The Gorakha Grief

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First to lead and the last to complain, the Gorkha soldiers have withstood the test of time despite the challenges thrown their way. Renowned for their bravery, they have a remarkable legacy as warriors who paved the way for the proud modern India we celebrate today. Instead of being rightfully showered with accolades and acknowledginent, the sincere Gorkhas have been treated as outsiders, their families and communities left out of the progress that the rest of the country has leaped towards over time. Stuck between power players plotting to determine its faith, Nepal has also come to a standstill, with progress slipping away faster than the country can keep up with. Who is to blame for this conundrum and is it too late to make amends?

There are many questions left unanswered, but through the pages of this book-woven with the rears of long-suffering Nepalis worldwide Tim I Gurung intends to show you how the vast depths of the Gorkha Grief came to be.

Tim I Gurung is a Nepali novelist, a Gorkha, and the author of acclaimed books such as Aye Gorkhali, The Namaste Club, A Nation For Refugees, and many others. He joined the British Army at seventeen, serving them for thirteen long ycars. Following this, he invested twenty-two years in his business in China before becoming a full-time writer. He has worked with eight publishers from Asia so far. He lives in Hong Kong with his wife and children.

It was late May 2022 when I finally took a plane and embarked on my fact-finding trip. The three-month journey took me to various parts of Nepal and India. I visited India's Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Siliguri, Darjeeling, Gangtok, Kalimpong, Guwahati, and Meghalaya and met hundreds of people with different backgrounds from both sides of the border. I purposefully arranged my trip through the northwestern and northeastern parts of India, where most of the Indian Gorkhas have been residing for ages, and I did not travel to other parts of India. I mer scholars, intellectuals, politicians, students, professors, community leaders, social workers, doctors, religious leaders, business people, army and police officers, and ordinary folks like farmers, shopkeepers, taxi drivers, and house-makers. Still, they all had one thing in common-whether they had been residing in Nepal or India, they were all people of Nepali/Gorkhali origins.

They were to cross each other's way sooner than later because the army was operating and being sustained through a Jagiri system in which the army personnel received their reward through newly acquired lands and taxes instead of a fixed salary from the central government. As a result, one was expected to keep on winning and acquiring new lands just to get paid regularly, and that was precisely what happened in 1814 when the British declared war on the Gorkhali army over a land dispute on the South border of Burwal that had been dragging on for some times by then. The first phase of the Anglo-Gorkha War of 1814-16 lasted eight months, and the British came fully prepared with a massive force of soldiers, guns, and other artilleries to confront the mighty Gorkhali army. The famous Gorkhali army didn't disappoint the British either.

**Contents and Sample Pages**