Bipin Adhikari

1.  William Brook Northey, The Land of the Gurkhas or The Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal [Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons Ltd, 1937]

William Brook Northey’s The Land of the Gurkhas or The Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal [Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons Ltd, 1937] was published 14 years before the political changeover of 1950-51. The book begins with a general survey of Nepal by Brigadier General C. G. Bruce. 

Northey notes that the communities in the far Western Nepal bear little resemblance to their sturdier neighbours in Central and Eastern Nepal. Rather they look similar to the Kumaonis people inhabiting the hills west of the Mahakali river. Their customs, appearance, and even language look similar. The striking difference that Northey finds is that “just as the farther one goes eastwards in Nepal the races become more and more influenced by Mongolian ideas in the matter of customs and religion, so as one progresses in a westerly direction they become more and more disposed to Hinduism, until they eventually lose every trace of the Mongolian influence, and become as Hindu in culture as the Aryan speaking tribes that are found in the adjacent districts of British India.”

Northey also tries to explain who the Gurkhas are. The communities he adds in this group are the Thakuri, Chetri or Khas, Newars, Gurung, Magar, Rai, Limbu, Sunwar and Tamang, and so on. He also includes Brahmins in the group. He thinks that Thakuris, even though they owe Rajput ancestry, sometime resemble Chetris in certain cases. A majority of them are, however, hardly distinguishable from the Mongolian-looking Magars or Gurungs. He does not explain what the reasons must be behind these similarities. “Nonetheless, speaking generally, the Gurkhas as a race are decidedly Mongolian in appearance, possessing the high cheek-bones and almond-shaped eyes peculiar to that race.”

2.  The book of Eden Vansittart, Notes on Nepal [Calcutta: 1896] was published about 110 years after the publication of Giuseppe de Rovato's account of the conquest of Nepal Valley by Gorkha King Prithvi Narayan Shah. Vansittart was the captain of the 2/5th Gurkha Rifles and had the opportunity to know Nepal and the Nepalese in the perspective of the Gurkhas as well.

Vansittart has separately dealt with the Aboriginal tribes of Nepal, which follows a section on the military tribes. The first group comprises of the Magars, Gurungs, Newar, Sunuwars, Khambus, Yakkas, Yakthumbas, Murmis (Tamangs/Lamas) and Lepchas. He quotes Brian Hodgson in saying that the "transit from the north into Nepal was constantly made before the Thibetans had adopted … the religion and literature of Buddhism." When he deals with the military tribes, the Khasas come as the first group to be followed by Magar, Gurungs and Thakur. He does not include 'Thakurs' in the group of Khasas. Also added are the Limbus, Rais and Sunuwars. Here Vansittart cautions: "the prejudice which existed against them would seem rightly to be dying out rapidly. Nagarkotis and Murmis have also been discussed in the book as military tribes.

3. William J. Kirkpatrick, An Account of the Kingdom of Nepaul [New Delhi: Manjusri Publication House, 1969] [First published in 1811]

The Account of the Kingdom of Nepaul : being the substance of observations made during a mission to that country in the year 1793; illustrated with a map, and other engravings by Colonel William J. Kirkpatrick is the first book on Nepal's history and its people in English.

Kirkpatrick admits that on some of his statements he could not but be extremely vague and defective, and that his opinions on others would necessarily be no less liable to error. In fact, there are several such errors in his book. As an example, it is mainly Kirkpatrick who erroneously set the tone of history that princes ruling Nepal for many centuries were 'Rajepoot' (and therefore not the Khas people) and the various classes of 'Hindoos' appeared in Nepal in all periods to compose a great proportion of its population (and therefore they were not natives to the land). He does not cite any piece of evidence to support his finding, but instead acknowledges that he failed to find a general resemblance in manners and customs between this part of its inhabitants, and the kindred sects in the plains of India. He also notes that "the characteristics which separate them, whether in point of manners, usages, or dress, [with those of the other 'Hindoos' in the plains] are so faint as to be scarcely discernible in a single instance…" Apparently, Kirkpatrick honestly believed what the local informants said to him. He had no time to look into the matter with some gravity.

