Nepalese Army

Nepalese Army
Roundel of the Nepalese Army
Active	1768 – present (249 years)
Country	Nepal
Allegiance	Government of Nepal
Type	Army
Size	95,000 (62,000 reserve)[1]
Garrison/HQ	Kathmandu
Motto(s)	It's better to die than to be a coward
Anniversaries	Maha Shivaratri
Engagements	Battle against Mir Qasim 1763 Battle of Pauwa Gadhi against Captain Kinloch, 1767 Battle of Kirtipur Battle of Kathmandu Battle of Bhaktapur Limbuwan-Gorkha War Gurkha-Sikh War First and Second Sino-Nepalese War Last Nepalese-Tibetan War Anglo-Nepalese War World War I (Casualties) World War II (Casualties) Nepalese Civil War
Commanders
Current commander	General Purna Chandra Thapa
Notable commanders	Kalu Pande Abhiman Singh Basnet Damodar Pande Amar Singh Thapa

Nepali national soldiers by Gustave Le Bon, 1885

Nepalese Army Lance Cpl. Nanu Tamang, with the Birendra Peace Operation Training Center, escorts a role player at the vehicle checkpoint training lane during Khaan Quest 2013 at Five Hills Training Area 130807-M-DR618-122

The Nepalese Army (Nepali: नेपाली सेना) or Gorkhali Army (Nepali: गोर्खाली सेना) is the military land warfare force of Nepal and a major component of the Military of Nepal. Service is voluntary and the minimum age of recruitment is 18 years. The army was formerly known as The Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) during the monarchy period in Nepal. It was renamed the Nepalese Army on 28 May 2008 after the abolition of the 238-year-old Shah dynasty rule.

History

Nepal army's Guruju Paltan (a ceremonial infantry company) in traditional uniform

Khukuri symbolic weapon of the Nepalese Army

Nepal unification campaign was a turning point in the history of the Nepalese army. Since unification was not possible without a strong army, the management of the armed forces had to be exceptional. Apart from the standard Malla era temples in Kathmandu, army being organized in Gorkhas, technicians and experts had to be brought in from abroad to manufacture war materials. After the Gorkhali troops captured Nuwakot, the hilly northern part of Kathmandu (Kantipur) in the year 1744, the Gorkhali armed forces came to be known as the Royal Nepalese Army.

Their gallantry, sincerity and simplicity impressed even their enemy so much that the British East-India Company started recruiting Nepalese into their forces. Since the British had fought against then RNA, which was till that time, still colloquially known as "Army of Gorkha" or "Gorkhali" army, the British called their new soldiers "Gurkhas". Sikh and Gurkha army 's war took place in 1809 which is known as Gurkha-Sikh War. The Indian army, after gaining their independence from the British, started calling them "Gorkha". In 1946, the Royal Nepalese Army troops were led by Commanding General Sir Baber Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana at the Victory Parade in London.^[2]

The Gurkha Rifles existing in India and Britain are part of foreign military organizations where Nepalis are recruited. The NA are rightfully the true heir of the title of "The original Army of the Gorkha".

Prior to 2006 the Nepalese Army was known as the Royal Nepalese Army and was under the control of the King of Nepal. Yet following the Loktantra Andolan (People's Movement for Democracy) on May 18, 2006 a Bill was passed by the Nepalese parliament curtailing royal power, this included renaming the army.^[3]

In 2004 Nepal spent $99.2 million on its military (1.5% of its GDP). Since 2002 the RNA had been involved in the Nepali Civil War they were also used to quell the pro-democracy protesters in April 2006 Loktantra Andolan. India is the largest arms and military hardware supplier.

Organization

The Nepalese Army has about 95,000 infantry army and air service members protecting the sovereignty of Nepal. On August 2018, The Himalayan Times estimates total army forces to be around 96,000^[4] while The Kathmandu Post estimates it to be 92,000.^[5]

Women Participation in Nepal Army

The unofficial participation of women in Nepal Army was first during Anglo Nepal War on battle of Nalapani. Battle of Nalapani was the first battle of the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814–1816, fought between the forces of the British East India Company and Nepal, then ruled by the Gorkha Kingdom. Nepalese women were heavily involved in this battle supporting the male Gurkha warriors. With no automatic weapons in hands Nepalese women fought with British troops with stones and woods. According to Nepal Army YouTube channel "Nepali Army" programme Nepali Senama Mahila Sahabhagita (documentary)^[6] - Episode 405, the official participation of women in Nepal Army started in 2018 B.S in the post of Nurse. The timeline of official women's participation in Nepal Army is as follow:

