Unified Nepal: A Vision Beyond the Battlefield

Abstract

While the East India Company was extending its dominion through commerce and conquest, Nepal was forging a collective identity through resilience and strategic planning. In consolidating adjoining territories, particularly Kantipur, the Gorkhali Army anticipated southern interference and imposed a blockade around the Kathmandu Valley prior to its capture. In response to the looming threat of invasion, a series of southern fortified positions were established, anchored by the bastions of Makwanpurgadi and Sindhuligadi. When the final clash occurred with the British expedition led by Captain Kinloch in the rugged terrain of Sindhuli in Expedition Colonial aspiration Stonework Introduction September 1767, the resistance encountered by the Company was not confined to the
battlefield; it was embedded in the spirit of a people determined to remain whole, in the seasons, and in the landscape itself. Had Kinloch’s expedition succeeded, a unified Nepal might not have emerged. Indeed, after the Sindhuli setback, it would be forty‑five years before the British returned, a strategic pause that underscores Nepal’s defensive resilience and highlights the limits of imperial ambition along the Himalayan frontier. Although British expansionist aims remained undeterred, the memory of defeat proved indelible. This study adopts a qualitative approach to examine nuanced perspectives within the historical narrative. It argues that Nepal’s resistance over imperial expansion was not limited to military valor but stemmed from unity, which consolidated national sovereignty and  offered lasting insights for history, governance, and interdisciplinary inquiry.