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CSB IAS ACADEMY

INDIA-NEPAL MILITARY TIES

Context:
 On July 10, Havildar Sambur Gurung (36), a soldier from Nepal serving in the
Gurkha regiment, was killed in cross-border firing along the Line of Control in
Nowshera sector of Jammu.
 Coming amidst the chill in the Indo-Nepal ties, Gurung’s supreme sacrifice is a

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reminder about the strong ties between the Indian and Nepalese armed forces.
The origin of India’s military ties with Nepal:

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 As per the Former Army Chief Gen VP Malik (retd), book ‘India’s Military
Conflicts & Diplomacy’, India’s military connection with the Himalayan country
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goes back to the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh whose army in Lahore enlisted
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Nepalese soldiers called Lahure or soldiers of fortune.
 British India raised the first battalion of the Gurkha Regiment as the Nasiri
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regiment on April 24, 1815.
 By the time the First World War started, there were 10 Gurkha regiments in the
British Indian Army.
 When India got freedom, these regiments were divided between the British and
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Indian armies as per the Britain–India–Nepal Tripartite Agreement signed in

November 1947.
 Six Gurkha regiments with a lakh-odd soldier came to India, which went on to
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raise another regiment called 11 Gurkha Rifles to accommodate soldiers of 7th

Gurkha Rifles and the 10th Gurkha Rifles, who chose not to transfer to the British
Army.
Can Nepali citizens join the Indian Army?
 Yes, any Nepali can join the Indian Army, both as a jawan and as an officer
 Col Lalit Rai, who received a Vir Chakra for the bravery of his battalion, the 1/
11 Gurkha Rifles, during the Kargil war, is one such officer of Nepalese descent.
 The Gurkha regiments, which have 35 battalions, recruit a large number of troops
from Nepal.

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CSB IAS ACADEMY Contact us: 9966436875

Do the soldiers from Nepal enjoy the same rights as the Indian troops?
 Yes, they enjoy the same benefits as the India troops both during service and after
retirement.
 They get the same medical facilities as the Indian soldiers, and often medical
teams from the Indian Army tour Nepal.
Is the Indian Chief of Army Staff the honorary chief of the Nepalese army?
 Yes, this convention dates back to 1972 when then Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw,
a Gurkha regiment officer, fondly called Sam Bahadur by his troops, was made
the honorary chief of the Nepalese army.
 Ever since, the Army chief of India is the honorary chief of the Nepalese army

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and vice-versa.

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