Details

• The Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816), also known as the Gorkha War was a significant military conflict between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Nepal.
• Both sides had ambitious expansion plans for the mountainous north of the Indian subcontinent. The war ended with a British victory and the signing of the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816, which ceded some of the Nepalese-controlled territory to the EIC.

Historical Context

• In the mid-eighteenth century, the British East India Company actively traded with Nepal. Viewed as an opulence hub, Nepal supplied the Company with commodities such as rice, butter, oil seeds, timber, dyes, and gold.
• In 1767, British concerns around this partnership grew when the Gorkhas ascended their power and leadership in Nepal.
• In 1768, the Gorkhas (hardy people belonging to the hill town of ‘Gorkha’) wrested the control of Kathmandu from the successors of Ranjit Malla of Bhatgaon.
• In their attempt to expand beyond the mountains, they were checked by the Chinese in the north. Hence, they pushed towards the frontiers of Bengal and Awadh, coming in contact and clash with the English in India.
• In 1801, Governor-General Wellesley, in pursuance of his scheme of Subsidiary Alliance to consolidate Company’s territories in India and create outposts against Tibet or China, forced the Hindu Gorkha Kingdom of Nepal to sign the treaty and accept a British Resident at Kathmandu.
• However, in 1803, the Resident left owing to Nepalese hostility. The following decade saw numerous problems all along the 1,100-km long border shared between Nepal and India.
• As 1814 approached, however, the British found themselves concerned by the possibility of an alliance between Nepal and Sikhs in northern India.
  • The Company believed that if Nepal was expelled from its Western lands, the “Terai” region, it would no longer pose a danger.

Causes of Anglo-Nepal War

• Pursuance of British foreign and frontier policy– British did not want to solely depend on the Himalayas to provide India protection from the North. They looked at Nepal as a stable buffer state between India and Tibet or China.
• The ensuing border disputes.
• Expansionist policy followed by both the English and the Gorkhas.

The War

• In May 1814, the Gorkhas attacked three police stations of Butwal, then under the English East India Company’s authority. Governor-General Hastings took it as a challenge to Company’s authority and decided to launch an offensive along the whole frontier, from the Sutlej to the Kosi. In October 1814, Governor-General Hastings launched the Nepal War.
• The Gurkha army, under the command of Amar Singh Thapa, numbered between 5,000 and 8,000 men. Despite their smaller size, they had the advantage of fighting on familiar terrain, giving them a strategic edge. The rugged terrain hampered the EIC’s logistics, including difficulties in transporting artillery and supplying troops. The Gurkhas’ forts, often on hilltops, were highly defensible, causing problems for EIC assaults.
  • One major EIC loss occurred at the Battle of Jitgadh, where General Wood’s forces were defeated by Gurkha commander Ujir Singh Thapa.
  • Major General Gillespie, leading another EIC force, was an early casualty while attempting to take the fort of Jaitak near Dehra in late 1814.
  • The decisive EIC victory came on 28 February 1816 at the Battle of Makwanpur, led by Ochterlony, after his strategic efforts to position heavy cannons by building roads.
  • Despite the Gurkhas’ defensive efforts and threats to EIC supply lines, the relentless British campaigning and superior resources led Nepal to sue for peace.
• Battles of Butwal, Almora, Malaon and Makwanpur were the important battles fought; all went in favour of the English.
• The Nepalese were finally defeated and forced to sign the Treaty of Sugauli (March 1816).
• As per the treaty, the British gained the districts of Garhwal and Kumaon (comprising a great portion of the rich Terai forests) and a resident was placed at Kathmandu. The north-west frontier of the Company was pushed up to the mountains as English also gained the entire area of the Sutlej hills comprising hill stations of Simla, Mussoorie, Ranikhet, Landour and Nainital.
• After the Treaty of Sugauli, the British used a great deal of tact in their dealings with the rulers of Nepal. They treated Nepalese ruler as sovereign and in return, even they allowed no diplomatic mission, other than that of Britain into Nepal.
• Nepal also maintained neutrality during the Revolt of 1857, while the British enlisted a large number of Gorkhas as mercenaries in their army. About 5,000 Nepali men entered British service in 1815, most ofwhom were not ‘real’ Gorkhas but Kumaonis, Garhwalis and other Himalayan hill men.
  • These groups, eventually lumped together under the term Gurkha, and became the backbone of British Indian forces.

Treaty of Sugauli

• The Anglo-Nepalese War concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816, heavily favouring the British East India Company. The treaty resulted in significant territorial losses for Nepal and a shift in its political relations with the British.
  • Nepal agreed to accept a British resident within its territory.
  • Nepal ceded the districts of Garhwal and Kumaon and relinquished claims over the Terai region.
  • Nepal also withdrew from its territorial claims in Sikkim