BRITISH ABANDONED PLAN TO CONQUER NEPAL
Was it a Token of Generosity or Fear of Unending War?
Mrs Laxmi Thapa
At a time when the western part of the South Asia was bearing the brunt of the repeated brutal invasions by Nadir Shah and his successors who massacred innumerable innocent peoples and plundered vast areas, and when this whole region was being swiftly converted into the colony of the western powers, Nepal was able to rise within a very short time from a scratch to become a relatively powerful Himalayan country Nepal had gathered enough momentum to move forward to protect the peoples dwelling in the north-western part of this vast region from anarchy. However, the build up of Nepalese strength brought her on a collision course with the colonial power of that time. 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.
It is unfortunate that our historians and educationists have not cared to impart to younger generations the knowledge about the big role of our ancestors in protecting the vast Himalayan region from falling prey to colonial power. Almost all other countries in Asia and Africa were enslaved by colonial powers but our country could remain free forever by virtue of our forefathers’ great sacrifices in the cause to defend the sovereignty of our country.
Our new generation virtually knows nothing about our glorious past. Thus, they are denied the opportunity to draw moral lessons from the great sacrifices of our ancestors. It is hoped that in near future our country’s attention would be drawn to end this shocking state of affairs.
British-Nepal War
The British actively began preparation for the war from the time when F.R. Hastings- Earl of Moira landed in India as Governor General and Commander-in- Chief in 1813. The actual declaration of war against Nepal is recorded as 1 November, 1814, though the war began from middle of October.
Background of War With British
Some historians say that David Ochterlony was anti-Nepal from the beginning. It was he who thoroughly incited the Governor General Hastings- Earl of Moira to declare war against Nepal through his reportages and plans to eliminate. David Ochterlony was responsible to arrange the signing of the Amritsar Treaty with Ranjit Singh of Punjab in 1809 that was to a great extent directed against Nepal. He was a British agent at Ludhiana in 1811. Externally he tried to develop cordial friendship with Nepalese commanders who never suspected his sincerity. It is said about him that he followed the dictum: “ In love and war everything is fair”.
Initial Nepalese Victory
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.
British New Strategy
After the initial defeats the British changed their strategy to avoid their casualties. They started to deploy long range guns to level the fortification and force the enemy to flee. 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
Towards the beginning of the 1816 the British force under Octorloney had continued to advance towards Kathmandu. The British force was already close to the valley. It might have appeared that the British conquest was quite near. At that juncture the British abandoned their intention to conquer Nepal and agreed to end the war. Why the British decided to abandon the idea of conquering Nepal? Was it a token of generosity or fear of unending war and even a defeat?
Lesson From American War of Independence
F.R. Hastings, Earl of Moira, who was at the time of war with Nepal the British Governor in India, had fought from the British side in the American War of Independence. He must have learnt from the American war that any unwise move to defeat native fighting force can end in a total failure.
On October 17, 1777, an English army under General Burgoyne, advancing southwards on New York, was forced to capitulate at Saratoga. This prompted France to enter on war against the British for the establishment of the American republic.
Cornwallis, Charles, 1st Marquis Cornwallis, British general and statesman, whose defeat at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, was decisive in ending the British rule over America. He was responsible for the British victory at Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvania, in September 1777, and later in the same month he occupied Philadelphia. On May 12, 1780, Cornwallis, in command of British forces in the South, achieved a great victory over General Horatio Gates at Camden and South Carolina. In March 1781 Cornwallis moved to the coast. At that time Washington saw this an opportunity to defeat Cornwallis. On October 19, 1781 Cornwallis was forced to surrender at Yorktown, Virginia . With his surrender the American victory was assured.
Jitgarh Type Surprises
In early months of 1815 General John Sullivan Wood had led an attack on Jitgarh Fort, which is on the western route to Kathmandu. British force numbered about 10,000. The fierce resistance of the defending Nepalese force .had caught the attacking British force by surprise. British force had to bear the brunt of the ferocity of Nepalese defense. British troop ran into well laid gauntlet of fire. Within hours the British invading force was completely routed. General Wood had to flee from the battle area with his remaining force that survived.
It was certain that at several locations the Jitgarh type resistance of the Nepalese force defending the capital would have caught the British force moving towards Kathmandu in early 1816 by surprise. Such counter attack could be disastrous to British invading force.
Nepalese Ready to Defend at all Costs
The Deothal Battle fought on April 16, 1815 had made it very clear that the Nepalese of all ages are ready for ultimate sacrifice if the need arises. A small column of only about 400 under 74 years old Bhakti Thapa had launched a fierce counter attack against the entrenched British force numbering about 3500. British force advancing towards Kathmandu would not have forgotten the horrific experience of that bloody battle. Bhakti Thapa had laid down his life in the battlefield. Nepalese casualties were 390 whereas the British casualties also were too high and reached 384. The casualties ratio was one to one under the most adverse conditions to the Nepalese. Fear of fierce Nepalese counter offensive must have been the strongest deterrent to discourage the British force to continue their advance towards Kathmandu.
Depressed Morale of British Force
Edward Bishop has written how the British found themselves weakened at the end of British-Nepal War in the book Better To Die- The Story of The Gorkhas: “ Lord Moira thought the war would be over by the Christmas. In the event his invading columns encountered so much misfortune at the hands of the Gorkhas that, quite apart from the Nepalese conflict being obscured by Waterloo and other momentous events in Europe of the period, written reference to it was discouraged over the next hundred years for fear of alerting the British Empire’s subject people to the fallibility of the British soldiers and their arms..the operations of Moira’s columns redounded so little to our credit that the less said about them, the better.” The depressed morale of the British force might have prevented to advance to capture Kathmandu which would have been accompanied with great loss of lives on both sides.
