Gorkha - A Proud Story

Hello my steemit friends, Sorry for this delay because I was busy for my exams, So couldn't post anything. I want to talk about Our Pride The Gorkhas and I want to share some stories about about them.

Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey
"Why do you join to the Army?" "I want to win the Param Vir Chakra (PVC)." That's what was asked to Capt. Manoj Kumar Pandey in his SSB interveiw. And he remained true his words! part of 1/11 Gorkha rifles, On June 11th, 1999 during The Kargil War, he led his men to capture the Jubar top, besides a narrow, treacherous ridge towards the backstabbing enemy, now in bunkers on the Indian land.
On July 3rd, as a part of Operation Vijay, advancing to Khalubar, he was asked to clear off the enemy positions amidst heavy shooting. Audaciously striking the first enemy position, he killed two enemies and destroyed the second position by killing two more. While clearing third, bullets thrashed his shoulder and legs. Undaunted, he continued to lead the assault on the fourth which he destroyed with a grenade and then, a shot penetrated his forehead. ‘Na chhodnu,’ ‘Don’t spare them,’ were his last words. This daredevil act and motivation led to capture of Khalubar.
Story of Gorkha Rifiles
Famous for their ever-present kukris – a distinctive heavy knife with a curved blade – and their fierce nature of fighting, the Gorkha regiment is the reason the British failed to annex Nepal to their Empire during the Gorkha war. The British-Indian Army officers were impressed by the tenacity and gallantry of the Gorkha soldiers and encouraged them to volunteer for the East India Company. They did and the Gorkhas remained loyal to British throughout the Raj.
After the partition, the respect for the Gorkhas hadn’t died down from the Britishers’ end and out of the ten Gorkha regiments, the British decided to retain four Gorkha Rifles; the remaining six went on to join the Indian Army.
The 8 Gorkha Rifles regiment has the unique distinction of producing one of the two Field Marshals of the Indian Army: Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who is still revered as one of Indian Army’s finest officers. Manekshaw once said: “If a man says he’s not afraid of dying, he’s either lying or he’s a Gorkha.”
Where are The Gorkhas from
The 3,500 Gorkhas in the British Army all originate from the hill-town region of Gorkha, one of the 75 districts of modern Nepal. But their name comes not from the place but is said to derive from an 8th century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. Legend has it that it was he who gave the Gorkhas the famous curved bladed knife, the kukri. The Gorkhas are mainly impoverished hill farmers.
1 Gorkha Rifles
· Regimental Centre: Subathu, Himachal Pradesh.
· Regimental Insignia: A pair of crossed Khukris (a Gorkha dagger) with the numeral 1 above.
· Motto: Kayar Hunu Bhanda Marnu Ramro (It is better to die than to be a coward).
· War Cry: Ayo Gorkhali (The Gorkhas Are Here).
· Regimental Battalions:
1st Battalion .................................
2nd Battalion .................................
3rd Battalion .................................
4th Battalion .................................
5th Battalion ..................................
Post-Independence
· Battle Honours: Kalidhar and Darsana.
· Honours & Awards: 1 Param Vir Chakra, 7 Maha Vir Chakras, 16 Vir Chakras, 1 Kirti Chakra, 3 Shaurya Chakras, 1 Yudh Seva Medal and 22 Sena Medals.
· Comments: Gorkhas from Nepal had extended their empire into the Kumaon, Garhwal and Kangra hills by the mid-18th century. The Gorkha War of 1815 was the result of the interface between the Gorkhas and the British at the time. Always on the lookout for reliable soldiers, the British started a Gorkha (Nusseree) battalion in the Simla hills. Before long, this battalion had made its mark in the battle for Bharatpur in 1826. In 1850, the battalion was termed 66th Gorkha Light Infantry and later the First Gorkha Light Infantry. It became the First King George's Own Gorkha Rifles in 1910 (Malaun Regiment). After Indian independence, the designation changed to the present one. The Regiment's other battalions were raised after 1959. The Regiment has a proud combat record and has always lived up to its reputation. Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria , 3/1 GR, is the first & only recipient of the Param Vir Chakra (Posthumous) for the Regiment in 1961.
1st Gorkha Rifles, was raised in 1815, after their exceptional gallantry against the British in their military campaign in Nepal, and fought alongside British troops in theatres across the world. It became part of the Indian Army after Independence, and has excelled in battles, since then.
