 Gorkha regiment soldiers Men of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) of the Indian Army operating alongside soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army in 2013 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2,926,168 (2011 Indian Census) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Majority in: Sikkim (62.6%) significant minority in: West Bengal (Gorkhaland), Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Northern Bihar and other Indian states[1][2] | |
| Languages | |
| Nepali | |
| Religion | |
 Hinduism · Kirant Mundhum ·  Christianity · 
Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Burmese Gorkha · Indian people · Nepali people · Sikkimese people |
Indian Gorkhas, also known as Nepali Indians are an Indian ethno-cultural group who speak Nepali as a common language. They inhabit mainly the states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Northeast India and Uttarakhand, including their diaspora elsewhere in India and abroad. The modern term "Indian Gorkha" is used to differentiate the Nepali language Speaking Indians from Nepalis (citizens of Nepal).[3]
Indian Gorkhas are citizens of India as per the gazette notification of the Government of India on the issue of citizenship of the Gorkhas from India.[4] The Nepali language is included in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution.[5] However, the Indian Gorkhas are faced with a unique identity crisis with regard to their Indian citizenship because of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship (1950) that permits "on a reciprocal basis, the nationals of one country in the territories of the other the same privileges in the matter of residence, ownership of property, participation in trade and commerce, movement and other privileges of a similar nature".
- ^ "India and Nepal. Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Signed at Kathmandu" (PDF). untreaty.un.org. 31 July 1950. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ "Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- ^ "India and Nepal. Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Signed at Kathmandu" (PDF). untreaty.un.org. 31 July 1950. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ "Gorkhaland: Gazette Notification on the Issue of Citizenship of Gorkhas". Gorkhaland. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ "Languages Included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution". Department of Official Language - Ministry of Home Affairs - GoI. Retrieved 18 October 2024.