The Kingdom of Nepal, also known as the Gorkha Empire or Asal Hindustan (transl. Real Land of the Hindus), was a Hindu kingdom in South Asia, formed in 1768, by the unification of Nepal. Founded by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha monarch who claimed to be of Khas Thakuri origin, it existed for 240 years until the abolition of the Nepalese monarchy in 2008. During this period, Nepal was formally under the rule of the Shah dynasty, which exercised varying degrees of power during the kingdom's existence.
The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective name which refers to all the units in the British Army that are composed of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. The brigade draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army prior to Indian independence, and prior to that served for the East India Company. The brigade includes infantry, engineering, signal, logistic and training and support units. They are known for their khukuri, a distinctive heavy knife with a curved blade, and have a reputation for being fierce and brave soldiers.
The kukri or khukuri is a type of short sword with a distinct recurve in its blade originated in Nepal. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting tool throughout most of South Asia. The kukri, khukri, and kukkri spellings are of Indian English origin, with the original Nepalese English spelling being khukuri.
The Gurkhas or Gorkhas, with the endonym Gorkhali, are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India.
Gurkhas are soldiers from Nepal.
Havildar Bhanbhagta Gurung, VC, also known as Bhanbhakta Gurung, was a Nepalese Gurkha recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, awarded for his actions while serving as a Rifleman with the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles in Burma during the Second World War.
The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the United Kingdom nor a member of the Commonwealth.
Tul Bahadur Pun VC was a Nepalese Gurkha recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He later achieved the rank of Honorary Lieutenant. In addition to the Victoria Cross, Pun was awarded 10 other medals, including the Burma Star.
The Tripartite Agreement between the United Kingdom, India and Nepal was a treaty signed in 1947 concerning the rights of Gurkhas recruited in military services of United Kingdom and India. This agreement does not apply to Gurkhas employed in the Nepalese Army. Under the agreement, six of the ten Gurkha regiments remained as part of the Indian Army, while the remaining four joined the British Army. As of 2020, India has 39 Gorkha battalions serving in 7 Gorkha regiments. Those transferred to the British Army were posted to other remaining British colonies. In Malaya and Singapore, their presence was required in the Malayan Emergency, and they were to replace the Sikh unit in Singapore which reverted to the Indian Army on Indian independence. Those units in Malaya and Singapore, after these British colonies gained independence, are still part of Brunei and Singapore armed forces respectively.
The Gurkha Welfare Trust is a British charity established in 1969. It is the principal UK charity for the provision of aid to Gurkha ex-servicemen and their dependants in their homeland of Nepal, and increasingly in the UK and elsewhere.
The Nepali Army, technically the Gorkhali Army, is the land service branch of the Nepali Armed Forces. After the Gorkha Kingdom was founded in 1559, its army was established in 1560, and was accordingly known as the Gorkhali Army. The Gorkhali Army later became known also as the Royal Nepali Army following the Unification of Nepal, when the Gorkha Kingdom expanded its territory, to include the whole of the country, by conquering and annexing the other states in the region, resulting in the establishment of a single united Hindu monarchy in the whole Nepal. It was officially renamed simply to the Nepali Army on 28 May 2008, upon the abolition of the 240-year-old Nepalese monarchy, and of the 449-year-old rule of the Shah dynasty in Nepal, shortly after the Nepalese Civil War.
Following the German invasion of Poland, the Kingdom of Nepal declared war on Germany on September 4, 1939. Once Japan entered the conflict, sixteen battalions of the Royal Nepalese Army fought on the Burmese front. In addition to military support, Nepal contributed guns, equipment as well as hundreds of thousands of pounds of tea, sugar and raw materials such as timber to the Allied war effort.
Nepalese in the United Kingdom are British citizens or full-time residents of the United Kingdom whose ethnic origins lie fully or partially in Nepal. According to ONS estimates in 2019 there were 76,000 Nepalese-born people in the country.
There is a moderately medium sized ethnic minority population of Nepalese people in Hong Kong, forming roughly 4% of the total ethnic minorities population. They primarily came to this territory as part of the Gurkha brigade of the British Army in 1960s. After the handover in 1997, their siblings were granted rights of abode in Hong Kong. Hence, majority of the Nepali population of Hong Kong are the children and grandchildren of Gurkha soldiers.
The community of Nepalis in China consists of Nepalese immigrants and expatriates to China as well as Chinese citizens of Nepalese descent.
Lt. Col. John P. Cross OBE is a former British Army officer and now a Nepalese author who currently lives in Nepal. He was educated at Shrewsbury and served in the Brigade of Gurkhas in the British Indian Army and the British Army from 1943 to 1982, most of that time in Asia. His first active service was in the Burma Campaign of World War II, against the Japanese. After the Second World War he became heavily involved in counter-insurgency during the Malayan Emergency and the Borneo Confrontation, and later training and recruiting. He is fluent in Nepali.
The Nepal–Sikh War was a large scale military conflict in 1809 between the forces of the Kingdom of Nepal under Amar Singh Thapa and the Sikh Empire under general Dewan Mokham Chand.
Norden Tenzing Bhutia was a musician, composer and singer of classic Nepali pop songs like 'Musu Musu Hasi Deu', 'Gajalu le Aakhai Chopne', 'Kaha Timro Mayalu Lai'. In the 70's Bhutia was the vocalist and guitarist of the very popular Nepali ensemble, The Himalayans. Bhutia is credited with transforming Nepali music and heralding a change in musical taste and content. Bhutia was one of the pioneers to introduce rock, pop and blues to Nepali mainstream music.
Afghanistan–Nepal relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Nepal. Nepal has relations with the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan through its Embassy in New Delhi. The two countries have had long bilateral relations and both are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