• 2018 B.S = Captain Gyani Shah as Nurse
• 2022 B.S = Parachute folding women team
• 2026 B.S = First women Para Jumper Leutinant Annapurna Kunwar
• 2026 B.S = Introduction of women doctor
• 2055 B.S = Introduction of women in law affairs
• 2056 B.S = Introduction of women as UN Peacekeeping mission
• 2061 B.S = Introduction of women engineers and other technicians

Operations

The Primary role of the NA is to defend the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Nepal. Their secondary role is to provide assistance to the Civilian Government of Nepal in the maintenance of internal security. Other duties include humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations, assisting in national development, nature conservation efforts and participation in international peacekeeping mission.

International Operations

The Nepalese Army has contributed more than 100,000 peacekeepers to a variety of United Nations-sponsored peacekeeping missions such as:

• United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),
• UNOSOMII the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), UN Operational Mission Somalia II,
• MINUSTAH the United Nations Mission in Haiti.
• UNAMSIL – Currently, Nepal is sending an 800-man battalion to serve in the peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).
• UNMIS – The Nepalese Army has sent a protection company of 200 personnel in United Nations Mission In Sudan. The Redeployment Coordination HQ at Kassala is also manned by the Nepalese contingent. The RCHQ was intended to monitor withdrawals from the eastern sectors of the UNMIS area in accordance with the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Accord.

A member of the Nepalese Quick Reactionary Force (QRF) stands ready with a variant of the Galil assault rifle.

• UNDOF
• MINUSMA – For the first time,^[7][8] the Nepalese Army has a company of EOD of 140 personnel specially dedicated for improvised explosive device (IED) and ordnance disposal mission in Mali.

Bases

• Kathmandu Army HQ
• Panchkhal Military Base (UN Peacekeeping Training Center)

Nepalese Army Air Service Mil Mi-8 helicopter at Tribhuvan International Airport Kathmandu

Major Base Camps are located in all 77 districts of Nepal with at least 20 major base camps and 9500 Army in each districts.

Units

There were initially six divisions called Pritana (Nepali: पृतना) in Nepal. Recently, two divisions are added. There is one head of the division known as Pritanapati who is ranked Major General.

The first four army units of the Nepalese Army are Shreenath, Kali Baksh (Kalibox), Barda Bahadur and Sabuj companies in August 1762 by the King Prithvi Narayan Shah. The Purano Gorakh Company was founded on February 1763 is the fifth army unit of Nepal by its founding date.^[9]

• Shree Nath Battalion – established 1762
• Shree Kali Buksh Battalion (Engineers) – established 1762
• Shree Barda Bahadur Battalion – established 1762
• Shree Sabuj Battalion – established 1762
• Shree Purano Gorakh Battalion – established 1763
• Shree Devi Datta Battalion – established 1783
• Shree Naya Gorakh Battalion – established 1783
• Shree Bhairavi Dal Battalion – established 1785
• Shree Singhanath Battalion – established 1786 (Commando)
• Shree Shreejung Battalion – established 1783
• Shree Ranabhim Battalion – established 1783
• Shree Naya Shree Nath Battalion – established 1783
• Shree Vajradal Company – established 1806
• Shree 'The Famous' Mahindra Dal Battalion -established 1844 A.D -1901 B.S.
• Shree Rajdal Regiment (Artillery) (Currently has expanded to three additional independent Artillery regiments)
• Shree Ganeshdal Battalion – established 1846 – signals and communications
• Shree Nepal Cavalry – established 1849 – Household Cavalry ceremonial unit since 1952
• Shree Kali Prasad Battalion (Engineers) – established 1863
• Shree Bhairavnath Battalion – established 1910 – (Parachute Battalion)
• Shree Bhagvati Prasad Company – established 1927
• Shree Khadga Dal Battalion - established 1937
• Shree Parshwavarti Company – established 1936 – served as PM's Body Guard unit and disbanded 1952
• Shree Gorkah Bahadur Battalion – established 1952 (best infantry unit of NA, then was established for special duty of Royal Guards).
• Shree Jagadal Battalion (Air Defence)
• Shree Yuddha Bhairav Battalion (Special Forces)
• Shree Yuddha Kawaj Battalion (Mechanized Infantry)
• Shree Mahabir Battalion (Rangers Battalion. Equivalent to U.S Army Rangers (Part of Nepalese Army Special Operation Force))
• Shree Chandan Nath Battalion – established 2004 (Infantry Unit)
• Shree Tara Dal Battalion – established 2002 (Infantry Unit)
• Shree No 1 Disaster Management Battalion – established 2012
• Shree No 2 Disaster Management Battalion – established 2012

