At the time of Indian Independence in 1947, as per the terms of the

Britain–India–Nepal Tripartite Agreement The Tripartite Agreement between the United Kingdom, India and Nepal is a treaty signed in 1947 concerning the rights of Gurkhas recruited in military services of United Kingdom and India. This agreement does not apply to Gurkhas employed in the Ne ...

, six Gorkha regiments, formerly part of the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

, became part of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and have served ever since. The troops are mainly from ethnic

Gurkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with the endonym Gorkhali ( Nepali: गोर्खाली ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India. The Gurkha units consist of Nepali and ...

communities of Nepal. A seventh Gorkha Rifles regiment was formally re-raised in the Indian Army after Independence to accommodate the dedicated Gorkha soldiers of the 7th Gurkha Rifles and the 10th Gurkha Rifles who chose not to transfer to the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

History

Origins

Impressed by the fighting qualities displayed by the Gorkhas during the

Gurkha War The Anglo-Nepalese War (1 November 1814 – 4 March 1816), also known as the Gorkha War or Nepal-Company War, was fought between the Gorkhali army of the Kingdom of Nepal (present-day Nepal) and the forces of the British East India Company ...

, Sir David Ochterlony was quick to realise the potential of the Gorkhas in the

. Until then, Gorkha defectors were generally used as irregular forces. On 24 April 1815, the first battalion of the Gorkha Regiment, was raised as the Nasiri regiment. This regiment later became the 1st King George's Own Gurkha Rifles, and saw action at the Maulun fort under Lieutenant Lawtie. They were instrumental in the expansion of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

throughout the

subcontinent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as in the case of A ...

. The Gorkhas took part in the Gurkha-Sikh War, the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company which took place from 1848 to 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab region, Punjab and what sub ...

s, Afghan wars, and in suppressing the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

. Throughout these years, the British continued to recruit the Gorkhas and kept increasing the number of Gorkha regiments. By the time First World War started, there were 10 Gorkha (spelt Gurkha at the time) regiments in the

. The Gorkha regiments played a major role as part of the Commonwealth armies during both World Wars seeing action from

Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...

in the west to

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

in the east, and earning extensive

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In ...

s. During the North African campaign, the German

Afrikakorps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African ...

accorded respect to the Nepalese knife

khukri The kukri () or khukuri (, ) is a type of knife or short sword with a distinct recurve in its blade that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting/chopping tool throughout ...

-wielding Gorkhas.

Post independence of India

Following India's independence, India, Nepal and Great Britain signed a Britain-India-Nepal Tripartite Agreement in 1947. Provision was made for six of the 10 Gorkha regiments in the

to transfer to the new

.Gurkha regiment history in Singapore
singapore21.org.sg. This agreement did not apply to Gurkhas employed in the Nepalese Army. As of 2020, India has 39 Gorkha battalions serving in 7 Gorkha regiments.Gurkha recruitment legacy of past, says Nepal; calls 1947 tripartite agreement 'redundant'
Times of India, 31 July 2020. The four Gurkha regiments transferred to the British Army were posted to the remaining British colonies. In Malaya and Singapore, their presence was required in the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

, and they were to replace the

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

unit in Singapore which reverted to the Indian Army on Indian independence. Those units in Malaya (Malaysia and Brunei) and Singapore, after these British colonies gained independence, are still part of Brunei and Singapore's armed forces respectively. The six regiments incorporated in the new army of independent India were: * 1st King George V's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment) *

3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles The 3rd Gorkha Rifles or Third Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 3 GR is an Indian Army infantry regiment. It was originally a Gurkha Gorkha regiments (India), regiment of the British Indian Army formed in 1815. This regiment recruit mainly Magars an ...

* 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles * 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) *

8th Gurkha Rifles The 8th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1824 as part of the British East India Company and later transferred to the British Indian Army after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The regiment served in World War I ...

