Time to right the wrongs

To many outsiders in the globe, the Gurkhas are better known after Mt. Everest than this tiny country, Nepal. The reason we all know is that Gurkhas fought for the biggest colonial power in the human history — Great Britain. They are also known for their involvement in all the big wars that Britain and the allied powers won — although wars are bad but victories are good! 

I never knew where the Gurkha bravery comes from. When I see them around as my neighbours, brothers, uncles and friends — they are simply the simpler people of the ethnic-indigenous communities of Nepal. 

But how come these fellow brothers as soon as they are recruited as the Gurkhas transform to superstar of the super wars! To me the logic is simple — they are honest, poor, uneducated but strong as the mountain men — the reason the upper class Brahmins and Chhetris had been unofficially barred from recruitment. This physical strength and bravery comes from their hard living conditions with high ups and downs with huge sacks of goods while grazing and hunting in adverse climatic conditions. 

So, no doubt they or any of us could be the best naturally trained fighter in any physical wars. We can call ourselves the indigenous fighters braver than those of the well-fed and well-trained Western soldiers. Honesty was always there as it was related to their hand to mouth problem back home and if sacked for any disciplinary actions for raising the voice for equal treatment. So, the Gurkhas kept absolutely quiet throughout their services due to the fear of white superiors. 

The things got changed once the discrimination against the Gurkhas became a topic of debates in Britain’s High Court to Downing Street to the Parliament Square. This was done mainly under the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the subsequent implementing Human Rights Act, 1998. 

This gave the Gurkhas full right to equality in all of their services they offered, particularly accompanied family accommodation, right to settle and equal pension with other associated benefits. The results were positive. Compensation to Japanese Prisoners’ of War and their widows (£10,000 each) increased pension due to court battles; family accompanied service as well as the right to settlement in the UK after retirement as equal to the other Commonwealth soldiers.

The issue then remained settled for those already retired and settled back in Nepal or Hong Kong after 1 July 1997 (the handover Hong Kong to China). These are the Gurkhas who really fought hard from the streets of Nepal to London and the corridors of the then Commission on Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation both stationed in Geneva. The British Ministry of Defense, fearing the fierce legal battle and public campaigns for the Gurkhas, began with all kinds of tactical delays to slow down the speed of the success one after another.

This included first the formation of panel within to review the Gurkhas Terms and Conditions of Service and allowed the serving Gurkhas an offer to transfer their service for British pensions but limited to those retired on or after 1, July 1997 — the date when Brigade of Gurkhas Headquarters permanently moved to the UK. This again discriminated against the pre-1997 Gurkhas which followed another massive court case while British actress Joanna Lumley joined the public campaign. 

But what remains tragic today is, even after being settled in the UK, they had denied the access to equal pension to all Gurkhas. Those retired after serving for more than four and less than 10 years of service had also been denied any pension, which is not the case for the Commonwealth soldiers, who are qualified for all pensions and benefits after four years of service as to the British counterparts.

The denial of residential rights to those family members above the age of 18 and of medical benefits and other social services are also the issues to be settled. This history of the Gurkhas is at the crossroads now. On the one hand, their recruitment has been limited to 200 a year only. Hence, the total number of serving Gurkhas is only around 3,700.

There has been a huge cut in the number of the Gurkhas due to war technology. However, the Gurkhas’ grievances to be unaddressed even today is not fair as Nepal had faced the biggest loss in history. The Satyagraha Movement of the Gurkhas led by Gurkha veteran Gyan B Rai led to the formation of an all-party parliamentary committee of inquiry that is at the final stage of its report. The point is that the Gurkhas deserve equal treatment in all fields of their lives and Britain must not delay in addressing their grievances. Nepal must take a position that the Gurkhas should be declared eligible for their equal pension and benefits even if they decide to reside in Nepal. 

Only then Nepal will gain some economic benefits for its surrender to British wars whereas both the Gurkhas and the British taxpayers benefit significantly. It will be less costly for Britain if this equality is provided to the Gurkhas. They can live and enjoy the retired life in their motherland.

Published on: 23 September 2014 | The Himalayan Times