The Great Nepal And Deothal Battle

ByMRS. LAXMI THAPA

The 16 th of April, 2006 is the 191 st anniversary day of the Deothal Battle. At a time when Nepal had almost lost hope to win the war fought against the British in 1815, Bhakti Thapa at the age of 74 years had led the most daring counterattack on April 16, 1815 against the British force at Deothal. Defiant Bhakti Thapa with a force of just 400 had marched to the battlefield to fight against the entrenched British force armed to the teeth and numbering about 3500. Bhakti Thapa laid down his life in the battlefield. Every one who fought from the Nepalese side was either killed or wounded.

“ Until there was life in the body of Bhakti Thapa Nepal ’s territory was in a state of great expansion. Soon after his death the Great Nepal crumbled.” This is an excerpt from the sainikitihas which is based on the book by Vikramjit Hasrat, “History of Nepal (Punjab: V. V. Research Institute, 1970)”.

Bhakti Thapa became a legend even in the eyes of British historians. One of the historians CB Khanduri writes quoting various contemporary British historians " The euphemism of the BRAVEST OF THE BRAVES had been used by Napoleon for Marshal Ney, whose bravery during the retreat from Moscow in 1812 was one of the highest. BRAVE LES BRAVE, said Napoleon of him. British then used this citation for the Gurkhas during and after the Anglo-Nepal War. Such was the bravery shown by Bhakti Thapa that the next legend of the Bravest of the Braves had been created on the day - 16 April, 1815 at Deothal."

The Rise of British Empire

Eighteenth century was a period of great political turmoil in the Indian subcontinent. The powerful Mogul empire had come to an end at the very beginning of this century. Colonial power England was doing its utmost to increase its presence by exploiting the weaknesses of the rulers of small states recently broken off from the Mogul empire.

The British rulers in India were adopting every possible method to enlarge the territory under their control. The way new territories in India were brought under the British control had provoked even the British public. The British Parliament went completely against it.

Historian HG Wells has written about the British rule in India at great length. The text from his book {History of the World) has been reproduced here. Englishmen at home were perplexed when presently the generals and officials came back to make dark accusations against each other of extortions and cruelties. Upon Clive, Parliament passed a vote of censure. He committed suicide in 1774. In 1788 Warren Hastings, a second great Indian administrator, was impeached.

The Great Nepal

Nepal was able to rise from a scratch to be a formidable Himalayan power within a very short time. However, the build up of Nepalese strength brought her on a collision course with the colonial power of that time. Colonial power Britain had good reason to fear that if the Nepalese build up continued for some time, the colonial rule of Britain could soon come to an end in South Asia much the same way as in the North America a short time before.

In the 1790s, the effort to unite the Himalayan region had been greatly intensified. Nepal spared no efforts and resources to accomplish this historic mission. The process of unification had gone ahead at an exceptionally rapid pace. At the height of this unification campaign Bhakti Thapa stationed in Kumaun ( now India) was the supreme commander and administrator of the vast territory that stretched from the Chepa-Marshangdi near Kathmandu to almost the Sutlez River on the west.

Anglo-Nepal War

It was early 1810s. Great Britain was the most powerful country in the whole world. Its vast empire stretched across all five continents. At that time it was ruthlessly expanding its empire in the South Asian Sub-continent. Britain was tempted to make Nepal also its colony. Nepal was attacked without formally declaring war. Britain hoped that Nepal could be quickly subdued in a blitzkrieg invasion. The battle front stretched over a distance of about 1500 km. between the Teesta River and the Sutlez River .

Needless to say that those were the worst days in the history of our country. The war stretched over a period of three calendar years in sharp contrast to the expectation of the British Government. Nepal bravely defended its independence. Britain was forced to abandon its grand design to enslave Nepal though we lost some of our territories.

Our forefathers were able to protect the honor of our country while almost all other countries in Asia and Africa failed. Nepal was able to defend its independence because of our forefathers’ great sacrifice. They must have visualized that their great sacrifice would be paid off. They might have been hoping that their descendants would not have to be humiliated by colonial rulers.

