The Gurkhas

The history of the British Period in India, though rich and enlightening, is however devoid of its completeness for one finds little mention about the Gurkhas who were once the pillar of the British defensive set-up in India. This is perhaps due to lack of research work on this particular community whose settlement in various parts of India started on a large scale owing to their recruitment in the British Indian army. After the independence of India the British rule came to an end but these hardy mountaineers who once formed the bulwark of the British defensive setup remained settled intact in various parts of India. Yes it is true that books on the recruitment policies of the British with regard to this particular martial race are to be found but what is more important is the fact as to what happened to the Gurkhas settled in various parts of India where the British had established cantonments. This particular book is an attempt to project as to how the settlement of the Gurkhas started in Shillong and what sort of social and cultural development took place within this particular community settled there. The author has taken pains to provide documentary evidences to these facts with the hope that some more would emerge with regard to this particular community from other regions as well, and in the process help researchers to construct a reliable history of this particular community.

Sanjay Rana (b.1967) is at present Principal, BBS College, Shillong. He had presented his study in nutshell in a seminar organised by the Department of Sociology, NEHU, in 2001. (International Seminar on the Nepalese in India with reference to North-East India (ASNINC)].