History & Origin of Gokhas in Nepal and Darjeeling

The shape of Nepal is like a rectangle -- the length from east to west is greater than the width from north to south. Nepal is a multi-cultural country. Just as there is no particular ethnic group called "Indians", similarly there is no particular ethnic group called "Nepalese". The inhabitants of Nepal are of Austric-Mongolo-Negroid origin. There are a number of languages in Nepal including Nawari, Gorkhali, Angika, Bhojpurii, Rai, Lepcha, Sherpa, Bhutia, etc. The most important language in Nepal is Gorkhali. The inhabitants believe in different religions -- some are Hindus who follow the Shaeva or Shakta cults, while others believe in a mixed religion of Hinduism and Buddhism. Large parts of southern Nepal are plains, but in the north are the Himalayas. In the west is the Terai and in the east, the Duars.Central Nepal is coloquially called "Madesha". The inhabitants of Nepal have the same ethnic origin as those of India, and they introduce themselves as Madeshi. Generally the Nepalese people have pointed noses; only the Gorkhas have flat noses. The language of the Morang district of Nepal is Angika, while Bhojpurii is the language of the westernmost part of Nepal. Bengali is spoken in Jhanpa district in the east. The Gorkhas are devoted to Shiva. One of the names of Shiva is "Goraknatha", and as the people are the devotees of Goraknatha, they are called "Gorkhas". The Gurung and Rai communities have mixed ethnic origins -- their forefathers were Indians and their foremothers were Mongolians. They are Mahayanii Buddhists by faith and they eat beef. The Gorkhas eat raw buffalo meat. The Joshi Brahmins who live in the hilly regions are Pashchima' Brahmins -- that is, Brahmins from western India -- and they usually use the surname Upadhyaya. The Lamas who settled in Nepal are of Tibetan origin. The central part of Nepal -- that is, the plains -- is called the Kathmandu Valley. It is inhabited by the Newars who are tall and follow the Hindu religion. The other inhabitants of Nepal are the Sherpas, Lumbus, Lepchas, Bhutias and Tibetans. The people of Bengali origin are settled in Jhanpa district. The languages of the regions other than Jhanpa district are of the Indo-Tibetan group. The oldest script of Nepal is Bengali. Up to 1773, the Newars were the rulers of Nepal, and the royal language was Newari written in Bengali script. In 1773 the Gorkha leader Prithvi Narayan Shah forcibly occupied Nepal on the festive day of Dolyatra. There is no such language as Nepali. In fact, as many as 17 languages are spoken by the inhabitants of Nepal and Gorkhali is one of them. About 100 years later, the British general Octonloney occupied Nepal. A truce between Nepal and Great Britain was signed at Sugaoli which became known as the "Treaty of Sugaoli". According to this treaty, the British army would include a Gorkha regiment in its ranks; the inhabitants of Nepal would be paid in Indian currency at Motihari near the Nepalese border; there would be no passport or visa system between Nepal and India; and there would be tree trade between the two countries.

The original inhabitants of Darjeeling were Lepchas and Bhutias. The British developed Darjeeling as a hill town. Darjeeling district is similar in size to the Garbeta block of Midnapore district in Bengal. Tea, maize, the large variety of cardamon and oranges are grown in abundance here, but there are no particular mineral resources. Agricultural produce is exported from Darjeeling. In Darjeeling district there were about 300,000 Nepalese -- that is, Lepchas and Bhutias. About 200,000 of these were permitted to settle in India after being driven out of other areas. Some Nepalese settled in Darjeeling district and some cleared the jungles in Madarihat in Jalpaguri district and settled there. Amongst the Nepalese who were allowed to settle in India, some were Gorkhas. Those who setled in Darjeeling district are divided into two distinct groups -- Nepalese and non-Nepalese -and amongst the Nepalese there are Gorkhas and non-Gorkhas. So in fact there are very few Gorkhas in Darjeeling district.