Equipment

The majority of equipment used by the Nepalese Army is imported from other countries. India is the army's largest supplier of arms and ammunition as well as other logistical equipment, which are often furnished under generous military grants.^[10] Germany, the United States, Belgium, Israel, and South Korea have also either supplied or offered arms to the Nepalese Army.^[11]

The army is currently in possession of 160,000 firearms.^[10] Its first standard rifle was the Belgian FN FAL, which it adopted in 1960.^[11] Nepalese FALs were later complemented by unlicensed, Indian-manufactured variants of the same weapon, as well its British counterpart, the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle.^[11] Beginning in 2002 these were officially supplemented in army service by the American M-16 rifle, which took the FAL's place as the army's standard service rifle.^[11] Nevertheless, the FAL and its respective variants remain the single most prolific weapon in Nepalese army service, with thousands of second-hand examples being supplied by India as late as 2005.^[10]

Until 2003, the Nepalese Army's reserve armories housed a large number of rare and antique firearms, some dating back to the early nineteenth century.^[10] These were mostly donated to Nepal by the British East India Company and later by the British Raj, although there were also a few previously undocumented, esoteric weapons designed by Nepalese gunsmiths.^[10] Most of these were sold to an American firm, International Military Antiques, to raise funds for the army's purchase of modern weapons during the civil war.^[10]

Small arms

Weapon	Origin	Type	Calibre	Notes
Pistols
Hi-Power	Belgium	Semi-automatic pistol	9×19mm	FN P-35 variant.[12]
Submachine guns
M3	United States	Submachine gun	9×19mm	In reserve.[10]
MP5[10]	Germany
Sten[12]	United Kingdom
Sterling[12]
Uzi[13]	Israel
Rifles
INSAS rifle[11]	India	Assault rifle	5.56×45mm	The Nepalese Army had about 25,000 rifles in 2006, supplied at a 70% subsidy by India.[14]
M-16	United States			Standard service rifle of the Nepalese Army.[11]
CAR-15[10]
IMI Galil[10]	Israel
IWI Tavor				Used by Army Special Forces, Ranger Battalion.
Tavor X95				Used by Army Special Forces, Ranger Battalion. Often seen with GL40 UBGL, shown to be OTB compatible.
IWI ACE			7.62×39mm	Limited use by Military Police.[15]
AKM	Soviet Union			Confiscated from Maoist guerrillas during insurgency.[10]
Type 56	China			300 purchased from China in 2010.[10]
L1A2 SLR	United Kingdom	Battle rifle	7.62×51mm	Unlicensed Indian variant designated 1A1.[11]
FN FAL[11]	Belgium
PSG1[10]	Germany	Sniper rifle
Ishapore 2A1	United Kingdom	Bolt-action rifle		Indian copy of the No. III Enfield, modified for use with 7.62 NATO. New production action and barrel, recycled buttstock from No. III Enfields.[10]
Machine guns
FN Minimi	Belgium	Light machine gun	5.56×45mm	5,500 purchased from Belgium in 2002.[11] Principal LMG/ SAW
M249	United States			300 supplied as military aid from the US.[10] Functionally identical to FN Minimi
Bren L4A4[12]	United Kingdom		7.62×51mm	Used in outposts and basic automatic fire training
FN MAG[12]	Belgium	GPMG		Principal GPMG, used on vehicle mounts.

Heavy weapons

Weapon	Origin	Type	Calibre	Notes
Air Defence
Bofors L/70[16]	Sweden	Anti-aircraft gun	40mm
QF 3.7-inch AA gun[16]	United Kingdom		94mm
Artillery
OTO Melara Mod 56	Italy	Howitzer	105mm	14 in service.[17]
M29[12]	United States	Mortar	81mm
M30[12]		Heavy mortar	106mm
120-PM-43	Soviet Union		120mm	70 in service; mostly supplied by India.[18]

Vehicles

Vehicle	Origin	Type	Quantity	Notes
Armoured cars
Daimler Ferret	United Kingdom	Scout car	40[18]	Ferret Mk4 variant.[18]
Armoured personnel carriers
Casspir	South Africa	MRAP	37[19]	Some donated by India.[18]
Aditya	India		124[18]	Partly financed with military grants from India.[18]
OT-64	Czechoslovakia	APC	8	Donated by the Czech Republic in 2008.[18]
WZ551	China		5	Acquired from China in 2005.[18]

Uniform

The Nepalese Army currently have two types of uniforms.

