page_title: Indian Gorkha
section_title: Ethnicities and castes
hierarchical_section_title: Indian Gorkha / Ethnicities and castes
caption_attribution_description: English: This image is from the book, The People of India, a series of photographic illustrations, with descriptive letterpress, of the races and tribes of Hindustan, originally prepared under the authority of the government of India, and reproduced. by J. Forbes Watson and John William Kaye between 1868 - 1875.
context_page_description: Indian Gorkhas, also known as Nepali Indians, are Nepali language-speaking Indian citizens. The term "Indian Gorkha" is used to differentiate the ethnic Gorkhas citizens of India from the citizens of Nepal.
  Indian Gorkhas are citizens of India as per the gazette notification of the Government of India on the issue of citizenship of the Gorkhas of India. Nepali language is included in the eight schedule of the Indian Constitution. However, the Indian Gorkhas are faced with a unique identity crisis with regard to their Indian citizenship because of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship 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".
context_section_description: The Indian Gorkhas are a mixture of castes and tribal-ethnic clans. The caste groups include the Khas-Parbatiyas including Bahun (Brahmins), Chhetri, Thakuri,  Kami, Damai, Sarki, etc. Other ethnic groups include Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Thami, Bhujel (Khawas), Kirati, Rai (Khambu), Limbu (Subba), Sunuwar (Mukhia), Yakkha (Dewan), Thami, Sherpa, and Yolmo. Although each of them has its own language (belonging to the Tibeto-Burman languages or Indo-Aryan languages), the lingua franca among the Gorkhas is the Nepali language with its script in Devnagari. It is one of the official languages of India.
caption: Khas or chhetri tribe
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