The Demographics Polpulation of Indian Gorkha

Indian Gorkhas or Bharatiya Gorkhas are Nepali/Gorkhali-speaking citizens of India. The term "Indian Gorkha" tries to make a distinction between the citizens of Nepal living in India and the Indian citizens of Gorkha ethnic group. In the introduction to the book Gorkhas Imagined (2009), Prem Poddar makes an important point about the Gorkhas in Nepal versus the Gorkhas in India: "the word 'Gorkha' (or the neologism 'Gorkhaness') as a self-descriptive term ... has gained currency as a marker of difference for Nepalis living in India as opposed to their brethren and sistren in Nepal. Gorkhaliness then becomes synonymous with Indian Nepaleseness but invests only degrees of differential commonalities with Nepali Nepaliness and diasporic Nepaliness."

Indian Identity 

The Gorkhas of India are citizens of India as per the Gazette Notification on the issue of citizenship of Gorkhas of India. However, there are many Nepalese citizens of Nepal living in India as per 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."

Demand for Gorkhaland State 

The quest of the Indian Gorkhas for a distinct Indian identity has given rise to the demand for a state of Gorkhaland within the Constitution of India under Article 3(a). The proposed state of Gorkhaland comprises the district of Darjeeling and the adjoining areas of the Dooars in North Bengal. Two mass movements for Gorkhaland have already taken place under the Gorkha National Liberation Front (1986–1988) and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (2007–2011).

Demographics 

It is estimated that there are about 10,000,000 Gorkhas in India but a true count will be possible after the India Census (2011) that is enumerating castes for the first time since 1931. In the Darjeeling district of West Bengal there is an estimated 900,000 Gorkhas. The Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal has about 400,000 Gorkhas. There is an estimated 500,000 Gorkha population in Sikkim – the only state in which a majority of the population are Gorkhas. In Northeast India (states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh), there are several million Gorkhas. A considerable number of Gorkhas also live in the north Indian states of Himachal Pradesh (200,000), Uttarakhand (600,000), Punjab (100,000), Jammu and Uttar Pradesh. Gorkhas also live in many Indian cities such as Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Castes and Clans 

The Gorkhas of India are a mixture of Indo-Aryan castes and Mongoloid-featured clans. Among the Indo-Aryan castes include the Bahun (Brahmins), Chhetri, Thakuri, Kami, Damai, Sarki, Thapa etc., and among the Mongoloid/hybrid group is a heterogenous mixture of various clans and ethnic groups, including Gurung, Magar, Newar, Tamang, Thami, Bhujel (Khawas), Rai (Khambu), Limbu (Subba), Sunuwar (Mukhia), Yakkha (Dewan), Sherpa, Yolmo, etc. Although each of them have their own language (belonging to the Tibeto-Burman or Indo-Burman languages which is rarely used at present), the lingua franca among the Gorkhas is Nepali language with its script in Devnagari. The Nepali language, which is one of the official languages of India, is the common binding thread of all Gorkha castes and clans.

Notable Indian Gorkhas

1.   Durga Malla – Indian freedom fighter
2.   Sister Nirmala – Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity (Padma Vibhushan 2009)
3.   Ram Singh Thakuri – Music composer of Indian national anthem
4.   Damber Singh Gurung - Representative in the Constituent Assembly of India
5.   Mahendra P. Lama - Founding Vice Chancellor of Sikkim University
6.   Manisha Koirala - Bollywood Film Actress
7.   Ari Bahadur Gurung - Member, Drafting Committee for the Constitution of India
8.   Nar Bahadur Bhandari – Former Chief Minister of Sikkim
9.   Pawan Kumar Chamling – Chief Minister of Sikkim
10.   Tanka Bahadur Subba – Vice Chancellor of Sikkim University
11.   Dr. Mani Kumar Chettri – Renowned doctor; Padmashree awardee
12.   Major Dhan Singh Thapa- Param Vir Chakra recipient
13.   Colonel Lalit Rai – Vir Chakra recipient
14.   Mala Sinha – Bollywood actress
15.   Louis Banks – Jazz musician
16.   Binod Pradhan – Bollywood Cinematographer
17.   Aruna Lama – Nepali Singer, popular as "The Nightingale of the Hills"
18.   Tulsi Ghimire – Nepali Film director
19.   Ranjit Gazmer – Nepali Film musician
20.   Sonam Sherpa – Lead guitarist of Parikrama (band)
21.   Prajwal Parajuly – Writer
22.   Yuyutsu Sharma - Writer
23.   Prashant Tamang – Indian Idol 3 winner, singer and Nepali Film actor
24.   Kapil Thapa – Indian Idol 4 runners-up
25.   Jyoti Brahmin – Miss India Earth 2004
26.   Sunil Chhetri – Footballer (Arjuna Award 2011)
27.   Sanju Pradhan – Footballer
28.   Nirmal Chettri – Footballer
29.   Shyam Thapa – Footballer
30.   Ram Bahadur – Footballer (1962 Asian Games Gold Medalist)
31.   Tarundeep Rai – Archer (Silver in Asian Games 2011, Arjuna Award 2005)
32.   Bharat Chettri – Hockey player (Captain of Indian Hockey team)
33.   Shiva Thapa – Boxer (youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympic Games)
34.   Padam Bahadur Malla – Boxer (1st Indian to win individual Gold in Asian Games)
35.   Som Bahadur Pun – Boxer (Commonwealth Games 2005 gold medalist)
36.   Prakriti Giri - LIttle Champs Runners-up

( Authentication with Wikipedia)