War Prolonged

British had expected a blitz-krieg victory. It is said that the Governor General Hastings had planned to win the war in one mighty sweep in one to two months in end 1814 but certainly before the Christmas. He was badly mistaken in his assessment. We Nepalese fought very bravely. In early months of the war the initial British invasion was completely beaten off. British offensive ended in complete failure. Nepalese force stationed within the shelter of the fortress were not only able to defend their position against an invading enemy many times superior in strength but they even shocked them by their dreadful counteroffensive that used to be accompanied by big losses on British side. The British rule in India was at a risk of falling apart. Unfortunately at that time the Sikhs and Marathas did not join Nepal in liberating the whole of the South Asian Continent from the grip of the European domination.

After the initial defeats the British changed their strategy to avoid their casualties. They started to deploy long range guns to level the fortifications. This strategy paid off. The British were able to advance quickly into the territory under our control. They even used elephants to carry heavy guns across the mountains

British had at their disposal virtually unlimited resources from the Nepalese perspective. They continued to press Nepal all across the frontier that stretched over a distance of more than 1500 km. Nepalese resources were being sharply depleted. There was not any chance to be replenished. So the ability of the Nepalese force to defend the territory under their control was steadily declining. They were forced to pull back. There was breakdown in control and command system. Towards the middle of the 1815 Amar Singh Thapa, chief of the Nepalese force fighting in the western front was confined within a small area of the Malaun fort. The fate of Nepal was going to be in the hand of the Governor General Lord Hastings, unashamedly imperialistic and who became famous for having established the British Empire in India more firmly than before. At that time there could not be any room for doubt in his intention either to eliminate Nepal completely and bring it under the British rule or to turn it into a vassal state like so many other states under that category in British India. He could be forced not to take any such decision detrimental to the honour of Nepal only if he perceived that such action could pose serious threat to the continuance of British rule in India. The Deothal Battle could not be anything else but a clear message of threat on behalf of Nepalese people to the British warning them not to take lightly the determination of Nepalese people to protect the honor of their country.

Prelude to Deothal Battle

Towards the sunset of the April 15 th evening Bhakti Thapa and the army units under him arrived at the Malaun fort from their station at Surajgarh without being noticed by the British army units scattered around the Malaun fortress. The subsequent events help to explain that he might have come to persuade Amar Singh Thapa on behalf of all the brave commanders prepared to sacrifice their life for the country to pursue more aggressive methods to deter the enemy from overrunning the motherland. He might have even advised him to pull back from the Maluan to regroup the army units spread all across the Garwal and Kumaun to go to a completely new type of offensive.

The Battle

The following day in the morning Bhakti Thapa at the age of 74 led a most daring counterattack against the British force entrenched at Deothal. Historians have presented the description of this battle at great length. It was 3.15 a.m. when a force of 400 under Bhakti Thapa marched out of the Malaun fort, to a slow but steady beat of a drum. The British column under Thompson had taken position at Deothal on reverse slopes. The cannons of 6 pounders were properly concealed. There were two Indian battalions, the Grenadiers companies of the Light Battalions and some 1000 Irregulars. The British strength was up to about 3,500 troops and weapons.

Bhakti Thapa and his followers in the counterattack appeared to have vowed to fight to the death. Bhakti Thapa had even handed his infant grandson in the custody of the Amar Singh Thapa just before going to the battlefield. It was a bloody battle. It would not be wrong to visualize that the Khukri charge and the battle cry of the Nepalese fighters might have shaken the enemies with fear. RP Ochterlony, the author of "Sketches Of The Goorka War" has written. A body of Gorkhas advancing to charge bears no resemblance to a European column. Several huge trumpets putting up a harsh but stirring noise, set the multitude in motion who, except some carry shields, grasping each a matchlock in his left hand and a broad sword in his right, rush on, disregarding all regularity, very like a pack of hounds in full cry.

Bhakti Thapa laid down his life in the battlefield. Every one who fought from the Nepalese side was either killed or wounded. The British casualties were also high. The British have praised their officers and soldiers for their bravery in the battle. According to one account the British casualties of dead and wounded in Deothal battle were 384 as against 390 Nepalese casualties - almost a ratio of one to one, under the most adverse conditions to the Nepalese.

In Conclusion

The great sacrifice of Bhakti Thapa and many others who laid down their life in the war fought against the British paid off. British were forced to abandon their grand design to enslave our country and make it one of their colonies whereas almost all other countries in Asia and Africa lost their freedom and independence.

Thapa writes on history