It may well have been the year of the Marine Corps bicentennial in 1975 that I attended a USMC Birthday Ball somewhere in Queens, New York, and briefly met the guest of honor, a retired Sergeant-Major of Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles.
I found it confusing to hear the word "Gurkha" as part of the unit's name because the man was clearly a Westerner, and he was outfitted in Scots kilts (the whole shebang, including dirk and sporran, albeit no
khukari). To my knowledge, Gurkhas—who have a long history of serving in the British military—came from Nepal.
Gurkhas also have something of a fierce reputation. In the field, they are known for infiltrating enemy positions at night and slicing the throat of every third enemy soldier, leaving the rest alive with rotting, festering morale. The Gurkha was known, too, for his
khukari knife, which was given to each individual by his village, with the admonition that the knife never be returned to its scabbard without first having drawn blood.
So I do not find it terribly surprising to read the following (via
xnepali.com):
While in the train, Maurya Express from Ranchi to Gorakhpur, on September 2, 2010, 35 year-old Bishnu [Shrestha] saved a girl about to be raped by the train robbers in front of her helpless parents. After looting the train, when the robbers started to strip a 18 year old girl in front of him, he couldn’t contain his calmness. He took out his khukari and took on the a group of 40 robbers, alone. In the fight, he killed three of dacoits and injured eight others. Remaining dacoits fled the scene to save their lives.
According to the article, Mr. Shrestha is to be rewarded for his bravery, which I think is altogether fitting.
As for why Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles wear kilts... well, that's another story.
Cheers...
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