There are different interpretations of the definition of Gorkha and Nepali. Actually, it is the two sides of the same coin. It is only because the Indians used to see us like the people living across the river Mechi, that this problem emerged.
As far as I believe, there should not be any geographical boundary in respect of language and literature. It is not that the English language is meant for the English people in England only and the Nepali language for the Nepali of Nepal only.
Language and literature are two such things that become more rich and prosperous as it extends their sphere.
If calling Nepali reflects the citizen of Nepal then in order to distinguish us from them we have formulated the concept of calling us Gorkha. ABGL was working in this field for a long time on its own level.
To segregate and safeguard our identity in India, it is better to call us Gorkha to have distinct bifurcation.
That is why Mr. Subash Ghisingh might have called Gorkha. But regarding the language, I don’t agree with him. In my personal opinion, it would be better to say Nepali-speaking Indian Gorkhas – that will be a good solution.
The followings are maybe the reason to distinguish ourselves as Nepali or Gorkha:
(a) In 1946, the late Damber Singh Gurung, of ABGL had said in the constituent Assembly of India that out of one crore Nepalese 30 lakh are living in India.
It happened at the time when the backward class commission of India was trying to include the Gorkha community in the backward class. Which, Damber Singh Gurung was also trying his level best.
But then President (now speaker) of the Constituent Assembly of India Mr. Acharya J.P Kripalani used such humiliating words, he said “Gorkha should fight with the sword” meaning Khukuri, which was actually not a good comment.
(b) In 1948, a communal riot broke out in Calcutta between Hindus and Muslims, in which 10 thousand Gorkhas / Nepali were also effected, who was from Darjeeling, and in order to compensate for their losses, leaders of ABGL like Shiva Kumar Rai led a delegation to Nepal for raising funds for the settlements of riot victims.
These are the reason which made the Indian people to get confused with the citizen across the river Mechi (Nepal) and which made us proclaim ourselves as Gorkhas to make us secure in India.
In this regard, when there was a deep-rooted suspicion in the minds of many Indians towards Gorkhas, Mr. Ari Bahadur Gurung once had to defend in Constituent Assembly by saying “we, the Gorkhas had participated in the freedom movement of India. Till now we are defending the country on the frontiers from the enemies. Gorkhas will not hesitate to shed their last drop of blood to preserve the independence that we have got. Therefore, the people of India should not be suspicious of our Identity”.
Obtain from other sources
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