Gorkha women in the British Army & the Ging connection with reference to Capt Rukmani Dewan O´Connor

Gorkha women in the British Army & the Ging connection with reference to Capt Rukmani Dewan O´Connor

The valiant martial race of Gorkhas has earned fame on the battlefields across the globe over two centuries. Their heroic exploits have attained almost cult status in the annals of military history. But little is known about their female counterparts in terms of the contribution they have made vis-a-vis theirs.

Traditionally, Nepali society being patriarchal, it left very small room for womenkind to come out in open and work as breadwinners for the family. However with the changing times, education and impact of globalisation, this trend has changed now.

It is in this context I would like to highlight the role of Gorkha women in the British Army more particularly because it has connection with our locality Ging Lamahatta, Lebong. Capt Rukmani Dewan O´Connor was born in Hongkong to late Major Dhanraj Dewan, an officer in the 10 Gorkha Rifles that went with the UK after country´s partition in 1947. 

Her account as a member of Queen Alexandra`s Royal Army Nursing Corps has been briefly mentioned by Tim I Gurung, a former British Army in his book Ayo Gorkhali- A History of The Gorkhas. She was also recently interviewed by BBC Nepal correspondent Mr Bishnu Pokhrel in connection with the agreement signed between Great Britain and Nepal on the hiring of nurses from the latter. 

She had her schooling done in Malaya Gurkhas Children school, Hongkong and St Johns school, Singapore where her father was posted then. She was recruited from the British Military Hospital, Dharan in 1970 where she had basic training as ward assistant . 

Thereafter she attended QA centers in various hospitals in the UK and Germany for State Registered Nursing course.

For information purpose, Sova Kumari Chhetri was the first Nepali nurse to have joined the British Army in 1838 and had been awarded with British Empire Medal in 1860.

Out of the fifty nurses recruited during her times in 1970s, Capt Rukmani was among the seven nurses to become commissioned officer along with her sister Sudhamani Dewan, rising to the rank of Capt. She served the British Army for 10 years and is now happily settled in Australia where she is involved in community programs. She has been a regular participant in the ANZAC parade held annually on 25 April with Brigade of Gurkhas veterans since 2005. She is actively working with the Gorkha community in Australia and encourages women to join the disciplined armed forces.

In 2004, she also had opened Gurkha Gallery, a pictorial display in honor of past and present Gorkha soldiers with special emphasis on the role of Gorkha women and has a collection of memorabilia related to the Brigade of Gurkhas. She is also linked with the Gurkha Welfare Trust that is involved with fund raising for the betterment of Gorkha community there.

After the discontinuation  of recruitment of nurses in the British Army from the region, she belongs to the rare breed who have gloriously served in the Queen Alexandra Corps with professional elan. She reminisces it always had been a dream of any Gurkha father serving in the British Army to send his son to Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, matched equally by his daughter serving in the QARANC in terms of prestige and honour. Her family is spread worldwide with youngest sister as a nurse in the UK while other sisters and brother live in Nepal and Darjeeling. She reflects on her career in white uniform with professional pride and satisfaction.

Writes: Saakal Ulysses Dewan