Ashok Swain, a Professor atUppsala University in Sweden has made a big claim about the number of Nepalese in the Indian Army. He compared Gujaratis to Nepalis in terms of their numbers in the Indian Army.
Source: Twitter
He wrote in his tweet, “Gujarat, 70 million population, has 22,000 in the Indian Army; Nepal, 30 million population, has 35,000 in the Indian Army.”
Fact Check:
While the factchecking of the viral claim, DFRAC got a report from the country Gujarat . In the repost, on the basis of the reply given in the Rajya Sabha quoting the Ministry of Defense, it was told that Gujarat ranks 16th in the country in terms of serving in the Indian Army. 22417 Gujaratis are serving in the Indian Army.
A Times of India report stated that more than 32,00 Nepalese civilians are currently serving in the Indian Army in various capacities in seven Gorkha Rifle Regiments (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th), including Each has five to six battalions (about 800 soldiers each).
After independence in 1947, the 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 10th regiments joined the British Army. These have now been consolidated into a single Gurkha regiment.
Conclusion:
The claim of Professor Ashok Swain about the number of Nepalese civilians in the Indian Army is misleading. Their number in the Indian Army is not 35000 but 3200.
