Nah. Britisth Army has, not us.
The Gurkhas are in India and there is Gurkha regiments in the
Indian Army
IA regiments:
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Reg-Inf.html
The following are the Gorkha regiments in the IA
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Regiments/1Gorkha.html
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Regiments/3Gorkha.html
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Regiments/4Gorkha.html
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Regiments/5Gorkha.html
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Regiments/8Gorkha.html
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Regiments/9Gorkha.html
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Regiments/11Gorkha.html
Don't forget, anyone can edit info in Wikipedia so it may not be
100% accurate. The paragraph reads "The Gurkha Contingent, which is
part of the Singapore Police Force, is also a counter-terrorist
force." AFAIK there are no Gurkhas in SOF or STAR. Like I said,
take what's on Wikipedia with a pinch of salt.[/quote]
Yes, the Gurkhas of Singapore are the anti-terrorist unit of the SG
Police.
Gurkhas guard Singapore from terror
Reuters
April 17, 2002
SINGAPORE
http://www.singapore-window.org/sw02/020417re.htm
THESE days, Nepalis not Singaporeans guard some of the city's most
sensitive sites.
Gurkha soldiers -- widely regarded as the most fearsome fighters in
the world -- are on the front line in the city-state as Singapore
clamps down on Islamic militancy in the wake of the September 11
attacks on the United States.
The soldiers, raised in the foothills of the Himalayas and
recruited by the Singapore police, have seldom been in the public
eye here although their contingent has been based on the wealthy
island for more than 50 years.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Gurkhas helped quell racial riots, strikes
and trades union disputes in Singapore and won praise for their
ability to bring calm and be impartial in any dispute.
Such turbulent times are long gone in Singapore, but with tension
high in the wake of the September attacks and the discovery of a
plot to attack targets in Singapore, the Gurkhas are replacing
local policemen at some of Singapore's most sensitive
buildings.
These include the US embassy and the American Club -- both the
target of a foiled bombing plot by a regional Islamic group -- as
well as the huge Jurong island petrochemical complex and Changi
international airport.
"I think it's right to say that the Gurkhas, as part of the
Singapore Police Force, have become more important here after
September 11," said Commander Bruce M. Niven, head of the Gurkha
Contingent in Singapore.
The Gurkhas' main strength is their impartiality in the multiracial
city-state of four million people.
"In the local context, impartiality is one of their unique
attributes," Niven said.
"Not being influenced by the local scene is part of their concept
in Singapore. They just don't get emotionally involved in anything
they may get caught up in."
It is the absence of political or religious roots in Singapore that
has granted the soldiers a reputation of utmost objectivity -- key
to success in Singapore which is inhabited by ethnic Chinese, Malay
and Indian communities.
ON A KNIFE EDGE
The Gurkha Contingent was officially created in Singapore in 1949
from ex-British Army Gurkhas.
The city state has expanded the Contingent in the past few years,
according to a source with knowledge of the Gurkhas, but the events
of September 11 could result in further increases.
"Before, you just never saw them on the streets (of Singapore),"
said the source, who did not want to be identified. "But the
government is pushing them more into the public domain, which is a
very interesting phenomenon."
The recent arrests of Islamic militants suspected of plotting bomb
attacks have cast a shadow over the security-conscious island
republic.
"We are a police force and we respond to what our republic requires
of us in times of peace or in time of tension in the world," Niven
said.
"We are unique here in the sense that our Gurkhas are police
officers... While a soldier is perhaps out there to kill people,
Gurkhas here are essentially present to maintain the peace, and
protect people and property."
Yet, a Gurkha cop is still a Gurkha. According to legend, once his
kukri dagger has been drawn in battle, it must "taste blood". If it
has not, its master has to cut himself before returning it to its
sheath.
Descended from the Rajputs tribes of North India, Gurkhas conquered
the small Nepali region of Gorkha after being forced out from India
in the early 16th century. Settling down in their new home, they
called themselves Gurkhas.
A CITY IN A CITY
From there, Gurkhas have travelled widely, serving the British
empire in many parts of Asia but particularly Singapore and Hong
Kong.
The Gurkha Cantonment in Singapore is like another world, with its
own shops, schools and playgrounds.
"This is a small township, and I am like a mayor," Niven
said.
Stationed in Singapore on a temporary mission, the Gurkhas do not
sink deep roots into the city's soil. They are not allowed
to.
The principle of impartiality forbids them to marry Singaporean
women.
Most end up returning home to their villages in the hills where
most people grow rice and wheat.
So far, only two or three of them have broken the tradition and
chosen to stay in Singapore instead of returning to Nepal, one of
the world's poorest countries and torn by a six-year-old Maoist
rebellion that has claimed some 3500 lives.
Niven said they are mainly recruited from the Hindu and Buddhist
villages and begin their careers at the age of 18 to 22.
