C'mon the Gurkhas!!!!!

[celtan]

Klaatu Barada Nikto: These guys are ballsy!

OTOH, gurkhas soiled their reputation in the Malvinas/Falklands, reportedly killing wounded prisoners.

Originally Posted by katana

As the Gorkha saying goes... Kaathar hunnu bhanda marnu ramro ......and this man certainly lives up to their ethos ......Respect

[Pukka Bundook]

Celtan,
Why the tourist knife?

The Gurkhas on the Falklands saved a helluva lot more lives than they took.
Don't go by what you hear second hand.

Richard.

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by celtan

OTOH, gurkhas soiled their reputation in the Malvinas/Falklands, reportedly killing wounded prisoners.

If it is 'reportedly' it is hardly themselves who have soiled anything but others...

[Atlantia]

Originally Posted by celtan

Klaatu Barada Nikto: These guys are ballsy!

OTOH, gurkhas soiled their reputation in the Malvinas/Falklands, reportedly killing wounded prisoners.

It's always good to try and check for some reference before making such an obviously inflammatory claim Manuel.
It's hardly fair to sully the reputation of these brave men without being certain of the facts is it?

This is especially relevant when the claims pertain to events in the living memory of many British and Argentinian forumites.

I cannot find any reports of Gurkha's murdering POWs in the Falklands conflict.

Here's what I found:

Soldier magazine ran a photo-story of the 1/7GR preparing for deployment to the South Atlantic as part of 5 Airborne Brigade's contribution to Op Corporate. Titled "Mountain Men Prepare To Show Their Steel" it showed images of Gurkhas sharpening their Kukhri knives and charging etc. These images were later reproduced in the Argentine military publictaion under the headline "Los Barbaros Gurkhos" (The barbarian Gurkhas) which painted a picture of doped-up, knife wielding savages in the pay of the Crown who would kill prisoners. The Argentine article had an unintentional effect of scaring some of their own soldiery witless.

There was a famous incident where a Gurkha recce patrol stumbled onto an Argentine anti-aircraft troop and by simply drawing a kukhri and waving it aggressively, got them all to surrender. The knife was later auctioned off for charity, raising £300.00.


That said, it is also important to understand how the Gurkha's do opperate.

I think this recent article and the quotes from military sources at the end gives a good overview of these brave, dedicated men and how the innate cultural differences between them and their western allies can cause 'raised eyebrows'.

Gurkha brings back Taliban warlords head.

[celtan]

Hi Guys,

All the Nepalese (and Thais!) I have met, have characteristically been extremely courteous and pleasant. A close friend being a member of their Royal family, I had the frequent opportunity to socially engage many.

OTOH, War brings out the worst in every one. It is a medical fact that war conditions actually change the _anatomy_ of the brain, meaning that soldiers do not behave the same as when in regular social conditions.

What I said comes from reading war action reports in 1982-83. OTOH, it helps if you can read Spanish, as Argentineans speak that language. : )

Granted, virtually all of the reports on War Crimes are for actions committed by British troops, not Gurkhas.

Nonetheless, there_are_ reports of Gurkha atrocities, namely a surprise attack of the Duke of Edinburgh's First Gurkha Fusilier Battallion on advanced Argentine positions, which involved killing of the woundedc, raping of prisoners, and mutilations.

Author Gabriel Barcia Marquez quoted witnesses as saying that the Gurkhas:

…beheaded Argentine soldiers with their assassins' scimitars and were so bloodthirsty that the English had to handcuff them to stop further killing after the Argentines had surrendered.

More comments on the subject appear in "Los chicos de la guerra", by Daniel Kon.

Regarding the attached "tourist's" kukri/Kuhkuri: I saw an ethnic weapon in very bad shape, and out of sheer pity, chose to rescue it and try to repair some of the damage suffered at the hands of its previous uncaring owner.

As`I already said, I did so because of my previous contacts with people from Nepal. Since you suggest it is a pile of touristry crap, I guess I will rather throw it to the trash and avoid wasting my valuable time on rstoring such a piece of worthless, rusted metal, to which I have no cultural or historic ties. Thanks kindly for the info, it saved me some time for which I have better use..!

Best regards

Manuel Luis Iravedra

[fernando]

Hi guys,
This topic is becoming rather controversial and out of our basic scope.
As (also) following the thread's author request, i will close it until further notice.

[Andrew]

This thread is permanently closed.

In the future, I strongly suggest discussions be kept on-topic and non-inflamatory to avoid suspension (or revocation) of posting privileges.

Andrew