The Gurkha troops are considered to be the toughest infantry in the world. At Gallipoli only they were able to reach the Ottoman trenches with defensive fire. In Italy they frightened the German soldiers when they went hunting at night with their curved daggers.
The name of the Gurkhas comes from the Kingdom of Nepal once called Gorkha. In the war against the country, the British had to recognize the combat strength of the soldiers. Since an 1816 treaty, they have had the right to enlist soldiers there. Since independence, this practice has also been continued by India. Gurkha soldiers have fought in every British war since. Sergeant Dipprasad Pun of the Royal Gurkha Rifles was decorated for bravery by the Queen. He killed 30 Taliban alone in 2010. The British have been reducing the number of Gurkha fighters for years. Currently there is an ugly argument about their discrimination in pensions.
Bishnu Shrestha was such a soldier. On September 2, 2010, Bishnu Shrestha was on a train - the Maurya Express - in West Bengal. The 35-year-old had said goodbye and wanted to return home. Buy a piece of land in the mountains and start a civilian life. There was an abrupt emergency stop in the middle of the night. People fell off their chairs and men armed with knives and clubs rose up all over the train. A gang had disguised themselves as passengers and started robbing the train.
"Suddenly there were shouts and the sound of running feet everywhere. Someone was tugging at my blanket. I sat up and saw a line of people standing in front of me. They demanded that I hand over all my cash and valuables. There was confusion everywhere and I yelled that I was an Indian Army soldier. The criminals retreated and turned their attention to others...They started stealing jewelry, cellphones, cash, laptops and other items from the passengers." Bishnu later told the Times of India.
Bishnu himself sat still, only because of the money he didn't want to mess with the superior force. Until the robbers – there had been 40 men in all – grabbed an 18-year-old girl, tore off her blouse and tried to rape the frightened girl in front of her parents.
Then Bishnu jumped up and drew his khukuri, the curved hau dagger of the Gurkha soldiers. He injured the man who wanted to rape the girl and slit his throat. He used the dying man as a human shield. In the tight train he killed three other robbers and seriously injured eight. Then the robbers shot him. The bullet missed him and yet Bishnu lost his dagger. He was hit in the left hand, losing a lot of blood and sagging. Encouraged by his example, other passengers now fought back. After seeing the carnage Bishnu had caused on the train, the remaining robbers ran away. 20 minutes Bishnu fought against superiority.
He received awards and medals for his bravery. The girl's family raised the equivalent of $6,000 from relatives to thank him. A large sum of money in the rural area. But Bishnu would not take the money. He just said, "It was my duty as a human being to take on the thugs on the train."
