On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Gurkha soldiers of the British Indian Army were immediately deployed in service of the British War effort.

Gurkha soldiers saw service in three main combat theatres: North Africa, Italy and the Far East. Gurkhas fought as part of the British 8th Army in North Africa, against Italian and German troops, suffering heavy losses at battles such as Tobruk, where2ND Battalion of the 7th Gurkha Rifles was captured.

After the final defeat of Italian and German forces in North Africa in 1943, Gurkha troops remained a key component of the Allied forces deployed in the liberation of Italy from 1943 until 1945. After the final defeat of Italian and German forces in North Africa in 1943, Gurkha troops remained a key component of the Allied forces deployed in the liberation of Italy from 1943 until 1945.

The 43rd Gurkha Lorried Brigade, composed of the 2nd Battalions of the 6th, 8th and 10th Gurkha Rifles, fought alongside the 4th, 8th and 10th Indian Infantry Divisions and reached some of the furthest-north points of the Italian Campaign before the German surrender in May 1945.

During the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, the 1st Battalion of the 9th Gurkha Rifles managed to reach the walls of the Monte Cassino Monastery itself, holding out nearby for 9 days before being forced to withdraw due to lack of supplies.

12 Victoria Crosses (of which five were posthumous) were awarded to Gurkha soldiers and British officers within Gurkha Regiments during the Second World War. In total, some 120,000 Gurkhas served in the Second World War, suffering over 20,000 casualties and over 9,000 deaths.

To be continued....