The Agony of British Gorkhas: Fighting for Equal Rights in Fearless Warriors by Kangmang Naresh Rai

Abstract

The major focus of this paper is on the unpleasant war experiences of the British Gorkhas such as the agony of British Gorkha services and its impacts on them in the book Fearless Warriors by Kangmang Naresh Rai, an ex-British Gorkha soldier. This book compiles various British Gorkha soldiers’ experiences in battling for Britain in the several wars around the world. It is an autobiographical book on the British Gorkha soldiers. This paper argues that the Gorkhas sacrifice their lives just for Britain whose greed for imperial power spread over many countries in Asia, Middle East Asia, and Africa. Moreover, the British Gorkhas are treated as ‘others’ because they are paid far less salaries and pensions than the British soldiers. They also become the victim of ‘redundancy’ imposed by the British authority after almost all major wars including the two World Wars. This paper is based on the qualitative research method. Thus, the researcher has consulted several war narratives by the British Gorkhas and various critical reviews related to the British Gorkhas and wars. In addition, the researcher has also consulted different war veterans for the verification of the information about the British Gorkhas’ experiences. This study will be helpful for the future researchers in the same area.