Gurkha word itself derived from "Go-Raksha" (), "raksha" becoming "rakha" (रखा). "Rakhawala" means "protector" and is derived from "raksha" as well. There are Gurkha military units in the Nepalese, British and Indian armies enlisted in Nepal, United Kingdom and India. Although they meet many of the requirements of Article 47 of Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions regarding mercenaries, they are exempt under clauses similarly to the French Foreign Legion. Gurkhas are closely associated with the khukuri, a forward-curving Nepali knife, and have a reputation for fearless military prowess. Former Indian Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw once stated
Gurkha Memorial, London Gurkha Memorial, London The Memorial to the Brigade of Gurkhas on Horse Guards Avenue, Whitehall, London, was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II on 3 December 1997. This was the first memorial to Gurkha soldiers in the United Kingdom, and was occasioned by transfer of their headquarters and training centre from Hong Kong to London in 1997. The sculptor was Philip Jackson, working from a statue of 1924 by Richard Reginald Goulden in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the plinth was designed by Cecil Denny Highton. Two casts of Goulden's sculpture had previously been erected in locations in Nepal as