History of the 1st Gorkha Rifles
1st Gorkha Rifles, was raised in 1815, after their exceptional gallantry against the British in their military campaign in Nepal, and fought alongside British troops in theatres across the world. It became part of the Indian Army after Independence and has excelled in battles, since then.
The 1 Gorkha Rifles or I GR traces it roots back to the Gorkha war of 1815. British General Ochterlony was so impressed by the gallantry of these men that he allowed General Amar Singh Thapa, the Gorkha commander, to march out honourably with his arms, accoutrements, colours, two guns and his personal property.
The East India Company also offered military service to the remnants of Amar Singh Thapa’s force, by raising the First Nusseree (meaning friendly or loyal) Battalion, on April 24, 1815 at Subathu, the present home of the Regiment’s Centre.
Pre-Independence era
Soon thereafter, the regiment started blazing a trail of glory and earned its first battle honour in the siege of Bhurtpore in 1826. By 1850, the regiment was awarded its regular status and was renamed as 66th Goorkha Regiment and later 1st Gurkha Light Infantry. In 1858, Lt JA Tytler was awarded its first Victoria Cross, at the Battle of Haldwani. And then in its overseas stint at Malaya in 1875, Capt GN Channer won the regiment’s second Victoria Cross. Before and between the two World Wars, the regiment served with distinction in the North West Frontier, the Second and Third Afghan Wars, before winning the title of ‘The First Gurkha Rifles’ (Malaun Regiment) in 1901.
In the wars that followed, the 1st Battalion had proved to be one of the most stubborn fighters in Europe and the Middle East during the World War I; the Second Battalion did equally well in campaigns in Sikkim and NWFP. Thereafter, during WW II, more battalions were added to the regiment. By the end of the WW II, the regiment had earned 22 battle honours and numerous decorations.
Post-Independence Era
After India’s Independence, the regiment opted to serve in India. There were only two battalions in the regiment at that time. The name of the regiment was also changed to 1 First Gorkha Rifles. The 3rd, 4th and 5th Battalions were raised subsequently in 1959, 1963 and 1965.
Immediately after Independence, the 1st Battalion showed its mettle in 1948 J&K Operations and earned the First MVC for the regiment. The 2nd Battalion took part in Operation Polo in September 1948. The 3rd Battalion, which proceeded to Congo, under the UN Flag in 1961, earned its first Param Vir Chakra, when Capt GS Salaria was awarded posthumously for his gallantry.
In the 1965 Indo Pak war, the regiment earned a number of decorations, most notably when the 1st Battalion saved the Akhnur-Naushera road from being cut off by the Pakistanis and was awarded the battle honour of ‘Kalidhar’. In the 1971 war with Pakistan, battalions of the Gorkha Regiment fought on both fronts in J&K and Bangladesh, and earned the honour of Darsana’ with three MVCs and three Vr Cs. It then went on to excel in Operation Pawan as part of IPKF in its fight against the LTTE and earned several gallantry awards.
In the conflicts in the Siachen glacier area — that turned out to be not only the highest and the most difficult battlefield for India, but also the costliest in terms of both in human lives and logistics — the Gorkha Regiment had three of its battalions fighting between 1992 and 2000.
The 4th Battalion was the first in Indian Army to receive Northern Army Commander’s Appreciation for its tenure in Glacier. All Gorkha Regiment battalions have over a period of time been actively involved in counter-insurgency operations in the states of Punjab, J&K and the North East, where they repeatedly earned the COAS Unit Citations.
Excellence in battlefields apart, soldiers from the regiment have also excelled in sports, such as Suresh Mukhiya of 1/1 GR, an outstanding Footballer, who having played for the Services finally decided to join the East Bengal Club for several years in the 1980s. Football apart, a sport Gorkhas have always been good at, two of its men, Sub Narayan Singh Thapa of 2/1 GR and Hav Gupta Bahadur Gurung of 5/1 GR won a large haul of medals in skiing in the 2002 and 2003 Winter Games held at Auli, Uttarakhand. Gurung even represented India in the Winter Olympic Games held in Italy, thus, becoming the first serviceman to do so in this discipline.
THE FIRST GORKHA RIFLES BATTLE HONOURS & THEATRE HONOURS
Battle Honours
- 1. Bhurtpore.
- 2. Aliwal.
- 3. Sobraon
- 4. Afghanistan, 1878-80
- 5. Punjab Frontier
- 6. Tirah
- 7. Givenchy, 1914
- 8. NeuveChapelle
- 9. Ypres
- 10. St Julien
- 11. Festubert,1915
- 12. Loos
- 13. France and Flanders, 1914-15
- 14. NW Frontier, India 1915-17
- 15. Tigris, 1916
- 16. Kut Al Amara, 1917
- 17. Afghanistan, 1919
- 18. Jitra
- 19. Kampar
- 20. Shenam Pass
- 21. Bishenpur
- 22. Ukhrul
- 23. Myinmu Bridgehead
- 24. Kyaukse, 1945
- 25. Megiddo
- 26. Sharon
- 27. Palestine, 1918
- 28. Baghdad
- 29. Mesopotamia, 1916-18
- 30. Kalidhar
- 31. Darsana
Theatre Honours
- 1. Malaya, 1941-42
- 2. Burma, 1942-45
- 3. Chhamb
- 4. East Pakistan, 1971
- 5. Jammu & Kashmir, 1965
- 6. Jammu & Kashmir, 1971
By Maroof Raza with inputs from 1GR
