Indian Gorkha
Encyclopedia
Indian Gorkha is a term used to describe the Nepali/Gorkhali
-speaking citizens of India
. This term tries to make a distinction between the citizens of Nepal
and the Indian citizens of Gorkha
ethnic group.
In the introduction to the book Gorkhas Imagined (2009), Prem Poddar makes an important point about the Gorkhas in Nepal versus the Gorkhas in India: "the word ‘Gorkha’ (or the neologism ‘Gorkhaness’) as a self-descriptive term ... has gained currency as a marker of difference for Nepalis living in India as opposed to their brethren and sistren in Nepal. Gorkhaliness then becomes synonymous with Indian Nepaleseness but invests only degrees of differential commonalities with Nepali Nepaliness and diasporic Nepaliness."
living in India as per the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship (1950)
that permits "on a reciprocal basis, the nationals of one country in the territories of the other the same privileges in the matter of residence, ownership of property, participation in trade and commerce, movement and other privileges of a similar nature."
of West Bengal
there is an estimated 900,000 Gorkhas. The Jalpaiguri district
of West Bengal has about 400,000 Gorkhas. There are an estimated 500,000 Gorkhas in Sikkim - the only state in which a majority of the population are Gorkhas. In Northeast India (states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh), there are several million Gorkhas. A considerable number of Gorkhas also live in the north Indian states of Himachal Pradesh
(200,000), Uttarakhand
(600,000), Punjab (100,000), Jammu
and Uttar Pradesh
. Gorkhas also live in many Indian cities such as Kolkata
, Delhi
, Bangalore
, Chennai
, Mumbai
and Hyderabad.
castes and Mongoloid-featured clans. Among the Indo-Aryan castes include the Bahun
(Brahmins), Chhetri, Thakuri, Kami
, Damai, Sarki, etc, and among the Mongoloid/hybrid group is a heterogenous mixture of various clans and ethnic groups, including Magar, Newar
, Tamang
, Gurung
, Thami
, Bhujel (Khawas)
, Rai (Khambu)
, Limbu (Subba)
, Sunuwar (Mukhia), Yakkha (Dewan)
, Sherpa
, Yolmo
, etc. Although each of them have their own language (belonging to the Tibeto-Burman
or Indo-Burman languages which is rarely used at present), the lingua franca among the Gorkhas is Nepali language
with its script in Devnagari. The Nepali language, which is one of the official languages of India, is the common binding thread of all Gorkha castes and clans.
Nepali language
Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
-speaking citizens of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. This term tries to make a distinction between the citizens of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and the Indian citizens of Gorkha
Gorkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the 8th century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath.Gurkha, Ghurkha, or Gorkha may also refer to:-People:...
ethnic group.
In the introduction to the book Gorkhas Imagined (2009), Prem Poddar makes an important point about the Gorkhas in Nepal versus the Gorkhas in India: "the word ‘Gorkha’ (or the neologism ‘Gorkhaness’) as a self-descriptive term ... has gained currency as a marker of difference for Nepalis living in India as opposed to their brethren and sistren in Nepal. Gorkhaliness then becomes synonymous with Indian Nepaleseness but invests only degrees of differential commonalities with Nepali Nepaliness and diasporic Nepaliness."
Indian identity
The Gorkhas of India are citizens of India as per the Gazette Notification on the issue of citizenship of Gorkhas of India. However there are many Nepalese citizens of NepalNepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
living in India as per the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship (1950)
1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship
The Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 is a bilateral treaty between Nepal and India establishing a close strategic relationship between the two South Asian neighbors. The treaty was signed on July 31, 1950 by the then-Prime Minister of Nepal Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and...
that permits "on a reciprocal basis, the nationals of one country in the territories of the other the same privileges in the matter of residence, ownership of property, participation in trade and commerce, movement and other privileges of a similar nature."
Demographics
It is estimated that there are about 10,000,000 Gorkhas in India but a true count will be possible after the India Census (2011) that is enumerating castes for the first time. In the Darjeeling districtDarjeeling district
Darjeeling District is the northernmost district of the state of West Bengal in eastern India in the foothills of the Himalayas. The district is famous for its beautiful hill stations and Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling is the district headquarters...
of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
there is an estimated 900,000 Gorkhas. The Jalpaiguri district
Jalpaiguri District
Jalpaiguri district is the largest district of North Bengal, covering an area 6,245 km2. It is situated between 26° 16' and 27° 0' North latitudes and 88° 4' and 89° 53' East longitudes...
of West Bengal has about 400,000 Gorkhas. There are an estimated 500,000 Gorkhas in Sikkim - the only state in which a majority of the population are Gorkhas. In Northeast India (states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh), there are several million Gorkhas. A considerable number of Gorkhas also live in the north Indian states of Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
(200,000), Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
(600,000), Punjab (100,000), Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
and Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. Gorkhas also live in many Indian cities such as Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and Hyderabad.
