As soldiers, the Gurkhas of Nepal have an unmatched reputation in the world. Like the Scottish Highlanders, the bravery, dedication and loyalty of Gurkha soldiers are considered to be unmatched. 200 years ago, Gurkhas were recruited into the East India Company’s army, the British Indian Army and then, after 1947, the Indian and British armies. They have won honours and gallantry awards for their bravery in wars wherever they have been deployed. Their role has been commendable, including in both World Wars and in many wars of independent India.

A pillar of the Indian Army, around 32,000 Gurkhas (39 battalions) are currently part of the army’s seven Gurkha regiments. These include Gurkhas from Nepal as well as Gurkha soldiers from India. About 60 per cent of the Gurkhas in each battalion are Nepalese. However, their numbers in the Indian Army are constantly declining, and in the last four years, not a single Gurkha has been recruited from Nepal. Nepal is the only other country whose people are in the Indian Army.

While recruitment first halted in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the real jolt came in June 2022 with the announcement of the new Agneepath scheme for recruiting ordinary soldiers below the officer level. Under this scheme, youths aged 17.5 years to 21 years will be recruited for four years, at the end of which only 25 per cent will be made permanent. Soon after this announcement, in August 2022, the Nepal government banned the recruitment of its people in the Indian Army as it became clear that the Agneepath scheme would apply equally to them.

The reason given was that this is a violation of the tripartite agreement between India, Nepal and Britain of December 1947, which had a provision for the inclusion of Gurkhas in the Indian and British Army. The conditions are to provide salary, pension and other facilities equal to that of Indians. Although New Delhi has said that nothing has changed in these, the Agnipath scheme has created an obstacle in the recruitment of Nepali Gurkhas, which has not been removed yet. In fact, Nepal is worried about the possible socio-economic problems caused by 75 percent of Nepali Agniveers returning to their country.

Two years later, two different aspects of this have started to unfold. One, the retirement of about 14,000 Nepali Gurkha soldiers from 2021 has created a vacuum in the ranks of the Indian Army. Second, the issue has impacted India-Nepal relations and could weaken India’s strategic, soft-power reach, which has been built through retired and serving Gurkha soldiers in the Himalayan country. Bilateral relations have also deteriorated since 2015, when both India and Nepal claimed the disputed land area of ​​Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura in western Nepal. In 2020, Nepal updated its map to include these strategically important areas, leading New Delhi to term it a ‘unilateral action’ and ‘artificial expansion’.

The controversy escalated again in early May, when Kathmandu announced the printing of new Rs 100 notes with a map showing those three regions.

Looming over this uncomfortable situation is India’s enemy China, which is steadily expanding its strategic and economic importance in Nepal. Another dangerous possibility that has arisen as a result of the ban on the recruitment of Nepali Gurkhas is their recruitment in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The revelation that about 15,000 Nepali youth are fighting on behalf of the Russian army in the battlefields of Ukraine has rung alarm bells in the Indian security establishment.

Though not an immediate cause for concern, the prospect of Gurkhas fighting for the Chinese against India on the Himalayan borders is worrisome. “It has been nearly five years since we started recruiting Nepali Gurkhas. Given the intransigent attitude of both countries, it appears that the future of the Gurkha Brigade and its 38 battalions is bleak,” says an Indian Army officer.

mutually supportive relationship

British commander Sir David Ochterlony recognised the fighting qualities of Gurkha soldiers during the Anglo-Nepal War (1814-1816) and raised the first Gurkha regiment in 1815. They have been part of the Indian Army ever since. Post-independence, the Gurkha regiments have produced many Army generals, including the great Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and more recently General Dalbir Singh Suhag, General Bipin Rawat and current Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan. Besides the most iconic Indian general, the late Lt Gen Zorawar Chand (Joru) Bakshi.

The decades-old system of recruiting Gurkhas into the Indian Army has been beneficial to both sides. Nepal’s weak economy means that career opportunities for its youth are limited. Serving in the Indian Army has been attractive because the salary is 2.5 times that of the Nepali Army, while the pension provides financial security. Retired Nepali Gurkhas can make India their home, i.e., stay here permanently.

