Fear is something that is common to all human beings and the reaction to fear is to “fight or fly”. One of India’s most loved and revered Army Chiefs who led India to a decisive victory in the Indo-Pak war of 1971and who is from my regiment, the 5th Gorkha Rifles (FF) stated that “Every human being is afraid of something—some are afraid of many things. However, if anyone says that he is not afraid; he is either a liar or a Gorkha.”
The relevance of Sam Manekshaw’s statement is clear to us who belong to Gorkha regiments and who have led these brave soldiers into battle.
Prior to India’s Independence, Gorkha soldiers fought with distinction for the British Indian Army in both the World Wars. During World War II, Indian Army was awarded 20 Victoria Crosses, Britain’s highest award for valour. Of these, ten were awarded to the Gorkhas and four of them were awarded to soldiers from my regiment. Read More…
