Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi is embarking on a visit to Nepal. It is customary for the Army chiefs of the two countries to make reciprocal visits soon after taking over and the honorary rank of general in the Army of the host nation is conferred on the visitor.
General Dwivedi’s visit assumes special importance in light of the impasse over the recruitment of Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army following the introduction of the Agnipath scheme. Nepal has not agreed to the short-term recruitment scheme and has held back the recruitment of fresh Gorkha troops. The Indian Army chief is expected to broach the issue and attempt to resolve the deadlock.
It would be interesting to look back at how the issue of recruitment of Nepalese Gorkhas evolved after Partition and the manner in which they were assimilated into the newly independent India’s Army as well as the British Army.
Indian objection to Gorkhas serving in British Army
With the date of Independence approaching rapidly, the British were keen to decide on the retention of Gorkha regiments in both the Indian and British armies. As early as October 23, 1946, the cabinet of the interim Government of India had decided that Gorkha troops should be retained in the Indian Army provided they were officered by Indian or Gorkha officers.
At the same time, the cabinet opposed the employment of Gorkhas in the British Army. It was decided that the matter would be addressed through a tripartite discussion involving the Indian, Nepalese and British governments.
However, the British suggested the issue be first discussed between Indian and British representatives before involving Nepal. Accordingly, Major General Lewis Lyne, director of staff duties at the British War Office, arrived in India in March 1947 to hold talks.
The British revealed their wish to retain eight Gorkha battalions, which would form the nucleus of a Gorkha Division stationed in Malaya as a strategic reserve and for internal security duties.
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In April 1947, the interim cabinet informed the Maharaja of Nepal that India wished to regain at least eight Gorkha battalions, consisting of 7,500-8,000 men. The British communicated the same to the Nepalese ruler, with the caveat that the numbers might increase in the future.
Major General Lyne and G S Bajpai of the interim Indian government’s foreign affairs department visited Nepal together to discuss the proposal with the Maharaja. The ruler of Nepal approved the proposal, provided the Gorkha regiments were willing to serve in either army.
However, Bajpai noted that in discussions with the Maharaja, when Major General Lyne was not present, the Nepalese ruler expressed a preference for all Gorkha regiments to remain in the Indian Army. He added that if India wanted Gorkhas to serve in the British Army, he would agree to that as well. He further stated that if India decided not to employ Gorkha troops and did not allow Britain to employ them either, he would accept that decision too.
Further discussions were held back as the Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, announced the date of Partition on June 3, 1947, resulting in a “standstill order” regarding any decisions on the armies of the dominions of India and Pakistan until Independence.
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The British, nevertheless keen to resolve the issue quickly, sent the chief of imperial general staff, Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery, to India. He met Jawaharlal Nehru, the vice-president of the interim Government of India, on June 23 and 24, 1947, and obtained a “personal assurance” from him regarding the employment of Gorkhas by the British Army.
However, records show that Nehru made it clear that this agreement in principle was “personal” and that he could not commit the future Government of India. On June 25, he raised the issue of his discussions with Montgomery in a cabinet meeting, and no opposition was voiced to the assurance he had given. However, in the same meeting, Nehru clarified that the employment of Gorkha troops by the British Army was “not particularly welcome”.
It took some time before a formal decision could be reached, as the defence member of the interim Government, Baldev Singh, informed that his cabinet colleagues wanted all Gorkha regiments to be part of the Indian Army.
The British Gorkha Division
Eventually, the division of Gorkhas between the Indian and British armies took place following a tripartite agreement between India, Britain and Nepal on November 18, 1947. A British Gorkha Division was raised, with Major General C H Boucher as the commander. Boucher had been commissioned in the 7th Gurkha (later Gorkha) Rifles and had subsequently been transferred to the 3rd Gurkha Rifles.
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Out of the 10 Gorkha regiments in existence at the time, four went to Britain and six to India. The 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th Gurkha Rifles were assigned to Britain, while the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th Gurkha Rifles came to India. A referendum was held among all Gorkha Rifles regiments designated for Britain to determine whether they wanted to accompany their battalions to the British Army or join the Indian Army. Only around 4,000 Gorkha soldiers opted for the British Army at that time.
Lieutenant General Francis Tucker was appointed as the colonel of the regiment of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles, Field Marshal Lord Birdwood for the 6th Gurkha Rifles, General Sir William Slim for the 7th Gurkha Rifles and General Sir Philip Christison for the 10th Gurkha Rifles.