As of April 2024, Nepal had about 1,22,000 pensioners who served in India. The Government of India, through various branches of the Department of Defence, provides them and their dependents with social and medical benefits similar to Indians. The money that the serving Gurkhas have been sending home has provided Nepal with economic support in difficult times. Their contribution to Nepal’s GDP is also significant, as the salaries and pensions they receive from India exceed Nepal’s defence budget.

Therefore, Nepal’s objections to the Agneepath plan are based on hard economic facts. 75 per cent of the returning recruits will have no pension rights and will have to seek employment elsewhere. Moreover, a large number of unemployed youth with military training may pose a threat to law and order.

Brigadier General Prem Basnayat (retired), a former high-ranking Nepal Army officer, believes that the Agneepath recruitment scheme is against the basic norms of military principles. “It is time that the tripartite agreement be amended or revamped so that Nepali youth can join the Indian Army under Agneepath with terms and conditions,” he told India Today from Kathmandu.

No Nepali Gurkha has joined the Indian Army in four years, leading to a steady decline in the number of soldiers in the Gorkha regiments and this could reduce their fighting strength. If this situation continues, there will be no Nepalis in the army in the next 10 years, taking away high-quality soldiers. To address this, Army Chief General Manoj Pandey said in 2022 that Nepali Gurkhas would be replaced by others ‘for some time’. Similarly, some Indian Kumaoni and Garhwali youths were recruited in the Gorkha regiments and a search is on for hill youths with qualities similar to the Gurkhas.

Not only is this a loss of brave fighting soldiers, experts believe that Nepalis not joining the Indian Army is a big loss to India’s strategic reach in this Himalayan nation, as they are our ‘eyes and ears’ there. The main concern is that Nepali youth may be drawn into China’s circle.

The China Factor

Nepal is strategically a buffer state between India and China, and Beijing has been expanding its influence there over the past decade. China has invested more than $188 million in Nepal, mostly in energy and infrastructure projects, making it the largest source of foreign direct investment. In 2016, Nepali leaders declared China an ‘all-weather friend’ and signed on to its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) the following year. The Nepali army then conducted a joint military exercise with the PLA. In 2018, Beijing promised 250 crore Nepali rupees (157 crore Indian rupees) for the Nepali army. In recent months, however, Nepali officials have vowed to stop young men fighting in the Russian army in Ukraine, but some believe this is just the first step towards their recruitment in China.

“The absence of Nepalis is creating a vacuum that any country like China would want to occupy. China is eyeing such an opportunity,” says Lt Gen Shokin Chauhan (retired), a former officer of the Gorkha regiment. He says that although the PLA currently has no mechanism to recruit foreign soldiers, it is possible that China could create a border security guard unit with Gurkha soldiers.

By the way, some experts believe that Gurkhas will never like to join the Chinese army PLA because tradition and religion will come in their way. But due to lack of employment, they may move in that direction. In fact, there are signs that Beijing is trying to bring these youth to its side.

When the Indian Army and PLA faced off in the summer of 2020 in eastern Ladakh, Beijing funded a Nepali think-tank—the China Study Centre—to conduct a detailed study on Nepalis recruiting into Indian Gurkha regiments. The aim was to find out not only the reasons behind Gurkhas joining the Indian Army, but also the socio-economic impact on the regions from where such recruitments are made and their interest in joining the armed forces of other countries. The growing activities of the Chinese-funded think-tank along the Indo-Nepal border are also known to Indian intelligence agencies. The continued presence of Nepali Gurkhas in the Indian Army is thus crucial to counter the growing Chinese presence in Nepal.

Former Nepal Army officer and strategist Major General Binoj Basnyat (retired) believes that until both Nepal and India resolve their differences over Agnipath, Nepali youth should be allowed to join the Indian Army under some arrangement. “If they can join the Russian Army for some money, why can’t they join the Indian Army? Otherwise, other countries will lure unemployed youth,” he argues.

The reintegration of Nepali Gurkhas into the Indian Army is in the security, strategic and economic interests of both India and Nepal. It is up to both governments to heal this damaging rift and break the impasse.