Gorkha Pathshala, a historical monument

By Puran P Bista

The Gorkha Pathshala School has been the oldest educational institution run by people of Nepali origin in India. It was established in 1876 by a group of ex-army personnel of the then British Gorkha regiments settled permanently after their retirement in Shillong, says Hari Prasad Pradhan, the Principal of Gorkha Pathshala, who has been working at this school since 1964. ‘This year, we are celebrating our one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary, can you believe this? We are planning on how we should celebrate the 2001 year amid the ethnic tension. I hope it will be as grand as you expect’, he adds biting betel nuts.

In 1987, the Gorkha High School set up to cater to the educational needs of the children of Nepali minority, was burnt down by local Khasis at night, the night the state government had imposed curfew on the ethnic Nepalese to prevent clashes. Since then, Nepalis of Shillong have lived in a state of uncertainty and insecurity. In fact, one-third of the Nepali population settled for generations have left India’s Meghalaya state due to ethnic clashes.

After the Sepoy Mutiny that gave the British control over India, the Gorkha troops under the British command annexed northeast India. Consequently, Cherapunji was made the capital of the Assam province. At least four Gorkha battalions were stationed at Cherapunji, once a centripetal force of the India’s rainbow region. However, due to the hot and humid climate, besides heavy rains during summer, the Gorkha troops moved from Cherapunji in the early 1860s to Shillong, the present capital of India’s Meghalaya state. There were some civilians known as the ‘floating population’ of Nepali origin who had accompanied the Gurkha personnel. They had established themselves as dairy farmers and supplied the milk products to defense personnel. These ex-army and serving personnel including the dairy farmers had their families with them. And in order to cater to the educational need of their children, they founded a Nepali medium school named ‘Libery School’.

‘The name of the school probably meant ‘Library School’, Pradhan points at the spelling mistake of Libery. ‘Since they were uneducated from rural Nepal that could have led to such a glaring mistake’, he believes. Notable among the founders were Captain Kalu Thapa and Subedar Jai Chand.

The first Headmaster was the Pandit Dhanapati Upadhyay, a priest who used to perform traditional rites. Sri Mani Singh Gurung – the first Indian Nepali graduate – took over as Headmaster of this school in 1905, he further adds. Gurung later became the secretary of the school. In 1915, the school was upgraded to Middle English School and its name was changed from Libery School to Gorkha Pathshala. Perhaps, Gurung noticed the mistake and corrected it promptly, says Pradhan unfolding the history of how the Libery School became Gorkha Pathshala.

The up-gradation of the school was solely initiated through the sincere efforts of Mani Singh Gurung. Gurung left no stone unturned to develop this institution. On October 1, 1928 the school was recognized as the first Nepalis-run Middle English School by the then Education Department, the government of Assam province, Pradhan claims.

The school was brought under the deficit system of grant-in-aid in 1957. The same year, Drubh Nath Joshi took over the charge of headmaster. Since then, the school has been sending up candidates to the Middle School external examination conducted by the Education Department, Assam state.

Under Joshi’s headmastership, the school was upgraded to high school. It took more than a century to convert this school into a higher secondary school. Today, Joshi is a member of the state legislative assembly from the ethnic Nepali community. Since the 1987 ethnic war, the number of students seeking admission at this school has increased by leaps and bounds. The reason, Pradhan explains, is that the Khasi Students Union has banned the admission to students of Nepali origin in the state and Catholic-run educational institutions. Also the school houses Buddha Bhanu Saraswati College (BBS) to cater to the education of local students of Nepali origin without hampering the smooth functioning of the school.

‘Christians have named their educational institution after every saint. Like them, we have also given the name of three saints to our college’, says Bir Bahadur Chhetri, the secretary of BBS College. ‘It is worthwhile to mention here that the college established in 1993 started constructing its own building at a plot adjacent to the school complex’, he adds.

Today, more than forty teaching staff at Gorkha Pathshala are rendering their services. ‘The credit certainly goes to those who created this historical monument’, says D B Gurung, the secretary of the school management committee. A majority of those Nepalis who are working in state service studied at Gorkha Pathshala. ‘The school is proud to have produced students, some of whom could make a debut in the national and international field’, he adds.

This Gorkha Pathshala has been the source of inspiration to all Gorkha social and educational institutions of Meghalaya state. Almost all premier social organizations and educational institutions of the Gorkha community in Meghalaya state took birth in the premises of this school. Most of the social activities are being held in the premises of this school and it has been serving as a community centre since its inception. Thus this school is not only an educational institution but also an historical monument that speaks volumes about the early settlement of those of Nepali origin in northeast India.

SUNDAY POST
The Weekly Magazine Of  The Kathmandu Post
Kathmandu, Sunday, March 18, 2001  Chaitra 05  2057.