Century old British War Memorial at Gnathang in Sikkim

As always when I come across stories related to Sikkim history my feet have no boundaries. I had heard about a small war memorial at Gnathang along the Sikkim-Tibet border a few years back but due to unavoidable circumstances, I was not able to visit that place. So when I set foot at Gnathang this March I was very excited.

Well, there is a War Memorial in Gnathang but more than that a neglected one. Despite its historic importance, I believe it has lost its existence. The dry overgrown grasses and the broken nameplates of the memorial speak of the negligence. World history remembers the event as the Sikkim Expedition in 1888. There are around 15 graveyards in the War Memorial of those soldiers representing the British Expeditionary Force that fought a war against the Tibetan Army in 1888 at Gnathang.

The British Force stayed at this remote mountainous corner between 1888 to 1895 and the memorial reflects the determination and grit of those people most of whom were in their mid-20s and died fighting at the height of 11000 ft above sea level. What is more important than the impact of the defeat of the Tibetan Army in Gnathang resulted in the transfer of administrative power of the Sikkim towards the hand of the British. We shall have more details of the Sikkim Expedition 1888 in a few days.

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