Greater Nepal Before Sugauli Treaty
Territorial Boundaries of Nepal around Sugauli Treaty
Public Domain Image from Wikipedia
Earlier than the battle among nepal and india, nepal’s territory become as much as pakistan in the west and up to bhutan in the west. nepal had to provide away locations like sikkim, darjeeling, nalapani and the most politically debated regions of jammu and kashmir. nepal gave 1/3 of its land to india, just for the sake to preserve peace and give up the fight between gorkhali nepal and british east india business enterprise.
What History says about Greater Nepal
British East India Company wanted cooler places full of resources
When British captured India, they realized that they were in a very hot and dry place. So, they were in search of some moderate cool place where they could ease their summer and also get more resources to develop their power. At that time, the first Shah King of Nepal – Prithvi Narayan Shah had unified Nepal up to Bhutan and Bangladesh in the east covering Darjeeling and Sikkim, and up to Pakistan in the west covering areas like Nainital and Shimla (which are in India now).Nepal was as much beautiful as it is now and full of natural resources. Prithvi Narayan Shah was the king of a small kingdom Gorkha in the central Nepal and the soldiers were known as Gorkhali soldiers.
Gorkhali Soldiers and Khukuri
The Gorkhali troops only had Khukuri as their weapon. With this knife-type weapon, their intelligence and their bravery, they fought with the British. Though British had high-end weapons, guns, tanks, and artillery, they were not of much importance in the hills and mountains of Nepal. Nepal had forts on the top of the hills from where they would roll huge stones and rocks to defend and attack the British. Slowly and slowly, British lost its soldiers and weapons. Then, they started attacking other plain areas of Nepal which proved much more effective.
Gurkha soldiers of the Anglo Nepal War (1815)
This war was the biggest in the history of Nepal and continued for three years from 1814 A.D. Soldiers from both the countries were being killed like animals. But this still did not stop Nepal to defend itself. Many lost their lives. To stop this massacre and to maintain peace the first prime minister of Nepal, Bhimsen Thapa made a treaty with the then general of the British.
Bhimsen Thapa’s Gorkha troops, right, at Sugauli (1814)
Gurkha soldiers of the Anglo Nepal War (1815)
Public Domain Photo via Wikimedia Commons
They also attacked by stopping water supply to the barracks and Nepali forts which caused many Nepali Gorkhali soldiers to become ill. This happened in the Nalapani fort. But with the utmost bravery, Nepali soldiers fought with the British, killed them and quenched their thirst from a river nearby. As an apex power in the world, this was not going to stop British. They sent a huge army and started attacking again.This war was the biggest in the history of Nepal and continued for three years from 1814 A.D. Soldiers from both the countries were being killed like animals. But this still did not stop Nepal to defend itself. Many lost their lives. To stop this massacre and to maintain peace the first prime minister of Nepal, Bhimsen Thapa made a treaty with the then general of the British.
Sugauli Treaty (1816)
Bhimsen Thapa’s Gorkha troops, right, at Sugauli (1814)
Public Domain Photo from Wikipedia
The Sugauli Treaty was agreed upon the fact that Nepal would give some of its lands in the east and west to stop this war and maintain peace so that no lives would be spent. The British were also short of soldiers and weapons, so they agreed upon this. This treaty is famous with the name of Sugauli Treaty between India and Nepal.This is how the concept of Greater Nepal was developed
In this way, Nepal lost some of its parts in the east and west and was limited to what it is now. But, Nepal was never invaded nor colonized by the supreme British power. Nepal is the only country in the world which was never colonized. This was due to the bravery of the great Gorkhali soldiers. Owing this bravery, British made a statue of a great Nepali soldier- Bir Balbhadra Kunwar in the Nalapani fort. Today, Gorkhali soldiers are highly respected all over the world, much more in the UK. This signifies the bravery of Nepal.
Nepal is also known as The Land of Warriors.
Nepal is also known as The Land of Warriors.
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