The Gurkhas: The History and Legacy of the Nepalese Soldiers Used by the British Empire in India

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About The Gurkhas: The History And Legacy Of The Nepalese

*Includes pictures*Includes contemporary accounts*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading*Includes a table of contents“If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha.” - Field Marshal Sam ManekshawThe Gurkha Regiment is without question one of the most storied regiments of the British Army. Somewhat like the French Foreign Legion, however, it has traditionally been a regiment of adventurers and soldiers of fortune, with the simple difference that the Gurkhas represent only a minor ethnicity of the wider Nepalese population, distinguished by a long and august martial tradition. Traditionally, the officer corps of the various Gurkha regiments have been drawn from the regular ranks of the British Army, with fluency in Nepali a basic requirement. The rank and file, however, and more recently many officers, are drawn from the population of the Nepalese hill country.To the Gurkha, Nepal means not the 56,000 square mile territory known as Nepal today, but the Kathmandu Valley, or the Valley of Nepal, drained by the tributaries of the Bagmati River and surrounded by the Himalayan foothills that most Gurkhas call home. Today Nepal is an independent republic sandwiched between India and China, and occupying the southern lee of the Himalayas. The nation is 520 miles long and about 100 miles wide, and it is the rugged and rarefied nature of the landscape that has shaped the physiques and mindsets of the people within. Ethnic Nepalese are typically short and sturdy with voluminous lungs and strong, muscular frames. Human portage has for millennia been the only means of transport in mountains and foothills surrounding the valley, and even today there are probably little more than 200 miles of blacktop roads in the country. The main thoroughfares are the foot trails that interconnect the mountain communities scattered across the region.The word Gurkha can mean man