Castes and clans
The Gorkhas of India are a mixture of Indo-AryanIndo-Aryans
Indo-Aryan is an ethno-linguistic term referring to the wide collection of peoples united as native speakers of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian family of Indo-European languages...
castes and Mongoloid-featured clans. Among the Indo-Aryan castes include the Bahun
Bahun
Bahun is a colloquial Nepali term for a member of the Pahari or "hill" Brahmin caste, who are traditionally educators, scholars and priests of Hinduism. They are also known as Barmu in Newari. By tradition—and by civil law until 1962—they represented the highest of the four Hindu...
(Brahmins), Chhetri, Thakuri, Kami
Kami (caste)
Kami is a community from Nepal which belongs to the Indo-Aryan ethnic group. Kamis are essentially blacksmiths who are scattered in almost all hilly districts of Nepal. They are the makers of famous Kukri knives which are used by the Gurkha Army...
, Damai, Sarki, etc, and among the Mongoloid/hybrid group is a heterogenous mixture of various clans and ethnic groups, including Magar, Newar
Newar
The Newa , Newār or Newāl) are the indigenous people and the creators of the historical civilization of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. The valley and surrounding territory have been known from ancient times as Nepal Mandala, its limits ever changing through history.Newas have lived in the Kathmandu...
, Tamang
Tamang
The Tamangs are the ancient and original inhabitants of the mountains and plains of the Himalayan regions of Nepal and India. Their ancient capital being Yambu - modern day Kathmandu. They have their own distinct culture, language and religion. Their ancestral domain is popularly known as...
, Gurung
Gurung
The Gurung people, also called Tamu, are an ethnic group that migrated from Mongolia in the 6th century to the central region of Nepal. Gurungs, like other east Asian featured peoples of Nepal such as Sherpa, Tamang, Thakali, Magar, Manaaggi, Mustaaggi, and Walunggi, are the indigenous people of...
, Thami
Thami
The Thami are an indigenous tribe of hills east of Kathmandu, Nepal's capital. They mainly live in Dolakha district in East-Central Nepal. They are locally known as Thangmi. Their language is Kirant. According to the 2001 Nepal Census there are a total of 22,999 Thami of which 55.74% were...
, Bhujel (Khawas)
Bhujel
Bhujel is an indigenous ethnic group of Nepal. The Bhuji and Nishi area in Baglung are the ancestral land of Bhujels. They are culturally and historically close to the Magars...
, Rai (Khambu)
Rai people
The Rai are one of Nepal's most ancient indigenous ethnolinguistic groups. They were Raya meaning king. Once someone was recognized as a ruler then Hindus awarded the title Raja, Rai, Raya, Malla etc. When the king Pritivi Narayan Shah couldn't defeat Kirant king , he somehow took them in...
, Limbu (Subba)
Limbu people
The Yakthung or Limbu tribes and clans belong to the Kirati nation or to the Kirat confederation.They are indigenous to the hill and mountainous regions of east Nepal between the Arun and Mechi rivers to as far as Southern Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim....
, Sunuwar (Mukhia), Yakkha (Dewan)
Yakkha
Yakkha is an indigenous ethnic group of Nepal . It is one of the progenies of Nepal's prehistoric Kirat dynasty of around 100 BC.-Etymology:...
, Sherpa
Sherpa people
The Sherpa are an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. Sherpas migrated from the Kham region in eastern Tibet to Nepal within the last 300–400 years.The initial mountainous migration from Tibet was a search for beyul...
, Yolmo
Yolmo people
Yolmos are a sub-group of the Gorkha/Nepali ethnic group found in the Himalayan foothills. Yolmos are spread out over Nepal and parts of Sikkim and Darjeeling district in India. Yolmos are also known as Kagatay as their traditional occupation was paper-making . Yolmos believe their clan to...
, etc. Although each of them have their own language (belonging to the Tibeto-Burman
Tibeto-Burman languages
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non-Chinese members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken thoughout the highlands of southeast Asia, as well as lowland areas in Burma ....
or Indo-Burman languages which is rarely used at present), the lingua franca among the Gorkhas is Nepali language
Nepali language
Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
with its script in Devnagari. The Nepali language, which is one of the official languages of India, is the common binding thread of all Gorkha castes and clans.
Notable Indian Gorkhas
- Durga MallaDurga MallaMajor Durga Malla was the first Gorkha soldier of the Indian National Army[ to sacrifice his life for the cause of the nation.Major Malla was born in July 1913 at Doiwala near Dehra Dun. He was the eldest son of Nb Sub Ganga Malla. In 1930, when Mahatma Gandhi was leading the countrymen for...
- Indian freedom fighter - Sister NirmalaSister NirmalaSister Nirmala succeeded Mother Teresa as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity in March 1997.She was born Nirmala Joshi into a Brahmin family in Ranchi . Her parents were Hindu Brahmins from Nepal...
- Mother Teresa's successor as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity (Padma VibhushanPadma VibhushanThe Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...
2009) - Ram Singh ThakuriRam Singh ThakurCaptain Ram Singh Thakur was an Indian freedom fighter, musician and the composer of the music of the current band-version of the Indian National Anthem, Jana Gana...
- Music composer of Indian national anthem - Tenzing NorgayTenzing NorgayPadma Bhushan, Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara Tenzing Norgay, GM born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer...
