The word Gurkha is anglicised version of Gorkha.Gorkha is a small hill town of Nepal which is located in south East Asia between India and china. It lies at the height of 3500 feet and it offers magnificent view of Himalayan ranges. Gorkha was ruled by king prithvi narayan shah, who unified Nepal during eighteenth century.
British have struggled to pronounce the word Gurkha since the time of Anglo Gorkha war of 1814-16.The spelling of Gurkha has been changed many times over past 200 hundred years which includes Ghurka, Goorkha, Goorkah and many more. Gurkha takes their name from the Himalayan principality of Gorkha in west central Nepal. King Prithvi Narayan shah set out "Gorkhali" army during 18th century. Army conquered all the neighboring states including mall kingdom of Kathmandu valley. Similarly gorkhali army fought against British in Anglo Gorkha war of 1814-16.
It was the same gorkhali who have fought the British in the Anglo Gorkha war, which led to the British recruiting gurkhas into the British army. During the war of 1812 sent 30,000 against 12,000 gorkhas thinking to take over Nepal. But the gorkhali fought against British to a standstill.
Rai, Magar, Limbu, Gurung and sunwar tribesmen were the first gorkhas, fighting men from the mountain kingdom of Nepal. Since gurkhas are small of stature, large of heart, accustomed to hardship, good natured with a keen sense of humor, loyal to death, more disciplined than any other fighting force in the world, brave and capable and absolutely without fear.
Gurkhas are the legendary soldiers with a great reputation for their loyalty and bravery that has been confirmed many times, as 13 Victoria crosses and many other countless awards for their valour that they have earned.
In 1815 the volunteers who were in service of East India Company formed the first regiment of gurkhas. The formation of regiment was the main cause of war between East India Company and Nepal during 1814. Due to the impressive qualities of Gurkhas soldiers, British were keen to recruit them. The peace treaty that followed the conflict allowed the gurkhas to volunteer for service with east India Company. A force of 3000 gurkhas divided into four battalions was erected.
The regiment served with the British Army in India. While the numbers of the regiment continued to grow it soon became one of the pillars the British relied on. The Gurkha regiments were reorganized between 1901 and 1906.and the official name was changed to Gurkha rifles. As World War I broke out British start increasing numbers of Gurkha soldiers. Gurkhas proved their qualities on every battlefield, earning two Victoria crosses.