This book tells the unvarnished tale of valour and sacrifice of the Gorkhas who have served in India for the last one hundred and eighty-six years continuously in the military and para-military forces. Originally recruited from Nepal in 1815 and gradually supplemented by the sons of Indian Gorkhas, this redoubtable clan of hillmen have built up for themselves an enviable reputation for their high traditions of gallantry, loyalty and fidelity. During the First World War, they left their dead in France, Gallipoli, the Suez and Mesopotamia; and in the Second World War, they distinguished themselves in Burma (now Myanmar), Kohima (Nagaland), Italy and North Africa for their legendary bravery, tenacity and ?lan. After India’s independence, they formed an integral part of the Indian Army, and figured conspicuously in all the theatres of war. Their notable contribution to India’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and internal peace, and security with their life and blood, is all too well known to warrant repetition here. In this book, the author who is himself an Indian Gorkha, traces the history of Gorkha recruitment since 1815, and gives a true, comprehensive and up-to-date account of the heroic deeds of the Gorkhas during the two World Wars, Chinese aggression, the Indo-Pak Wars, and also the recent Pakistani intrusion into Kargil in 1999. It also recounts the role played by the Gorkha soldiers in keeping peace and security in India and abroad, and finally it highlights the contribution made by the Indian Gorkhas to India. This book, besides providing useful information to those doing research on the subject, will evoke the interest in military history of even the general reader, and it is hoped, inspire a patriotic feeling amongst the youth of today.
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