The 1 Gorkha Rifles or I GR traces it roots back to the Gorkha war of 1815. British General Ochterlony was so impressed by the gallantry of these men that he allowed General Amar Singh Thapa, the Gorkha commander, to march out honourably with his arms, accoutrements, colours, two guns and his personal property. The East India Company also offered military service to the remnants of Amar Singh Thapa’s force, by raising the First Nusseree (meaning friendly or loyal) Battalion, on April 24, 1815 at Subathu, the present home of the Regiment’s Centre.
Pre-Independence era
Soon thereafter, the regiment started blazing a trail of glory and earned its first battle honour in the siege of Bhurtpore in 1826. By 1850, the regiment was awarded its regular status and was renamed as 66th Goorkha Regiment and later 1st Gorkha Light Infantry. In 1858, Lt JA Tytler was awarded its first Victoria Cross, at the Battle of Haldwani. And then in its overseas stint at Malaya in 1875, Capt GN Channer won the regiment’s second Victoria Cross. Before and between the two World Wars, the regiment served with distinction in the North West Frontier, the Second and Third Afghan Wars, before winning the title of ‘The First Gorkha Rifles’ (Malaun Regiment) in 1901.
In the wars that followed, the 1st Battalion had proved to be one of the most stubborn fighters in Europe and the Middle East during the World War I; the Second Battalion did equally well in campaigns in Sikkim and NWFP. Thereafter, during WW II, more battalions were added to the regiment. By the end of the WW II, the regiment had earned 22 battle honours and numerous decorations.
Post-Independence Era
After India’s Independence, the regiment opted to serve in India. There were only two battalions in the regiment at that time. The name of the regiment was also changed to 1 First Gorkha Rifles. The 3rd, 4th and 5th Battalions were raised subsequently in 1959, 1963 and 1965. Immediately after Independence, the 1st Battalion showed its mettle in 1948 J&K Operations and earned the First MVC for the regiment. The 2nd Battalion took part in Operation Polo in September 1948. The 3rd Battalion, which proceeded to Congo, under the UN Flag in 1961, earned its first Param Vir Chakra, when Capt GS Salaria was awarded posthumously for his gallantry
In the 1965 Indo Pak war, the regiment earned a number of decorations, most notably when the 1st Battalion saved the Akhnur-Naushera road from being cut off by the Pakistanis and was awarded the battle honour of ‘Kalidhar’. In the 1971 war with Pakistan, battalions of the Gorkha Regiment fought on both fronts in J&K and Bangladesh, and earned the honour of Darsana’ with three MVCs and three VrCs. It then went on to excel in Operation Pawan as part of IPKF in its fight against the LTTE and earned several gallantry awards.
In the conflicts in the Siachen glacier area — that turned out to be not only the highest and the most difficult battlefield for India, but also the costliest in terms of both in human lives and logistics — the Gorkha Regiment had three of its battalions fighting between 1992 and 2000. The 4th Battalion was the first in Indian Army to receive Northern Army Commander’s Appreciation for its tenure in Glacier. All Gorkha Regiment battalions have over a period of time been actively involved in counter insurgency operations in the states of Punjab, J&K and the North East, where they repeatedly earned the COAS Unit Citations. .
Excellence in battlefields apart, soldiers from the regiment have also excelled in sports, such as Suresh Mukhiya of 1/1 GR, an outstanding Footballer, who having played for the Services finally decided to join the East Bengal Club for several years in the 1980s. Football apart, a sport Gorkhas have always been good at, two of its men, Sub Narayan Singh Thapa of 2/1 GR and Hav Gupta Bahadur Gurung of 5/1 GR won a large haul of medals in skiing in the 2002 and 2003 Winter Games held at Auli, Uttarakhand. Gurung even represented India in the Winter Olympic Games held in Italy, thus, becoming the first serviceman to do so in this discipline.
Gorkha Rifles ( The shine Eight
The chronicles of 8 Gorkha Rifles are replete with tales of heroism, glory and sacrifice, but it is Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw who completes the legend about 8GR.
The Shiny Eighth, as the 8th Gorkha Rifles (8GR) is popularly known in the Gorkha fraternity, traces its lineage to the 16 Sylhet Local Battalion, that was raised in 1824. Today it is made up of 6 battalions – with the 1st battalion having become 3 Mech Inf, even though it retains its strong ties with 8 GR – its motto, similarly like other Gorkha regiments is ‘Kafar Hunu Bhanda Marnu Niko’ (Better to die than be a coward), and its war cry ‘Ayo Gorkhali’ (Here comes the Gorkhas). The chronicles of the Regiment spanning nearly two centuries are replete with tales of heroism, guts, glory and sacrifice, but it is Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, MC, who is arguably is most famous member.