4. 

Francis Buchanan Hamilton, An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal and the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of Gorkha (Edinburgh: Longman, 1819)

The book of Francis Buchanan Hamilton An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal is the second book in English ever written on Nepal's history. The first is the 1811 book by Colonel William Kirkpatrick, which was worked on before 10 November 1793.

Hamilton spent fourteen months in the country, during 1802-1803, mostly in the vicinity of Kathmandu, as a low profile visitor of the British government. He spent another two years along Nepal's tarai frontier. Apparently, the intention behind his mission was to report to the authority back home about his findings on the state and people of this Himalayan country. The book of Hamilton is the only account which discusses the entire country of Nepal and does not limit itself to the Kathmandu Valley or its vicinity.

As a foreign visitor, Hamilton "employed to obtain information, so far as [he] prudently could, without alarming a jealous government or giving offence to the Resident, under whose authority [he] was acting." He had some support of Colonel Crawford, at that time surveyor-general in Bengal, with several drawings of Nepal and valuable geographical surveys and maps. The account of Nepal by Kirkpatrick which was already published by that time had provided him with certain definite background to proceed.

Hamilton worked with some Nepali and Indians to trace out the details about the tribes, the physical features of the country, laws and government and the various princely states that formed the unified Nepal. Trained as a physician, he seemed to be good in geography, zoology and botany as well. That helped him a lot in making his study visit a success.

Hamilton divided his book in two parts. Part I has two chapters. Chapter I deals with the inhabitants of Nepal. Here he deals with what he describes as Hindu colonists from 'Chitaur', 'Asanti' and 'Chaturbhuja.' Attempts have been made here to describe the Hindu tribes east of the Kali River here. There are descriptions on Brahmans, their diet, festivals and offspring. He has specific mentions about Rajputs, and adopted and illegitimate low tribes in the Hindu community. This follows his general observation on the customs of these mountain Hindus east of the Kali, and those west of it. Then he provides details about Magars, Gurungs, Jariyas, Newars, Murmis, Kirats, Limbus, Lapchas and Bhotiyas. The later group has been described by him as tribes who occupied the country previous to the arrival of Hindus. Chapter II is about the nature of the country, the plains, hills and mountains, their production, animal and vegetables, cultivation, climate, rivers, and so on. Chapter III devotes to laws and government of Nepal. There are orientations on courts and forms of proceeding, punishment, provincial government, revenue and endowments, state officers and military establishment. They all make the book interesting reading.

In Part – II, there are two chapters. Chapter I has four sections – each dealing with Sikkim, the dominions of the family descended from 'Makanda Sen', Raja of Makwanpur, and the history of Nepal Proper previous to the conquests by the 'Gorkhalese', and the countries belonging to the Chaubisi and Baisi Rajas. Chapter II deals with the countries west of the River Kali. The second part is a valuable record on distinct political units of Nepal including Sikkim, Sen Dominions, Nepal Proper, Baisi-Chaubisi and Kumaon-Garhbal-Barh Thakuri. There are notes on twelve petty chiefdoms in the western Himalayas. The book describes Nepal as it stood previously to the war with the British, commencing in the end of the year 1814. There are interesting information in Part – II as well.

The book of Hamilton stands out as the best of the early accounts of Nepal. Beginning the first part, the author describes Nepal, a name celebrated in Hindu legend, as the country in the vicinity of Kathmandu, but as it stands now it means the whole territory of the unified Nepal. East from the Nepal Proper, he notes, the mountains are chiefly occupied by Kirants, who are frequently mentioned in Hindu legend as occupying the country between Nepal and 'Madra', the ancient denomination now called 'Bhotan.' Towards the west again, according to Hamilton, "the country between Nepal and 'Kasmir', over which the present rulers of the former have far extended their dominion, in the ancient Hindu writings is called Khas, and its inhabitants Khasiyas. I am told, that, wherever mentioned in ancient records, like the Kirats, their neighbours to the west, the Khasiyas are considered as abominable and impure infidels."