Recently, the interest of Nepalese people towards Burma (now known as Myanmar), which is home to at least 1.5 million Gurkha people, has peaked. But not in a positive way. 

On 1 February 2021, the army took power through a political coup. The National League for Democracy (NLD), including Aung San Suu Kyi, has been imposed a complete ban on the political activities of all leaders, And both the movement and the repression are escalating.

Clashes between government security forces and rebel ethnic groups have been raging in various parts of the country since the military coup. In Myanmar, more than 20 ethnic armed groups are now equally active in the underground or semi-underground style, with which peaceful protesters are cooperating. All this has led Myanmar to the brink of a civil war. 

The Kachin Independent Army (KIA) is an ethnic fighting force of the Kachin tribe. KIA is dominant in Kachin province. It controls 60 percent of the province. They also run the administration. The Kachin people support the KIA's rebellious political beliefs.

The KIA has been fighting for power with the government for the past seven decades. The armed group has been supported by other communities in Kachin province. Rebel Military Plant- There are battalions of different communities even within the KIA.

In Myanmar, Nepali-speaking people are known as Gurkha. Many may be surprised that Myanmar's rebel militant group, the KIA, also has a Gurkha battalion. They are waving the flag of rebellion against the government and are making final preparations to put the logo of the Gurkha platoon with the symbol 'Gurkha Cross' khukuri.

The Gurkhas are not an independent platoon. They are just a battalion under the Independent Army (KIA). 

When the military coup took place in Myanmar on February 1, depriving civilians of their rights, the armed rebel group began cooperating with parties that believed in peaceful politics. The number of people seeking and supporting the same agenda has also skyrocketed.

The KIA is looking at the rebel army as an alternative to the government security forces. 

At one time KIA was looked upon with disgust. When people advocated for peace, they could not support it. However, today's Myanmar is just the opposite. Campaigns to boycott the military government have already begun.

Now, KIA is being welcomed in the streets of Myanmar. Rallies with banners have started coming out in toll plazas.

The attraction of the youth in the ethnic rebel group KIA has been increasing day by day. They have joined the rebel front against the government's military coup and its atrocities against civilians.

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Report by Jeewan and Prakash Sharma (Rangon)