Rank Structure

Insigna of Nepal Army Colonel(महासेनानी)

Officers

Junior Commissioned Officers(JCOs)/Warrant Officers

Non Commissioned Officers(NCOs) and Other Ranks

^{[20] [21] [22]}

Chiefs of the Nepalese Army

The Chief of the Nepalese Army have been mostly drawn from noble Chhetri families from Gorkha such as "Pande dynasty", "Basnyat dynasty", and "Thapa dynasty" before the rule of "Rana dynasty".^[23] During the Shah monarchy, the officers were drawn from these aristocratic families.^[23] During the Rana dynasty, Ranas overtook the position as birthright.^[23] The first army chief of Nepal was King Prithvi Narayan Shah who drafted and commanded the Nepali (Gorkhali) Army.^[24] The first civilian army chief was Kaji Kalu Pande who had significant role in the campaign of Nepal.^[24] He was considered as army head due to the undertaking of duties and responsibilities of the army but not by the formalization of the title.^[24]

Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa was the first person to use Commander-in-Chief as the title of army chief.^[25] King Rajendra Bikram Shah appointed Bhimsen to the post of Commander-in-Chief and praised Bhimsen for long service to the nation.^[26] However, on 14 June 1837, the King took over the command of all the battalions put in charge of various courtiers, and himself became the Commander-in-Chief.^[27][28] Immediately after the incarceration of the Thapas in 1837, Dalbhanjan Pande and Rana Jang Pande were the joint head of military administration.^[29] However, Rana Jang was removed after 3 months on October 1837.^{[30][31][32][33]}

Since the regime of Mukhtiyar Bhimsen, only seven army chiefs of Nepal were non-Rana Chhetris including Shahs while others were all Ranas till 2007.^[25] Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) was replaced by Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) from the reign of General Singha Pratap Shah. Chief of the Army Staff is also known as Chief Saab.

Battles

Nepalese army fights various battles on the unification campaign these battles of Nepal unification help royal Nepalese army to gain more experiences with a gift of Unified Nepal.

Medals and awards

• Mahendra Mala
• Parama Nepal Pratap Baskara
• Ati Nepal Pratapa Bhaskara
• Nepal Pratapa Bhaskara
• Ojasvi Rajanya (Sovereign – A)
• Ojasvi Rajanya (Sovereign – B)
• Ojasvi Rajanya (Grand Master – A)
• Ojasvi Rajanya (Grand Master – B)
• Parama Ujjvala Keertimaya Nepal – Shreepada
• Ati Ujjvala Keertimaya Nepal – Shreepada
• Maha Ujjvala Keertimaya Nepal Shreepada

See also

• Military of Nepal
• Armed Police Force Nepal
• Nepal Police
• National Investigation Department of Nepal

Notes

References

Books

• Acharya, Baburam (2012), Acharya, Shri Krishna, ed., Janaral Bhimsen Thapa : Yinko Utthan Tatha Pattan (in Nepali), Kathmandu: Education Book House, p. 228, ISBN 9789937241748
• Adhikari, Indra (2015), Military and Democracy in Nepal, Routledge, ISBN 9781317589068
• Nepal, Gyanmani (2007), Nepal ko Mahabharat (in Nepali) (3rd ed.), Kathmandu: Sajha, p. 314, ISBN 9789993325857
• Oldfield, Henry Ambrose (1880), Sketches from Nipal, Vol 1, 1, London: W.H. Allan & Co.
• Pradhan, Kumar L. (2012), Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839, New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company, p. 278, ISBN 9788180698132

External links

• Official website of the Nepalese Army
• Official website of the Nepalese Army Command and Staff College
• Nepal
• Background Note: Nepal
• Nepal
• List of photographs of 49 Nepalese army generals
• http://thediplomat.com/2013/10/the-deft-politicking-of-nepals-army/1/, 2013
• Ghimire, S. (2016). Security Sector Reform Organic: Infrastructure for Peace as an Entry Point? Peacebuilding.