Question

The Gurkha war took place during the tenure of ______
a. Lord Warren Hastings
b. Marquess of Hastings
c. Lord Cornwallis
d. Lord Wellesley

Answer 1

Hint:
The Anglo-Nepal War (1 November 1814 – 4 March 1816), also known as the Gurkha War, was waged between the Kingdom of Gurkha (now the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal) and the East India Company.


Complete step by step solution:
- The Anglo-Nepal War (1 November 1814 – 4 March 1816), also known as the Gurkha War, was waged between the Kingdom of Gurkha and the East India Company.
- The Gurkhas wrestled control of Nepal by the successors of Ranjit Malla of Bhatgaon in 1760.
- They began to spread their dominion beyond the mountains.
- They found it easier to extend in the southerly direction, as the north was well defended by the Chinese. In 1801, te English conquered Gorakhpur, which bore the frontier of the Gurkhas and the boundary of the Corporation.
- The war began with the capture of Butwal and Sheoraj by the Gurkhas during the tenure of Lord Hastings (1813-23).
- The war ended with the signing of the Sugauli Treaty in 1816, which ceded some Nepalese held territories to the East India Company.

Historical Background:
- The Shah period of Nepal began with Gurkha King Prithvi Narayan Shah's conquest of the Kathmandu Valley, the capital of the Malla Confederacy.
- Until that time, only the Kathmandu Valley had been referred to as Nepal.
- The confederacy sought assistance from the East India Company and an ill-equipped and ill-prepared expedition numbered 2,500 was led by Captain Kinlock in 1767.


Hence, the correct answer is option A.

Note:
- The Treaty of Sugauli was ratified on 4 March 1816.
- According to the treaty, all Sikkim (including Darjeeling), the Kumaon and Garhwal regions and Western Terai were lost to Nepal.
- The Mechi River became the current eastern frontier and the Mahakali River the western border of the empire.