* 9th Gurkha Rifles In 1949, the spelling of 'Gurkha' in the Indian Army was changed to the traditional 'Gorkha'. Upon India becoming a republic in 1950, all royal titles associated with the Indian Gorkha regiments were dropped. Following the divisions of the Gorkha regiments, it was decided that transferring to the British Army would be a voluntary decision for the individual Gorkha soldiers affected. As a result, large numbers of men from the 7th Gurkha Rifles and the 10th Gurkha Rifles, which recruited predominantly from eastern Nepal, decided not to remain with their regiments when these became part of the British Army. In order to retain a contingent from this area of Nepal, the Indian Army made the decision to raise the 11 Gorkha Rifles. Although there was an ad hoc regiment with this number, raised during World War 1 with troops drawn from the various existing Gurkha units, the troops mostly retained the uniform and insignias of their respective regiments (with a few exceptions who wore 11 GR badges which was unofficial as no sanction was given for such). This regiment was disbanded in 1922 and has no relation to the present-day 11 Gurkha Rifles, despite claims to the contrary. Since independence, the Gorkhas have fought in every major campaign involving the Indian Army, and have been awarded numerous battle and theatre honours. Gorkha regiments have won many gallantry awards, such as the

Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest Awards and Decorations of the Indian Armed Forces, military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates roughly as the "Wheel of Supre ...

and the

Maha Vir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...

. The 5th Battalion of the 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), 5/5 GR (FF), fought gallantly in the Hyderabad police action in 1948, during which Nk. Nar Bahadur Thapa of 5/5 GR (FF) earned the first Ashok Chakra Class I of independent India on 15 September 1948. The 1st Battalion, 1/5 GR (FF), captured the Sehjra bulge fighting against a whole Pakistani battalion during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The 4th Battalion, 4/5 GR (FF), fought in the Battle of Sylhet, earning the distinction of being the first regiment of the Indian Army to be involved in a heliborne attack. Under the Indian Army, Gorkhas have served in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Siachen The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends in northeastern Kashmir. At long, it is the longest glaci ...

, and in UN peacekeeping missions in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. Major

Dhan Singh Thapa Dhan Singh Thapa Param Vir Chakra, PVC (28 April 19286 September 2005) was an Indian Officer (armed forces), military officer and recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military decoration. He was commissioned into the 1st Battalion, ...

of the 1st Battalion, 8 Gorkha Rifles, 1/8 GR, won the

for his heroic actions during the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict. The 1st Battalion of the 11th Gorkha Rifles, 1/11 GR, was involved in the

Kargil War The Kargil War, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh, then part of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC). In In ...

of 1999, where Lt. Manoj Kumar Pandey was posthumously awarded the

for gallantry. Lt. Hari Singh Bist of the 3rd Battalion of the 11th Gorkha Rifles was awarded a

Shaurya Chakra The Shaurya Chakra () is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, sometimes posthum ...

posthumously for his bravery in a close combat encounter with JeM terrorists in Mendhar in Kashmir. Lt. Bist and his patrol party had acquired information that a group of terrorists were hiding in a village hut. On receiving the intelligence, Lt. Bist volunteered to conduct further surveillance. During the actual encounter, Lt. Bist killed five militants, but was shot five times in the process.

Structure

Current regimental strength

Currently, there are 39 battalions serving in 7 Gorkha regiments in the Indian Army. Six regiments were transferred from the

, while one was formed after independence; *

1 Gorkha Rifles 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), often referred to as the 1st Gorkha Rifles, or 1 GR in abbreviation, is the most senior Gorkha Infantry regiment of the Indian Army, comprising Gurkha soldiers of Indian Gorkha or Nepalese nationality, pa ...

– 6 battalions (previously 1st King George V's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment)) *

3 Gorkha Rifles The 3rd Gorkha Rifles or Third Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 3 GR is an Indian Army infantry regiment. It was originally a Gurkha regiment of the British Indian Army formed in 1815. This regiment recruit mainly Magars and Gurung tribes. They wer ...

– 5 battalions (previously 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles) *

4 Gorkha Rifles The 4th Gorkha Rifles or the Fourth Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 4 GR, is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Indian Gorkha or Nepalese nationality, especially Magars and Gurungs hill tribes of Nepal. The Fourth ...