- First man to climb Mount Everest - Major Dhan Singh Thapa- Param Vir ChakraParam Vir ChakraThe Param Vir Chakra is India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy. It can be, and often has been, awarded posthumously....
recipient - Colonel Lalit Rai - Vir ChakraVir ChakraVir Chakra is an Indian gallantry award presented for acts of bravery in the battlefield. Award of the decoration carried with it the right to use Vr.C. as a postnominal abbreviation Vir Chakra is an Indian gallantry award presented for acts of bravery in the battlefield. Award of the decoration...
recipient - Mala SinhaMala SinhaMala Sinha is an Indian actress, who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Recognised for her acting talent and beauty, she went on to become a popular leading actress in Hindi films from the early fifties till late seventies...
- Bollywood actress - Louis BanksLouis BanksLouis Banks is a Grammy Award nominated film composer, record producer, jazz musician-keyboardist and singer...
- Jazz musician - Aruna LamaAruna LamaAruna Lama is one of the well-known singers of Nepali music. She is popularly known as "The Nightingale of the Hills". She sang hundreds of Nepali songs, including some for Nepali films, and left an indelible mark as one of the best singers in Nepali music....
- Nepali Singer, popularly known as "The Nightingale of the Hills" - Nar Bahadur BhandariNar Bahadur BhandariNar Bahadur Bhandari is a former chief minister of the state of Sikkim in India who governed the state from 1979 to 1994. He was the founder leader of Sikkim Sangram Parishad party.-Personal life:...
- Former Chief Minister of Sikkim - Pawan Kumar ChamlingPawan Kumar ChamlingPawan Kumar Chamling is the fifth chief minister of the Indian state of Sikkim. Chamling is the founder president of the Sikkim Democratic Front party, which has governed Sikkim for four successive terms since 1994, winning the 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009 state assembly elections.-Personal...
- Chief Minister of Sikkim - Sonam Sherpa - Lead guitarist of Parikrama (band)
- Sunil Chhetri - Footballer (Arjuna AwardArjuna awardThe Arjuna Awards were instituted in 1961 by the government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports. The award carries a cash prize of 500,000, a bronze statuette of Arjuna and a scroll....
2011) - Tarundeep RaiTarundeep RaiTarundeep Rai is an Indian archer. He is an Indian of Nepalese origin.-Career:Tarundeep made his debut into international archery at the age of 19 years when he played at the Asian Archery Championship 2003 held at Yangon, Myanmar.Tarundeep Rai became the first Indian to win an individual mens...
- Archer (Asian Games 2011 silver medalist; Arjuna Award 2005) - Bharat ChettriBharat ChettriBharat Chettri is an Indian hockey player.He has been appointed the captain of the Indian hockey team for the four-nation Super Series and an international tournament in Australia beginning 12 October 2011.-External links:*...
- Hockey player (captain of Indian hockey team) - Binod PradhanBinod PradhanBinod Pradhan is an acclaimed Indian cinematographer whose creative visuals and cutting-edge imagery have left their mark on Indian cinema. Some his award-winning works include 1942 A Love Story, Devdas, Rang De Basanti, Mission Kashmir, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S...
- Bollywood cinematographer - Yuyutsu SharmaYuyutsu SharmaYuyutsu R.D. Sharma is a widely traveled Nepali/Indian writer who was born at Nakodar, Punjab and grew up in Nakodar and later at Nangal Township of Shivalik ranges of Mahabharata Hills where his father worked. He moved to Nepal at an early age and now writes in English and Nepali...
- Writer - Prashant TamangPrashant TamangPrashant Tamang is a Darjeeling-based singer and actor. He was the winner of Indian Idol Season 3 in 2007. He is the first Indian from Nepali community to make it to the final rounds of Indian Idol and win it...
- Indian Idol 3 winner, singer and actor - Kapil Thapa - Indian Idol 4Indian Idol 4Registration for season 4 began on April 1, 2008. The winner of the show for this season was announced on 1 March 2009. The fourth season have Anu Malik and Javed Akhtar on the hot seats as they take judges' chair once again for the show...
runners-up - Jyoti Brahmin - Miss India EarthMiss IndiaMiss India or Femina Miss India is a national beauty pageant in India, one of the most recognized contests to produce international beauty queens in the 90s, which annually selects three winners to compete globally. It is organized by Femina, a women's magazine published by Bennett, Coleman & Co...
2004 - Sanju PradhanSanju PradhanSanju Pradhan is an Indian footballer, who currently plays for Kingfisher East Bengal F.C. in the I-League.-East Bengal:...
- Footballer - Nirmal ChettriNirmal ChettriNirmal Chettri is an Indian professional footballer who plays for Kingfisher East Bengal F.C.. He captained the Sikkim team in the 2009 Santosh Trophy in the absence of Baichung Bhutia. He is no relation to Sunil Chhetri...
- Footballer - Shyam Thapa - Footballer
- Ram Bahadur - Footballer (Asian Games gold medalist)
- Padam Bahadur Malla - Boxer (first Indian to win individual gold medal in Asian Games)
- Som Bahadur Pun - Boxer (Commonwealth Games 2005 gold medalist)