PRE-INDEPENDENCE
Soon after its raising, the Regiment spearheaded operations in the first Anglo-Burmese War in 1824-25 and was later actively involved in the British war against Bhutan in 1864. Adding to its growing reputation, the Regiment became the first regular army unit to be deployed in the Naga Hills, where Colonel Richard Ridgeway earned its first Victoria Cross, in the operations that followed, to quell the Nagaland rebellion in 1879. And then under the leadership of Lt Charles Grant, the Regiment undertook the Manipur Expedition, where it’s troops held onto the village of Thoubal against a strength of 800 rebels. In his report, Lt Grant recommended, unusually, that each member of the expedition be awarded the Indian Order of Merit, a proposal that was later accepted.
Not resting on its achievements, the Regiment was part of the Young Husband Expedition to Tibet in 1904, which required it to brave the harsh weather and terrain of Tibet, before its men stormed into the Tibetan fortress of Gyantse. And a decade later, it took part, like much of the Indian army in World War-I, (the First Great War) in Italy, France, Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Egypt, only to be followed by its deployment in the Third Afghan War. And then, the Regiment later actively participated World War-II in overseas actions in Egypt, Libya, Tobruk, El Alamein and Burma, notching up a large number of gallantry awards, including four Victoria Crosses, before Independence.
POST-INDEPENDENCE
At independence, The 8thGorkha Rifles was transferred to India in 1947 and along with other regiments, and its spelling, like that of others, was changed to Gorkha. And in keeping with its own traditions and that of the Gorkhas, battalions of 8th Gorkha Rifles participated in Operations in Leh (in 194748), the Sino-Indian War (in 1962), where the Regiment earned a Param Vir Chakra (Maj Dhan Singh Thapa), and then saw action in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan Wars, as well as in Op PAWAN in Sri Lanka, all along exhibiting sterling combat performances.
Although the Regiment has a number of gallantry awards to its credit, two operations since independence, undertaken by the Regiment, merit special mention. Both these stand out for their sheer strategic significance for India’s security even today.
The first was in 1948, that prevented the fall of Leh, under the command of Major Hari Chand, who was selected by The first was in 1948, that prevented the fall of Leh, under the command of Major Hari Chand, who was selected by Lt Gen RK Nanavatty, GOC in C Northern Command and Colonel 8GR interacting with officers and soldiers of 4/8GR in 2002. His column entered Leh on 07th July 1948, after a long and hazardous journey, and fought several battles until 18th July, repulsing repeated assaults. At one stage Major Hari Chand hung on to his post for 3 days with a platoon. But for his stand Leh would have certainly been lost to the enemy. Then in September 1948, Maj Hari Chand led a guerilla party of 35 men over a height of 5200 metres and treaded 96 Km to raid a village and destroy the enemy gun located there. The march was completed in 4 days under very rigorous conditions but the guerilla party achieved complete surprise. The guncrew of six, found asleep inside a house, was killed and a howitzer destroyed. The return journey proved to be much more hazardous but the party returned safe to the base. And in October 1948, Major Hari Chand led another guerilla party to harass the enemy lines of communication. In this raid, he killed the escort of an enemy convoy and captured arms, ammunition and other supplies. Throughout these operations Major Hari Chand displayed leadership, courage and gallantry of a very high order and was thus awarded Mahavir Chakra. The other is the tale of Col Udai Singh, who commanded a force comprising three companies of the Ladakh Scouts and a section each of mortars and medium machine guns in the Indo-Pak war of 1971. Asked to capture the area between Chalunka and Turtok in Kargil sector, he undertook long night marches, with his men and essentials along with animal transport, in subzero temperature at altitudes upto 5,500 meters through, much of it in an unmapped and foggy terrain. But having planned his operation in meticulous detail he executed it with professional competence, by completely out-maneuvering a strong enemy force and inflicting heavy casualties on it. He eventually captured a large number of prisoners and a large quantity of arms and equipment, with very little loss to him, and despite deficient communication and artillery support, he pressed home his attack against well-entrenched enemy positions. After bitter fighting and often at the point of the bayonet, a number of posts were captured. Consequently, Turtok and considerable area beyond it, were brought under India’s control. Throughout this operation Col Udai Singh remained in the forefront, sharing all the discomforts and dangers with his troops. For this display of conspicuous gallantry and outstanding leadership, he was awarded the Mahavir Chakra.
Thank you for reading and take care