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BHAKTI THAPA: Bravest of The Braves By Mrs. Laxmi Thapa et al " 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 Gorkhas
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" writes
historian CP Khanduri in his recently
published book ìRediscovered History of the Gorkhas". The 16 th April, 1815
should have gone down in the history
of the whole South Asian Sub-continent as
a day of great sacrifice in the
struggle against the European domination,
unfortunately even among we Nepalese only
very few know about the significance of
that day. It is also a day when
the bravery of Nepalese people became a
legend in the world. The courage and
gallantry shown on that
day by Nepalese might have
badly shaken the determination of the
enemy to subdue Nepal and
turn it into an European colony. It
was this very day when the 74 years
old Bhakti Thapa laid down his
life in a fierce counterattack
against an enemy far superior in
strength at Deothal to protect
the honour of Nepal and its proud
people. Who is Bhakti
Thapa? Bhakti Thapa joined the
unification campaign in 1789 at a time when
the further advance of the Nepalese force
to the west was completely blocked
for more than two years by then
powerful kingdom of Jumla. Hamilton states that
Jumla had collected an army of twenty-two
thousand men to face the Gorkhalis, a force far
superior to anything the Gorkhalis could put
in the field at that time. In view of
the narrow valleys and the very high mountains
in the Jumla area, it was not surprising
that Jumla with such an army was able
to resist the Gorkhali army's advance for more
than two years. In his first major military
operation itself Bhakti Thapa demonstrated
his exceptionally brilliant skill in
launching a very successful operation under
the most adverse condition that was sure
to astonish anyone. He changed the
strategy of the predecessors and led an
attack on Jumla from the difficult north
route. The result was a swift
victory and the life of many people
was also saved. A letter sent by
the king highly commends Bhakti Thapa for
the skill displayed in successful
accomplishment of the Jumla operation. Bhakti Thapa's
Leadership Bhakti Thapa had
proven himself to be the best strategist
of his time. Historians have written that
the Bhakti Thapa had impressed the Gorkha
commanders during the War of Consolidation and
joined those who were to be the eventual ruler
of Nepal. Kazi Amar Singh Thapa had treaded in the
footsteps of Bhakti Thapa A letter sent
by the king to Bhakti Thapa, soon
after the unification of the Jumla,
highly commends Bhakti Thapa for the
skill displayed in successful accomplishment of
the Jumla operation. The letter also cautions
Bhakti Thapa not to advance further without
completing the process of consolidation over
the entire newly added territory. The capital
appeared to be gripped by the fear that
the further advance to the west would be
very difficult and also risky. So it
was clearly explained in the letter to the
Bhakti Thapa that the whole operation would
be in a mess if the further advance
is allowed to continue without fully completing
the task of consolidation. It implied that
the operation to extend territory of Nepal
further to the west would have to be
suspended for next two to three years to
complete the task of consolidation. After the
completion of the Jumla operation those who
led the national unification campaign appeared
to be determined to march
swiftly to the west. So, the capital must
have decided to back out of its
earlier decision. The process of
unification of the Himalayan region spread
like wild fire across the Himalayan
region. In 1789, to the west of then Nepal
was the Bheri River. By 1791 the western
border of the Great Nepal was about to hit
the Sutlej river. Powerful kingdoms like Jumla,
Doti, Kumaun and Garwal had come within the
Great Nepal. The western border had thus
shifted almost across a distance of about
400 kilometers within a period of just
two years It can hardly be denied
that the willingness of the people
living in the Himalayan region to be
united would have been the main
driving force behind such rapid expansion of
the Great Nepal. . At the height of this
unification campaign Bhakti Thapa was formerly
made the supreme commander and administrator of
the Great Nepal to the west of the
Chepa-Marshangdi. His headquarter was located in
Kumaun ( now in India). British India Alarmed The process of
expansion of the Great Nepal was
too rapid. So it was natural for the
Britishers to be greatly alarmed. We can
draw such conclusion from the
circumstances surrounding the visit of the
Kirkpatrick to Kathmandu in 1793. British
governor general in India had agreed
to send Kirkpatrick to mediate in Nepal-
China dispute. Kirkpatrick did not even set
out for Nepal until after the war had
been successfully terminated by the Nepal-China
agreement. The governor general was requested
not to send Kirkpatrick since the
war had been amicably concluded. Surprisingly
the governor general was seen adamant
on sending a man to Kathmandu. So
Kirkpatrick visited Kathmandu for no specific
official purpose. The intention
of Kirkpatrick's visit could hardly be
anything else but to watch closely the
growing military activities in Nepal and
to ascertain that such activities were not
going to be directed against the British
India in near future. The Great Nepal was
seen all along as a threat to
British rule in India till the end of
Anglo- Nepal War of 1814-16. Similarly the
Marathas in the south were also posing
threat to the expansion of British
rule in India. From the perspective of
the Britishers the direct linkage between
the Great Nepal and the Marathas would
have posed the most serious threat
to their rule in India. Amidst these
political developments in the South Asian
Sub-continent comes the 1809 Amritsar Treaty
between Ranjit Singh and British India.
Surprisingly the David Ochterlony who played
decisive role in defeating Nepal in
1814-16 Anglo-Nepal War was responsible
to arrange the signing of the Amritsar
Treaty. The Amritsar Treaty was certainly
a ploy to block further expansion of the
Great Nepal. Was it also a
carefully planned action to prevent Marathas
and the Great Nepal joining together in
a fight against the British rule in India?
Such possibility deserves to be carefully
analyzed in future. Nepal and British
India at War The British 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. The decision to declare
war had been made six months earlier so
the territorial dispute appears to be only a
pretext. British force had marched into Nepal
across a frontier of more than 1500
km to attack at several points
at the same time The eastern British
flank was moving north from the Teesta
area whereas the farthermost western
flank from the Sutlej river area. It
was virtually a modern type warfare extended
over a period of three calendar
years and necessitating to protect the
entire region bordering the enemy held
territory. The British invasion force, in comparison
with Nepalese, had absolute superiority in cavalry,
pioneers, and at least the superiority of
10 times in infantry and 100 times in
artillery. They also had the advantage of
maneuverability in movement of their fighting force. The Britishers were
expecting 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. 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. Britishers 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 from Bhakti
Thapa on behalf of Nepalese people to the
Britishers warning them not to take
lightly the determination of Nepalese people to
protect the honour of the country. The Deothal Battle Towards the sunset of
the April 15th 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 following day in
the morning Bhakti Thapa at the age of
74 led a kamikaze type 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 very high. The Britishers
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 At a time when
the colonialism in its worst form
was rapidly sweeping across the whole
South Asia, Nepal was able to defend
her freedom. True martyrs like Bhakti
Thapa without the slightest hesitation had
laid down their life for the cause
of protecting the freedom of our country.
They must have firmly believed that their
sacrifice would not be in vain. Nepalese
people of present generation should draw
inspiration from the sacrifices of such martyrs. (Laxmi Thapa writes on history) |
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