– 5 battalions (previously 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles) * 5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) – 6 battalions (previously 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force)) * 8 Gorkha Rifles – 6 battalions (In 8 GR the First Battalion is converted into

Mechanised Infantry Regiment The Mechanised Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, comprising 27 battalions (including 3 tracked and 2 wheeled reconnaissance and support battalions) dispersed under various armoured formations throughout India. Togethe ...

) * 9 Gorkha Rifles – 5 battalions * 11 Gorkha Rifles – 6 battalions (raised after the independence of India).

Regimental Centres

The Regimental Centres of Gorkha Regiments are situated around the major cities in India. Basically there are 4 Gorkha Training Centres across major cities. They are: * 11 Gorkha Rifles Regimental Centre (11 GRRC) located in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

* 14 Gorkha Training Centre (14 GTC) located in

Sabathu Sabathu (also known as Subathu) is a cantonment town in Solan district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Himachal Pradesh. It has a historic association with the Anglo-Nepalese War, and is now the centre of the 1st Gorkha Ri ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

* 39 Gorkha Training Centre (39 GTC) located in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

* 58 Gorkha Training Centre (58 GTC) located in Happy Valley,

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

Apart from this the Gorkhas are mainly recruited from GRD (Gorkha Recruiting Depot) Kunraghat,

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...

Affiliations

The Gorkha Rifle regiments have the following affiliations: * 15 Rashtriya Rifles battalion – 1 Gorkha Rifles & 4 Gorkha Rifles * 32 Rashtriya Rifles battalion – 3 Gorkha Rifles & 9 Gorkha Rifles * 33 Rashtriya Rifles battalion – 5 Gorkha Rifles & 8 Gorkha Rifles * 137 Composite Eco-Task Force Battalion (Territorial Army) 3 Gorkha Rifles & 9 Gorkha Rifles – Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh * 107 Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (11 Gorkha Rifles) –

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

The individual Gorkha rifle regiments of India are collectively known for regimental purposes as the 'Gorkha Brigade' between themselves and are not to be confused with the

Brigade of Gurkhas Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective name which refers to all the units in the British Army that are composed of Gurkha, Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. The brigade draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Arm ...

of the British Army.

Gorkha hat

The Gorkha hat is wide brimmed and comprises two layers of material. It is made of felt and is worn tilted. It was originally adopted prior to World War I for wear with the khaki drill service uniform of the time. The round "pill-box" cap worn with the traditional rifle-green dress uniform of Gorkha regiments was retained after 1947 for off-duty use.

In popular culture

A platoon of the 1/11 Gorkha Rifles, led by Lt. Manoj Kumar Pandey and commanded by Col. Lalit Rai has been depicted in the 2003

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

movie LOC: Kargil.

Sudesh Berry Sudesh Berry is an Indian actor and personality known for his works in Hindi cinema and List of Indian television actors, Indian television. Films Television References External links

* Living people Indian male film actors ...

portrays Col. Lalit Rai, while

Ajay Devgn Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director, and producer. One of the most prolific actors of Hindi cinema, Devgn has appeared in over Ajay Devgn filmography, 100 films and ha ...

plays Lt. Manoj Kumar Pandey. Field Marshall S.H.F.J Manekshaw of

8th Gorkha Rifles The 8th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1824 as part of the British East India Company and later transferred to the British Indian Army after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The regiment served in World War I ...

was also played by

Vicky Kaushal Vicky Kaushal (; born 16 May 1988) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards, and has appeared in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list of ...

in his biopic titled

Sam Bahadur Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw (3 April 1914 – 27 June 2008), also known as Sam Bahadur ("the Brave") was an Indian Army general officer who was the Chief of the army staff during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, and ...

released in 2023.

References

External links

Sir Mark Tully's presentation of the Indian Army during the Second World War

Bharat-Rakshak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorkha Regiments (India) Military units and formations established in 1815 Infantry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947 British Indian Army infantry regiments Mercenary units and formations Gurkhas Units of the Indian Peace Keeping Force 1815 establishments in British India