Through the protracted struggle for that land arose many alliances and the alliance between the Chogyal of Sikkim and the Rais and Limbus against the Gurkhas was one of these.After the annexation of Eastern Nepal,the Gurkhas lay claim to the land between the Mechi,Mahanadi and the Teesta ... Siliguri was not even there at that time.

As is usually the case with border areas,that particular sliver of land was claimed by the Sikkimese too.And thus,in a fit of unrelenting rage and impetuous imperialism, the Gurkhas under Purne Ale attacked Sikkim and lay waste to that land.They annexed Sikkim in the aftermath and established garrison towns at various places,Darjeeling being one of them.This was all before the concept of Modern India as we know of now was born.

The Story of Darjeeling

In the aftermath of the Anglo-Gurkha War of 1814-1816 and the consequent signing of the Treaty Of Sugauli between the East India Company and the Kingdom Of Nepal,Nepal lost a third of its acquired territory(all the major hill stations in present day India except those in Kashmir),including Darjeeling,parts of the Dooars Terai and Sikkim.For this loss in revenue,Nepal was paid adequate compensation by the East India Company as agreed in the Sugauli Treaty. Darjeeling was‘returned’(highlighted because as it is,Darjeeling was a disputed territory claimed both by the Limbus and the Sikkimese)to the Chogyal of Sikkim as a gesture of goodwill by the East India Company under the Treaty of Titalia.However,in 1835,owing to the salubrious climate of the Darjeeling hills and the new found passion for tea drinking,the British acquired Darjeeling from Sikkim.All this while,a sizable population of the‘Western’and‘Eastern’ Gurkhas was to be found in Darjeeling.

Over a period of time more and more Gurkhas from Nepal started settling in Darjeeling and in Sikkim too and thus,as we see now,the hills of Darjeeling have a majority Gurkha population.

The following are frequently asked questions that relate to this issue:

1.Are Gurkhas migrants/foreigners who have settled in Darjeeling?

Ans:Quite a big resounding No! For two basic reasons:(A) When the Gurkhas‘first settled in’Darjeeling,the concept of Modern India as we know of now was yet to be born.How can people be migrants in a country that is yet to be born?(B)Many of the‘Eastern’Gurkhas,the Rais and the Limbus(who were subsumed by the ‘asli’Gurkhas from the west,were autochthonous to the hill tracts that make up modern day Darjeeling and Sikkim.

A large number of Gurkhas were already settled in the Darjeeling hills even before 1950.Later arrivals were definitely there but the root stock of the present Gurkha population of Darjeeling is much more than a century old.

2.Was Darjeeling ever a part of historical Bengal?

Ans:No.Despite the claims of some maps, no ruling dynasty of Bengal ever ruled the hill tracts or even the areas in the Terai

3.Are the Bhutias and the Lepchas the only original inhabitants of Darjeeling and Sikkim?

Ans:No.Many‘Eastern’Gurkha tribes,specially the Limbus,were also autochthonous to these regions.The famous Limbu animist Sirijunga was a preacher in these regions.

4.Is Siliguri a newly settled town?

Ans:Yes,despite its typical Bengali name,Siliguri is a relatively new town,which was originally bereft of any Bengali population.Land to the west of the Teesta and east of the Mechi(that is where Siliguri is)never belonged to historical Bengal.It was only in the mid 1830s that Siliguri began developing and Bengali immigrants started settling there in right earnest.After independence,the importance of Siliguri increased many folds as it became the prime muster point in the ‘Chicken’s Neck corridor’.

5.Should Darjeeling be merged with Sikkim?

Ans:No comments.But,yes,our constitution does indeed have provisions for such a possibility.

P.S.:-Darjeeling,having been peacefully acquired by the East India Company from Sikkim,actually does belong to that 22nd state of our Indian Union.That merger,if done at all,should have been done in 1975 itself.

A Little Digression Is In Order Here

6.What is the biggest contribution of the Gurkhas of Sikkim to India?

Ans:The annexation of Sikkim!It was only due to the efforts of the large Gurkha population of Sikkim that voted overwhelmingly in favour of Sikkim’s merger with India in the plebiscite that Sikkim became the 22nd state of India in 1975 by the 36th Amendment.

In short,the Gurkhas of Sikkim-who are of the same stock as the Gurkhas of Darjeeling-gave India a strategic advantage by annexing Sikkim to India,which happens to be one the rare peaceful regions in the otherwise quite inflammable Sino-Indian border.

Very much like the Indian tapestry,the tapestry of Nepal is a riot of colours.People of different descent and histories populate that land.Although,for an outsider,a Nepali and a

IMPORTANT NOTE: JUST AS THE PLAINS PEOPLE OF THE TERAI OF NEPAL ARE NOT‘INDIAN IMMIGRANTS’,SO TOO THE NEPALI-SPEAKING PEOPLE OF DARJEELING AND SIKKIM ARE NOT IMMIGRANTS.WHY SO?BECAUSE,JUST AS NEPAL ACQUIRED THE TERAI,INDIA TOO ACQUIRED DARJEELING AND SIKKIM.AND JUST AS WITH EVERY ACQUISITION COME THE PEOPLE OF THAT LANDa-THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS,NEPAL GOT THE‘MADHESIS;AND INDIA GOT THE NEPALIS IN DARJEELING AND SIKKIM.

Gurkha are synonymous,it is not so.In short,the history of Nepal is not the story of the Gurkhas,but the story of the Gurkhas is definitely a part of the history of Nepal.As I had once mentioned that every Gurkha is a Nepali(It does not matter what some quarters-for political correctness-profess,this is the truth),but every Nepali is not a Gurkha.

7:Who then are the Gurkhas?

Ans:A set of people of different‘races;who united politically under their leader Prithvi Narayan Shah(who himself was a descendent of a fugitive Rajput prince from Northern India)of the Principality of Gorkha in Nepal.

8:What‘races’were Gurkhas made up of?

Ans:The Tibeto-Burmans/Mongoloids(Magars and Gurungs-they made up the bulk of the Gurkha army),the Khas(Chhetris and other related clans...descendents of the Rajputs(?)and other Indian vestiges),and the Hill Brahmins(the same stock as the Brahmins of India).

9:Are Gurkhas and Gorkhas different?

Ans:No.They are just pronunciation variants of the same word with Gorkha being a purer version.(Note: Gurkha is a British version and is pronounced as ‘Garka’)

10:What is the etymology of the word Gorkha?

Ans:GAU-RAKHSHA-‘The protector of the cows’.Guru Gorakhnath, the famous Hindu warrior saint of ancient India is the Patron Saint of the Gurkhas.The Gurkhas derive their name in his honour.The town of Gorkha in Nepal,from where it all started is too named in honour of the Patron Saint.

11:In the Terai of Nepal one sees more of ‘Indian – looking’ (the singer Udit Narayan Jha or the yester - year actress Mala Sinha were originally from the Nepal Terai) people. Are they immigrants from India?

Ans:Not exactly.During the height of the Gurkha imperialism,the Gurkhas repeatedly attacked the Mughal‘Subahdari’of Awadh and wrested a large part of that land which had populations of such people and annexed it into their ever growing empire.The‘Indian–looking’people of the Terai(called ‘Madhesis’(of a derog.) in Nepal)are the descendents of those people.

(Note:There is no denying the fact that Indian migrants populate that land too,just as there is no denying the fact that Nepalese migrants are to be seen in India...the treaty of 1950 was a two way street.)

Special Correspondent