Gorkhapatra is the second Nepali-language newspaper to be published in Nepal, after Sudha Sagar.

[6] It was founded by Dev Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana on 6 May 1901 (24 Baisakh 1958 BS).

It was initially managed by Pandit Nara Dev Pandey and was published weekly under the supervision of Lt. Col. Dilli Shumsher Thapa.

Nara Dev Pandey served as Talukdar for 2 years till September 1903 (Bhadra 1960 BS).

Chandra Shumsher then appointed his son-in-law, Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh as the new Talukdar on 7 September 1903 (22 Bhadra 1960 BS).

Bal Krishna Sama was appointed the first Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper on 28 August 1955 (12 Bhadra 2012 BS).

The press was initially started as a bookshop by Bhatta and his maternal uncle Krishna Dev Pandey as Motikrishna Dhirendra Company in 1945 BS (1888-1889).

[9] Important events in the history of the newspaper (Nepali Bikram Sambat dates in brackets alongside description):[16]Presently, Gorkhapatra is also printed in Kohalpur for western region of Nepal and Biratnagar for eastern region of Nepal, alongside Kathmandu.

The newspaper did not published the news of the execution of the four martyrs by the Rana government in 1941.

[9][18] The online version of the newspaper deleted an article published on 7 December 2021 containing criticism of the Nepali Congress government.

The article was retracted due to political pressure from the Prime Minister's Office.