WHAT IS DEOTHAL? Glory of Nepalese Sacrifice And Bravery

By Mrs Laxmi Thapa

Very recently two interesting articles have been published in Nepalese news media related to DEOTHAL. Author of those articles is Miss Jyoti Thapa, a sixth generation descendant of Jahar Singh Thapa from Chisopani , Nepal , who had paid commemorative visit to Deothal and Malaun. Needless to say that DEOTHAL is the symbol of Nepalese bravery and sacrifice. Many Nepalese had laid down their life at Deothal to ensure that our country would not be robbed of freedom and dignity while most of the countries in Asia and Africa became easy prey for colonial powers.

Deothal Battle

The 16 th of April, 2005 is the 190 th 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. Bhakti Thapa and his followers in the counterattack had vowed to fight to the death. Defiant Bhakti Thapa with a small force of just 400 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.

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."

Why Bhakti Thapa Fought a Losing Battle .

Bhakti Thapa had played a crucial role in the expansion of Nepal from the Bheri River to Punjab. At the height of Nepal’s Unification Campaign in 1790s he was governor and chief military commander of the vast territory of the Great Nepal to the west of the Chepe-Marshyangdi.

Bhakti Thapa must have firmly believed that the Nepalese force fighting in the west must continue to engage British force in the battle fields until Nepal reaches an honourable settlement with the British Government to end the Anglo-Nepal War. It was not difficult to predict that the British force would be able to build more pressure on Nepal to accept their terms and conditions to end the war if the Nepalese force fighting in the west capitulated. Thus it was absolutely necessary that Nepal should have continued to engage the British force in the west.

Bhakti Thapa was governing as an administrator and military commander of a vast territory of the Great Nepal to the west of the Chepe-Marshyangdi that extended almost up to Sutlaz in 1790s. At that time he was given virtually free hand to decide Nepal ’s foreign relations also. Thus at the time of Anglo-Nepal War Bhakti Thapa might not have failed to notice that Marathas were also on the brink of an outright war against the British India . British position in Central India was becoming extremely precarious. It was not a surprise that the British Government was drawn into a war against the Marathas as soon as the Anglo-Nepal War ended.

It was obvious that the British Government too had great limitations. Britain was not in a position to wage war against Nepal over an indefinite period. Under no circumstances the war could have lasted much longer if Nepal had succeeded to engage British force fighting in the west over some more time. Britain would have been forced to recognize Nepal’s legitimate right over its entire territory if the Nepalese force had succeeded in holding back the British force in the west.

Bhakti Thapa might have hoped that the courage and bravery of a man of his age would inspire other Nepalese commanders also to continue fighting against the enemy. This could be the reason why he had decided to fight a losing battle. Unfortunately the subsequent events took a turn for the worst. Nepalese force fighting in the vast region to the west of the Mahakali River capitulated and the army units operating there were completely disbanded. General David Ochterlony, Commander of the British force in the west was able to divert his full attention to Central Nepal and launch a fierce attack on the capital of Nepal with renewed vigor and added strength against greatly weakened defending Nepalese force.

Nevertheless, the supreme sacrifice and bravery of Bhakti Thapa and his followers who laid down their life in Deothal Battle field must have paid off. It must have deterred the British to abandon their grand design to make Nepal one of their colonies.

Great Nepal

“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 “ Vikramjit Hasrat, History of Nepal (Punjab: V. V. Research Institute, 1970)”. Bhakti Thapa had laid down his life at the age of 74 in the battlefield at Deothal

Thanks to Miss Jyoti Thapa

It is unfortunate that our historians and educationists have not yet properly cared to explain younger generations how our ancestors made great sacrifices so that our country could remain free whereas almost all other countries in Asia and Africa were enslaved by colonial powers. As a result, our new generation virtually knows nothing about our glorious past. Thus, they are denied 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. However, in this context it is really heartening to find that Miss Jyoti Thapa had recently visited the historical places in India’s Himanchal Province and written about her experience gained from that visit that unfolds an important episode of the glorious past history of our country. She describes that she visited the site where the dead body of Bhakti Thapa was cremated. She was told by local people that mortally wounded Bhakti Thapa had cut off the heads of eighteen enemies in the Deothal battle before drawing his last breath.

(Mrs. Thapa writes on history)