Thursday, August 19, 2010

The Brigade of Gurkhas


The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective term for units of the current British Army that are composed of Nepalese soldiers. The brigade, which is 3,640 strong, draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army prior to Indian independence, and prior to that of the East India Company. The brigade includes infantry, engineer, signal, logistic and training and support units.

They are famous for their ever-present kukris, a distinctive heavy knife with a curved blade, and for their reputation of being fierce fighters and brave soldiers. They take their name from the hill town of Gorkha from which the Nepalese kingdom had expanded. The ranks have always been dominated by four ethnic groups: the Gurungs and Magars from central Nepal; and the Rais and Limbus from the east, who live in hill villages of hill farmers.

9 comments:

Cheqna said...

I believe some Gurkhas were here in Malaysia before our Independance...may be some had stayed behind instead of going back home.

Erika Toh said...

Oh, Gurkha soldiers! I learned about them in history lesson a few years back. ^^

woody said...

gurkha:the struggle soldier..nice post anna :)

kelly world news said...

I've never heard about Gurkha.. Thanks for sharing Ana!!

lina@women's perspectives said...

Great post, Ana. Gurkha soldiers are so famous!

FATTY said...

gurkha from nepal ? i like yr article. thanks

deni said...

cayo

Pennacle Ind. said...

All's fine but a little rectification:

Gurkha (ˈɡɜrkə/ or /ˈɡʊərkə/; also spelled as Gorkha or Ghurka; Nepali: गोर्खा) are people from Nepal and northern India who take their name from the 8th century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. His disciple Bappa Rawal, born Prince Kalbhoj/Prince Shailadhish, founded the house of Mewar, Rajasthan (Rajputana). Later descendants of Bappa Rawal moved further east to found the house of Gorkha, which in turn founded the Kingdom of Nepal. Gorkha District is one of the 75 districts of modern Nepal. (Wikipedia)

Anonymous said...

No rectification necessary. It is common knowledge that the Brigade of Gurkhas is a group that is derived but distinct from the greater Gurkha history. Of course, the above is actually just additional information to given information, which itself is already correct (not rectification, as stated). But I guess everyone just likes to gratuitously copy and paste from Wikipedia, including the blogger of this blog itself. Still, the Gurkhas are awesome soldiers and warriors. So any press is good press.