Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi returned home on Sunday after completing a five-day official visit to Nepal.
The objective of the visit was to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation and cultural ties between India and Nepal.
However, there is no clarity on resuming the recruitment of Gorkha soldiers which has been stalled for the last four years.
The official statement issued by the Army said, “The tour was successful beyond the set goals. “It underlined the shared commitment to peace, security and partnership between the armies of the two countries.”
High level meetings, but silence on Gorkha recruitment
During his visit to Nepal, General Dwivedi met President Ramchandra Paudel, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Defense Minister Manbir Rai and Nepali Army Chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel.
But there was no discussion on the recruitment of Gorkha soldiers in any official statement or media report.
According to Nepali media reports, Prime Minister Oli stressed on further strengthening bilateral cooperation. The visit comes at a time when India-Nepal relations are witnessing tension and China’s growing interest in Nepal has heightened concerns.
Controversy over Gorkha recruitment
The recruitment of Gorkha soldiers has been halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the Agniveer scheme implemented in 2021. Under the Agniveer scheme, soldiers are recruited for four years, of which only 25 percent are inducted into permanent service.
According to the Tribune report, Nepal has objected to this plan and called it a violation of the India-Nepal-Britain trilateral agreement of 1947. Nepal has also expressed concern over the re-employability of Gorkha soldiers after four years of service.
Currently, there are approximately 32,000 Nepali Gorkha soldiers serving in the Indian Army. Since 2020, around 15,000 Gorkha soldiers have retired from military service, but new recruitments have not taken place in their place. Earlier, the annual recruitment from Nepal was between 1,500 and 1,800.
At the time of independence, 90 percent of the soldiers in the Gorkha battalions were from Nepal and the rest were Indians. Currently this ratio is 60:40.
One of the suggestions circulating in military circles to deal with the situation was to gradually reduce the number of Gurkha battalions and increase the number of Indian Gurkhas.
The Gorkha Brigade of the Indian Army consists of a total of 39 Gorkha Rifles (GR) battalions forming seven infantry regiments – these include 1 GR, 3 GR, 4 GR, 5 GR, 8 GR, 9 GR and 11 GR.
Their history dates back to April 1815, when the 1st GR was raised by the then East India Company as part of the Bengal Army. 11 GR is the only regiment formed after independence, consisting of Gurkha soldiers from battalions allocated to Britain but who chose not to go.
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