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India?s big worry: Jobless Gurkhas
India's siding with the RNA will lead to anti-Indian sentiment in Nepal, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury.
Providing disaffected Nepalese youth with employment, not the use of military force, is the right way to tackle the Maoist problem in the Himalayan kingdom, feel diplomatic analysts.
Maoists and the famous Gurkha soldiers are getting increasingly intertwined. Many share familial origins and are often entrenched in poverty. In many families of western and parts of eastern Nepal, where Maoist insurgents are most strongly entrenched, one brother is a Gurkha soldier and the other is a Maoist rebel. The situation makes a military solution "well nigh impossible," a diplomatic analyst said.
"These families, over decades, have learnt no trade except taking up arms," a diplomatic source said. With fewer numbers of Gurkhas finding a place in the armed forces (of the Royal Nepal Army, Indian army and British army), "it is imperative to find employment for them," the source said, "or Maoist ranks will keep growing."
Also, the more India is seen siding with the RNA, which is leading the current charge against the Maoist insurgency, the more the anti-Indian sentiment will grow in Nepal, not only among Maoists, but also among Gurkhas, diplomatic sources said.
As a cautionary measure, India had started opting for more Indian Gurkha recruits -- relatives and descendants of soldiers who have served in the army -- senior officials said. This has led to further "disaffection" among Nepalese Gurkhas, most of whom know of no employment opportunities beyond the Indian army.
There has been a gradual but definite decline in the recruitment of Nepalese Gurkhas in the Indian army. They make up less than 70 per cent of all Gurkha army recruits, down from a peak of 80 per cent in the 1980's. There are now around 40,000 Nepalese Gurkhas serving in seven regiments of the Indian army.
Official sources, however, said the Maoist problem was a "greater worry" for the RNA, and agreed that the need was to "provide gainful employment" to Nepali youth being increasingly drawn to the Maoist insurgency.
"There have been very few instances of ex-servicemen training Maoists in warfare tactics," an official said. But, given the spread of the Maoist movement in rural Nepal, the figure is likely to rise as the RNA resorts to "tough measures" to combat the Maoists.
The greatest Maoist fear is that the Indian army will get directly involved in combating it, though that possibility, officials said, was "extremely remote". Such a move would also trigger "tremendous discontent" among Nepali Gurkha troops.
