Agnipath will weaken the Gorkha bonding

Maj Gen Ashok K Mehta (retd)

Military Commentator

He is known as Gorkha Johnny, Gurkhali Saathi and Lahure. He went to Lahore to join Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army to earn wealth, fame and name. Back then, girls in Nepal preferred to marry Lahures. Many still do. Their war cry is: Ayo Gorkhali (Gorkhas are upon you) and credo: Kaafir huno banda marno jati (It is better to die than be a coward). In between their first name and surname are the words ‘Bahadur’ (brave) and Jung (battle).

Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw — also known as Sam Bahadur after the legendary Gorkha Top Bahadur — used to say: “If a soldier tells you he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or a Gorkha.” When I was asked for my three choices of arms at the Indian Military Academy, I opted for Gorkhas, Gorkhas and Gorkhas. Now, for the first time in their history, some will be called Agniveer Gorkhas — a title certainly superfluous for them.

Before Partition, British officers would not allow Indian officers to join the Gorkhas. Only after 1947, when the Gorkha regiments were divided between British and Indian armies, did Indian officers start to command Gorkha troops. A Tripartite Recruitment Agreement in 1947 allowed Gorkhas from Nepal to join the British, Indian and Nepalese armies with varying terms of engagement —salaries and pensions. The bottomline of the agreement was the Nepalese insistence that Gorkhas not be termed as 'mercenaries'. Nepalese Gorkhas now join the French Army as well and many veterans join as private contractors.

In essence, though, Gorkhas still join Indian regiments for traditional ancestral bonding with the parent battalions. The 1, 3, 4, 5 and 8 Gorkha regiments are mainly Magars and Gurungs; the 9th are Chhetris and Thakuris; and 11 Gorkhas consist of Rais and Limbus and are all part of the Indian army. The late CDS, Gen Bipin Rawat, commanded the 5th Battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles. The British Army took away the 2, 6, 7 and 10 Regiments but are now reduced to just two battalions.

Recruitment into Gorkha regiments was initially done at Nautanwa, along the India-Nepal border near Bhairhawa. Later, permanent locations were selected: the Gorkha Recruiting Depots in Kunraghat, Gorakhpur and Ghoom, near Darjeeling. Recruiters from Nepal, called Galla Wallahs, used to bring young Gorkhas to the recruitment depots, trekking 20 to 24 days for bharti in Bharatiya fauj. Physical and medical tests later, those selected were sent to the regimental training centres.

The recruitment system changed when Indian recruiting teams went to Nepal to pluck hardy youth from inaccessible areas. Recruitment rallies were held in Pokhara, Dharan and other places in west and east Nepal. The recruitment system is fully transparent and now includes a written examination. Recruitment was at first 100 per cent from Nepal. Later this changed — 70 per cent Nepal Domiciled Gorkhas (NDG) and 30 per cent Indian Domiciled Gorkhas (IDG). When Covid interrupted the recruitment, the recruiting depots were absorbing Gorkhas in the 60:40 ratio. In 2018, 6/1 Gorkha Rifles was raised entirely from IDG, sending a political message to Nepal.

Within Nepal, the Communists, especially the Maoists, had in their 40-point demand for ruling government in 1990, sought a stop to the recruitment of Gorkhas into the Indian Army. But Maoists were merely making a political point as becoming a soldier is still the first love of Gorkhas, though their first choice is the British Army. It is not unusual to have in one family, three brothers in three different armies.

In the 1970s, India had considered and rejected the shortsighted proposal to phase out the Gorkhas from the Indian Army. The then Army Chief, Gen Gopal Bewoor, convinced Prime Minister Indira Gandhi that Gorkhas were a strategic asset.

The prevarication over imposing the Agnipath Yojana on the Gorkha Brigade ended last week with the retention of the regimental system, of which Gorkhas are a very special entity. The Gorkha Recruiting Depots have finally received their orders: "The Agnipath scheme is also applicable to NDG. The present pattern of selection and distribution of recruits (now Agniveers) is not being changed. The only change happening is in terms and conditions of service. The regimental system shall be retained."

As the vacancy allotment by the Recruiting Directorate is based on wastage — Manpower Planning System — the numbers of vacancies of NDG and IDG do not essentially reflect the 60:40 composition. Kumaonis and Garhwalis (not All India All class) will be recruited under the Agnipath scheme.

There are 38 Infantry battalions, two Rashtriya Rifles battalions, two Territorial Army battalions and the 64 Field Regiment of Artillery consisting entirely of Gorkhas. This makes the Gorkha brigade the largest regiment of the infantry.

The extended families of serving and retired Gorkhas are estimated around 17 lakh and they constitute a strong pro-India constituency in Nepal where New Delhi has struggled to maintain its pre-eminence and special relations with Nepal under a China overhang. Given their discipline and dedication, Indian Gorkha ex-servicemen become natural leaders in civil society. They have established Indian regimental associations across Nepal, commemorating battle honours and raising days of their battalions. This has created an enduring bonding between ex-servicemen in Nepal and their paltans in India.

There is no official reaction from Nepal; it was not consulted on Agnipath, though the scheme impacts the 1947 Tripartite Treaty and affects the aspiring youth. Recruitment rallies will be held on August 15 and 31 after receiving clearance from Nepal. Agnipath is seen as a big disappointment as in four years, the youth could earn a fortune in Dubai, Dublin and Durban, as they do, without putting their lives on the block along the LAC and LoC.

Over time, the BJP government is likely to end the Gorkha legend. Prime Minister Modi seems to have forgotten that on his first visit to Nepal in 2014, he had highlighted the sacrifices of the Gorkha soldiers. Agnipath will weaken that Gorkha bonding.

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