The 9 Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha
regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. The
regiment was initially formed by the British in 1817, and was one of the Gurkha
regiments transferred to the Indian Army after independence as part of the
tripartite agreement in 1947. This Gorkha regiment mainly recruits soldiers who
come from the Chhetri (Kshatriya) and Thakuri clans of Nepal. Domiciled Indian
Gorkhas are also taken, and they form about 20 percent of the regiment's total
strength. The 9 Gorkha Rifles is one of the seven Gorkha regiments of the
Indian Army. The other regiments are 1 GR, 3 GR,4 GR,5 GR, 8 GR and 11 GR.
On 3 December 1997, a statue was
unveiled in London in honour of the Gurkhas. A quote from Sir Ralph Turner, a former officer in the
3rd Gurkhas, was inscribed on the memorial: "Bravest of the brave,
most generous of the generous, never had country more faithful friends than
you."
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