The story of a fearless warrior tribe

When legendary prowess is sheathed in simplicity, its impact is even more powerful. Here, one is referring to the Gurkha soldier, whose story of encountering a Taliban siege has been fascinatingly fleshed out in the book ‘Gurkha - Better to die than live a coward: My life with the Gurkhas’ written by an army author, Colour Sergeant Kailash Limbu.

A constant presence in India, donning various hats from being security guards to working for our nation’s armed forces, the Nepalis have seamlessly coalesced into our society’s body fabric. Still, they have their own, fiercely-guarded identity as unconquered warriors during the various wars their services were requisitioned by both Indian and foreign forces, right from World War I.

Last year, the Gurkha soldier and his regiment were honoured for their two hundred years of unbroken service to the British crown. Here is where the foundation for this unique book, written with due approval from the ‘competent authority’ was laid when a Colonel Brigade of the Gurkhas, Brigadier Ian Rigden OBE ideated the concept.

In his introduction, Limbu builds up the narrative to the book by referring to the siege of Now Zad in July 2006, a territory of Helmand province, one of the 34 in Afghanistan, which was under Taliban control. Obviously, the story is of the courage and determination of the soldiers - a few dozen men of the 2nd battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles - who fought alongside Limbu and survived to tell the tale.

In what can be considered a ‘half full, half empty’ syndrome, the very mention of how the British and the Gurkha army contingents started working together is bound to raise its own measure of unease among patriotic Indians, who have no other option but to accept the fact as it is.

The story goes, as Limbu narrates, during the British rule, a small band of Gurkhas captured a British officer who had been deserted by the force of Indian soldiers he was leading. They were so afraid of the Gurkhas, they dared not stay and fight. But their commander, Lieutenant Frederick Young stood his ground.

As he was imprisoned, when asked why he did not flee along with his troops, his reply astonished them and also made them decide that they would serve under an officer like him. All that Young said was: ‘I didn’t come this far to run away’. This is how, it is stated the legendary relationship was born and continues to be nurtured.

Obviously, it was not hunky-dory for a set of ethnic group to acclimatise to the cultural difference that they encountered in Britain, the rigorous, three-stage process of selection and the tough life of a soldier on foreign soil which was sustained through exemplary comradeship.

One can say, this book is a rare, unique insight into a little-known yet respected set of fighters who have proven that they are tough as nails and rightly justify the description of being known as ‘the bravest of the brave’.

By: K Naresh Kumar